Dollar crash to begin July 1, 2014 ? ("Year 0")

[KJN]

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/Summary-of-FATCA-Reporting-for-U.S.-Taxpayers

Summary of FATCA Reporting for U.S. Taxpayers
Reminder: You may have to report information about foreign financial assets and accounts.
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is an important development in U.S. efforts to combat tax evasion by U.S. persons holding accounts and other financial assets offshore. The Treasury Department and the IRS continue to develop guidance concerning FATCA. For current and more in-depth information, please visit FATCA.

Under FATCA, certain U.S. taxpayers holding financial assets outside the United States must report those assets to the IRS on Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets. There are serious penalties for not reporting these financial assets (as described below). This FATCA requirement is in addition to the long-standing requirement to report foreign financial accounts on FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (formerly TD F 90-22.1).

FATCA will also require certain foreign financial institutions to report directly to the IRS information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest. The reporting institutions will include not only banks, but also other financial institutions, such as investment entities, brokers, and certain insurance companies. Some non-financial foreign entities will also have to report certain of their U.S. owners.

Therefore, if you set up a new account with a foreign financial institution, it may ask you for information about your citizenship. FATCA provides special (and lessened) reporting requirements about the U.S. account holders of certain financial institutions that do not solicit business outside their country of organization and that mainly service account holders resident within it. In order to qualify for this favorable treatment, however, the local foreign financial institution cannot discriminate by declining to open or maintain accounts for U.S. citizens who reside in the country where it is organized.

Reporting by U.S. Taxpayers Holding Foreign Financial Assets
FATCA requires certain U.S. taxpayers who hold foreign financial assets with an aggregate value of more than the reporting threshold (at least $50,000) to report information about those assets on Form 8938, which must be attached to the taxpayer’s annual income tax return. The reporting threshold is higher for certain individuals, including married taxpayers filing a joint annual income tax return and certain taxpayers living in a foreign country (see below).

As of January 2013, only individuals are required to report their foreign financial assets. At a later time, a limited set of U.S. domestic entities also may have to report their foreign financial assets, but not for tax years starting before 2013. There are some exceptions to the requirement that you file Form 8938. For example, if you do not have to file a U.S. income tax return for the year, then you do not have to file Form 8938, regardless of the value of your specified foreign financial assets. Also, if you report interests in foreign entities and certain foreign gifts on other forms, you may just list the submitted forms on Form 8938, without repeating the details.
You may have to complete and file other reports about foreign assets, such as FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (formerly TD F 90-22.1), in addition to Form 8938. For more information, see “Form 8938 Does Not Relieve Filers of FBAR Filing Requirements” below.

Reporting Thresholds
Reporting thresholds vary based on whether you file a joint income tax return or live abroad. If you are single or file separately from your spouse, you must submit a Form 8938 if you have more than $200,000 of specified foreign financial assets at the end of the year and you live abroad; or more than $50,000, if you live in the United States. If you file jointly with your spouse, these thresholds double. You are considered to live abroad if you are a U.S. citizen whose tax home is in a foreign country and you have been present in a foreign country or countries for at least 330 days out of a consecutive 12-month period.

Taxpayers living abroad. You must file a Form 8938 if you must file an income tax return and:
You are married filing a joint income tax return and the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $400,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $600,000 at any time during the year. These thresholds apply even if only one spouse resides abroad. Married individuals who file a joint income tax return for the tax year will file a single Form 8938 that reports all of the specified foreign financial assets in which either spouse has an interest.

You are not a married person filing a joint income tax return and the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $200,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $300,000 at any time during the year.

Taxpayers living in the United States. You must file Form 8938 if you must file an income tax return and:
You are unmarried and the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year.

You are married filing a joint income tax return and the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $100,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $150,000 at any time during the tax year.
You are married filing separate income tax returns and the total value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or more than $75,000 at any time during the tax year. For purposes of calculating the value of your specified foreign financial assets in applying this threshold, include one-half the value of any specified foreign financial asset jointly owned with your spouse. However, report the entire value on Form 8938 if you are required to file Form 8938.

Specified Foreign Financial Assets
Specified foreign financial assets include foreign financial accounts and foreign non-account assets held for investment (as opposed to held for use in a trade or business), such as foreign stock and securities, foreign financial instruments, contracts with non-U.S. persons, and interests in foreign entities.

There are exceptions to the reporting requirement. For example, you do not have to report the following assets because they are not considered specified foreign financial assets:
A financial account maintained by a U.S. payor. A U.S. payor includes a U.S. branch of a foreign financial institution, a foreign branch of a U.S. financial institution, and certain foreign subsidiaries of U.S. corporations. Therefore, financial accounts with such entities do not have to be reported.

A beneficial interest in a foreign trust or a foreign estate, if you do not know or have reason to know of the interest. If you receive a distribution from a foreign trust or foreign estate, however, you are considered to have knowledge of your interest in the trust or estate.

An interest in a social security, social insurance, or other similar program of a foreign government.

Other Exceptions from Reporting
If you reported specified foreign financial assets on other forms, you do not have to report them a second time on Form 8938. These include interests in trusts and foreign gifts reported on Form 3520 or Form 3520-A (filed by the trust); foreign corporations reported on Form 5471; passive foreign investment companies reported on Form 8621; foreign partnerships reported on Form 8865; and registered Canadian retirement savings plans reported on Form 8891.

The value of the foreign financial assets reported on these forms is included in determining the total value of assets for the reporting threshold, but you do not have to list the assets on Form 8938. In this situation, identify on Form 8938 which and how many of these form(s) report the specified foreign financial assets.

Additional exceptions from reporting are made for certain trusts, certain assets held by bona fide residents of U.S. territories, and assets or accounts for which mark-to-market elections have been made under Internal Revenue Code Section 475. For example, a U.S. beneficiary of a domestic bankruptcy trust or a domestic widely held fixed investment trust is not required to report any specified foreign financial asset held by the trust on Form 8938.

The Instructions for Form 8938 provide more information on specified foreign financial assets.

Asset Valuation
You will need to determine the value of your specified foreign financial assets to know if the total value exceeds the threshold applicable to you. Generally, a reasonable estimate of the highest fair market value of the asset during the tax year is reported, but special rules apply to ease valuation burdens.

For reporting purposes, you may rely on periodic financial account statements (provided at least annually) to determine the maximum value of a financial account. For a specified foreign financial asset that is not held in a financial account, you may rely on the year-end value of the asset if it reasonably approximates the maximum value of the asset during the tax year. Special rules also apply for reporting the maximum value of an interest in a foreign trust, a foreign retirement plan, or a foreign estate.

You may determine the fair market value of a specified foreign financial asset based on information publicly available from reliable financial information sources or from other verifiable sources. Even if there is no information from reliable financial information sources regarding the fair market value of a reported asset, a reasonable estimate of the fair market value will be sufficient for reporting purposes.

For assets denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars, use the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Management Service foreign currency exchange rate to convert the denomination into U.S. dollars. If no U.S. Treasury Financial Management Service foreign currency exchange rate is available for a particular currency, use another publicly available foreign currency exchange rate to convert the value of a specified foreign financial asset into U.S. dollars. The exchange rate is determined by reference to the exchange rate on the last day of your tax year.

Non-Compliance with Form 8938 Reporting Requirements
If you must file Form 8938 and do not do so, you may be subject to penalties: a $10,000 failure to file penalty, an additional penalty of up to $50,000 for continued failure to file after IRS notification, and a 40 percent penalty on an understatement of tax attributable to non-disclosed assets.

The statute of limitations is extended to six years after you file your return if you omit from gross income more than $5,000 that is attributable to a specified foreign financial asset, without regard to the reporting threshold or any reporting exceptions. If you fail to file or properly report an asset on Form 8938, the statute of limitations for the tax year is extended to three years following the time you provide the required information. If the failure is due to reasonable cause, the statute of limitations is extended only with regard to the item or items related to such failure and not for the entire tax return.

If you make a showing that any failure to disclose is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect, no penalty will be imposed for failure to file Form 8938, however. Reasonable cause is determined on a case-by-case basis, considering all relevant facts and circumstances.

Form 8938 Does Not Relieve Filers of FBAR Filing Requirements
If you have a financial interest in or signatory authority over an offshore financial account, you must report the account on an FBAR (Form 114 (formerly TD F 90-22.1)), regardless of your obligation to file Form 8938. Certain foreign financial accounts are reported on both Form 8938 and the FBAR. However, the information required by the forms is not identical in all cases. Different rules, key definitions (for example, “financial account”), and reporting requirements apply to Form 8938 and FBAR reporting. Because of these differences, certain foreign financial accounts may be reported on one but not both forms. A chart comparing Form 8938 and FBAR filing requirements is available at Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR Requirements.

The due date for filing the FBAR is June 30 for financial accounts for which the filer had a financial interest or signature authority during the previous calendar year. The FBAR is filed electronically through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s BSA E-filing System. Form 8938 is due with your annual income tax return and filed with the applicable IRS service center.

Specified foreign financial assets held outside of an account with a financial institution are reported on Form 8938, but not reported on the FBAR.

Streamlined Procedures to Get Current with Your Filing Obligation
If you are a non-resident U.S. taxpayer who wishes to come into compliance with your U.S. filing obligations, you may be eligible for special IRS procedures. On June 26, 2012, the IRS announced new streamlined filing compliance procedures for non-resident U.S. taxpayers. These procedures recognize that some U.S. taxpayers living abroad have failed to timely file U.S. federal income tax returns or FBARs, but have recently become aware of their filing obligations and now seek to come into compliance with the law. These new procedures are for non-residents including, but not limited to, dual citizens who have not filed U.S. income tax and information returns. See irs.gov for information concerning the Streamlined Filing Procedures.

Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 07-Nov-2013
----------
All I can say is something this lengthy and complex has got to be bad! This doesn't even include the stuff they want to do to businesses and corporations...

 

[Kosma]

OK, any visions how this would influence European and Asian citizens, what could be the pace of these dominos falling? I mean, we are covering here this problem in details from U.S. Citizen point of view, but without any doubt this will change situation of ordinary people around whole world. I'm wondering how quickly it could be spreading globally, what could be no-doubt-signs that will tell one that it's only a matter of weeks or days before your bank card will became pure piece of plastic junk, and local currency banknote will be more value as toilet-paper itself rather then something to spend on it. I remember C's recently suggested like it's the last moment to make some necessary shopping, but They also mentioned there are 11 months left before stock market collapse, so I'm trying to write in my head a picture of possible scenario for next months - the closer we are to the end-point, the more precise we can be about dating, right?

 

[Niall]

...the closer we are to the end-point, the more precise we can be about dating, right?

No. The system is too complex for that. Remember this?

Session 13 Feb 2011

Q: (Andromeda) When will this [the plague] start? (Atriedes) That's kind of a prediction... (laughter) (Galaxia) Soon, or long term?

A: 18 months to 2 years.

We're past that date range now, but does that mean we're clear from danger?

I think it's safe to say that the main result of this FATCA law is more stress feeding into the system because of all the extra paperwork. Predicting specifically that it will cause the world's reserve currency to crash on 1st July is far too 'constricting'. Nature has an abhorrence of being tied to time.

 

[luke wilson]

At my last place of work, they set up a division to deal with this new legislation from the US Gov. I briefly read some of the initial internal reports and I believe more was on the way.

It did appear like a piece of legislation that was being taken seriously and that the company was taking steps to set up a framework of compliance. In practise I don't know what that means.

To me it appeared like the US was over-stepping its bound and making laws that affects citizens of other countries e.g. an employee in a foreign country working for a non-US company that may have dealings with american citizens will have to be aware of this law and comply.

Poor american citizens.. no where to run.

 

[sbeaudry]

Thanks JGeropoulas for the transcript summary. It has been posted on SOTT. Even though Stansberry uses the video at least in part as a sales pitch there is some very interesting information put forward.

I think it's safe to say that the main result of this FATCA law is more stress feeding into the system because of all the extra paperwork. Predicting specifically that it will cause the world's reserve currency to crash on 1st July is far too 'constricting'. Nature has an abhorrence of being tied to time.

I tend to agree with you. It's one more straw on the camel's back and he doesn't seem to say that everything will just immediately collapse on this date. Rather, he says, "In fact, I believe that a series of new laws, set to go into effect on July 1st, 2014, are going to accelerate this trend... in very dramatic fashion." So, in other words, it's another factor that will hasten the dollar's decline. It will be interesting to see what happens. Though it's too bad I'm in the US, I guess I'll have a front row seat...

 

[Kosma]

...the closer we are to the end-point, the more precise we can be about dating, right?

No. The system is too complex for that. Remember this?

Session 13 Feb 2011

Q: (Andromeda) When will this [the plague] start? (Atriedes) That's kind of a prediction... (laughter) (Galaxia) Soon, or long term?

A: 18 months to 2 years.

We're past that date range now, but does that mean we're clear from danger?

I think it's safe to say that the main result of this FATCA law is more stress feeding into the system because of all the extra paperwork. Predicting specifically that it will cause the world's reserve currency to crash on 1st July is far too 'constricting'. Nature has an abhorrence of being tied to time.

I thought some of already made world players' decisions might have unstoppable and ongoing effects in some measurable time, but indeed I've probably underestimated flexibility of steering in this complex system.
Regarding C's, are we sure about definition of "plague start"? I'm not sure whether they mean the date of first widely-know infection cases or just the very beginning of virus spreading and maybe mutating around in environment, yet still not causing outbreaks anywhere.
And in general, It's not like I'm thinking something spectacular will happen overnight in the beginning of July but I'm trying to define some clear signals of incoming events, probably as we all do here.

Though it's too bad I'm in the US, I guess I'll have a front row seat...

Hang on buddy and stay well!

 

[Soluna]

It's scary that it's easier to convince people in general that something is a 'scaremongering conspiracy theory' so they just, to borrow one of Laura's favourite phrases, throw the baby out with the bathwater (I hope I used that correctly) - rather than people looking in to the presented facts and attempting to make a more personally informed decision or assessment based on their own research. I guess that part takes too much effort especially when it comes to their precious dollars!

I think that regardless of whether this is a deadline or predictive theory as has been suggested - it's probably important to prepare to an extent for the possibility.

With the possibility of commodity prices soaring, it will be easier for GMO mass produced rubbish to appear more attractive due to their prices.

 

[Mark]

About FATCA, last I knew US citizens working abroad have the same obligation to pay taxes just as they would while living inside the US. So it appears to me that on the surface, FATCA is a way to get foreign banks to help with compliance with US law. Not a great idea, granted, as it does aggravate other nations, or at least they appear to be aggravated. What's interesting is where this might lead: For example, right now there is no mandatory reporting of money transfers from bank to bank within the US unless a transaction amounts to $10K or more. My guess is that this will change quick to where all transactions would be reported, and quite possibly escalate to the point of there being no physical money whatsoever and instead it all moves to digit via implants or whatever - like another step past a VISA credit card or check card or ATM card. And the if I remember right the Cs did say something about such chips -- no chip, no food -- something like that.

And then we already have problems where companies and courts are doing the end around the basic premise that a person can't be jailed over debt. And they do that by filing a court case, supposedly issuing a summons to appear, and then subsequently jailing the person summoned for failure to appear, even when they never receive such a notice to begin with. I'd suspect that debtor prisons are on the near term horizon. So not just "hey you can't pay your debt so we're taking the money out of your account and.or confiscating your property" but " hey you can't pay your debt with money or property so you're under arrest and you will work it off for $X a day in a labor camp." I would not be surprised to see that happen, probably to the point that a person may never be released because they'd be required to pay for their own imprisonment - e.g. not much left to pay the debt after paying for-profit prison camps. Which of course means they basically become slave labor camps for all intents and purposes.

 

[Martina]

Hello!

I just wanted to ask you if you are ready for all of this? If it's just one month away.
Honestly I don't feel I am.

 

[Anthony]

Hello Martina, you can check out the following threads that might
help you with preparing. I too need to step up a bit.

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,34626.0.html

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,28712.msg360048.html#msg360048

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,21375.msg223134.html#msg223134

Also keep in mind the normallacy bias.

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,26063.0.html

 

[JGeropoulas]

About FATCA, last I knew US citizens working abroad have the same obligation to pay taxes just as they would while living inside the US. So it appears to me that on the surface, FATCA is a way to get foreign banks to help with compliance with US law. Not a great idea, granted, as it does aggravate other nations, or at least they appear to be aggravated. What's interesting is where this might lead: For example, right now there is no mandatory reporting of money transfers from bank to bank within the US unless a transaction amounts to $10K or more. My guess is that this will change quick to where all transactions would be reported, and quite possibly escalate to the point of there being no physical money whatsoever and instead it all moves to digit via implants or whatever - like another step past a VISA credit card or check card or ATM card. And the if I remember right the Cs did say something about such chips -- no chip, no food -- something like that.

And then we already have problems where companies and courts are doing the end around the basic premise that a person can't be jailed over debt. And they do that by filing a court case, supposedly issuing a summons to appear, and then subsequently jailing the person summoned for failure to appear, even when they never receive such a notice to begin with. I'd suspect that debtor prisons are on the near term horizon. So not just "hey you can't pay your debt so we're taking the money out of your account and.or confiscating your property" but " hey you can't pay your debt with money or property so you're under arrest and you will work it off for $X a day in a labor camp." I would not be surprised to see that happen, probably to the point that a person may never be released because they'd be required to pay for their own imprisonment - e.g. not much left to pay the debt after paying for-profit prison camps. Which of course means they basically become slave labor camps for all intents and purposes.

So easy--and distressing--to imagine the likelihood of this nefarious possibility. And even worse, to consider that after all their labor has been extracted from them, these debt slaves might have everything else extracted from them in some ghoulish alien "human container" processing plant!

Session 16 July 1994

Q: (L) Bob Lazar referred to the fact that aliens supposedly refer to humans as containers. What does this mean?
A: Later use.
Q: (L) Use by who? How many:
A: 94 per cent.
Q: (L) 94 per cent of what?
A: Of all population.
Q: (L) What do you mean?
A: All are containers; 94 per cent use.
Q: I don't understand.
A: Will be used. 94 percent.
Q: (L) Used for what? You mean eaten?
A: Total consumption.
Q: (L) What do you mean by consumption? Ingested?
A: Consumed for ingredients.
Q: (L) Why?
A: New race. Important. 13 years about when happens.
Q: (L) Why are humans consumed?
A: They are used for parts.
Q: (L) We don't understand. How can humans be used for parts?
A: Reprototype. Vats exist. Missing persons often go there and especially missing children.
Q: (L) Do we have any protection?
A: Some.
Q: (L) How can we protect ourselves and our children?
A: Inform them. Don't hide the truth from children.
Q: (L) How does truth protect us?
A: Awareness protects. Ignorance endangers.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

Hello Martina, you can check out the following threads that might
help you with preparing. I too need to step up a bit.

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,34626.0.html

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,28712.msg360048.html#msg360048

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,21375.msg223134.html#msg223134

Also keep in mind the normallacy bias.

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,26063.0.html

Yup, thanks. Another reminder, like a basis for preparedness (and to deal with stress in a better way too):
http://www.sott.net/article/278956-Are-you-prepping-your-diet

 

[Laura]

'Death of money': Author Rickards predicts collapse of global monetary system
http://rt.com/business/162084-dollar-collapse-monetary-system/

The collapse of the monetary system awaits the world in the near future, says financial expert James Rickards. Russia and China's desire to rid the US dollar of its global reserve currency status is an early sign of the “increasingly inevitable” crisis.

As one of the key events in support of his forecast, Rickards points to the words uttered by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 18th International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg that took place earlier this month.

“Putin said he envisions a Eurasian economic zone involving Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russia. The Russian ruble is nowhere near ready to be a global reserve currency, but it could be a regional reserve currency,” he said, as quoted by ETF Daily News.

Rickards’ book about the demise of the dollar was released in April under quite an apocalyptic name – 'The Death of Money.' However, the author is surprised that the events are unfolding much faster than he predicted.

“If anything, the tempo of events is faster than expected. Therefore, some of these catastrophic outcomes may come sooner than I wrote about.”

Last Wednesday, China and Russia signed a historic US$400 billion gas deal which will provide the world's fastest growing economy with the natural gas it needs to keep pace for the next 30 years. Experts say this could be the catalyst that dethrones the greenback as the world's reserve currency.

The best-selling author writes that the “linchpin” of the collapse is the approaching failure of the dollar since it is at the foundation of the system. Powerful countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and India do not rely on the US in their national security and would benefit from the US economy being weaker, thus desiring to break free from the dollar standard.

He elaborates that the dual collapse “looks increasingly inevitable.”

“The mistakes have already been made. The instability is already in the system. We’re just waiting for that catalyst that I call the snowflake that starts the avalanche,” he said, as quoted by ETF.

There are three big international factors that are pressuring the dollar right now – Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia.

“Since the 1970s, Saudi Arabia [has been] the leader in what’s called the petrodollar. It basically means that Saudi Arabia and, by extension, OPEC, price oil in dollars, so the world market is in dollars.

“Russia is a major natural resource exporter; they price their exports in dollars as well. But Russia now is engaged in a financial war with the US around the issues in Crimea and Ukraine.”

“China has three trillion dollars, but they are buying gold as fast as they can. China worries that the US is going to devalue the dollar through inflation so they want to have a hedge if the dollar goes down, so the gold will go up,” Rikards told RT.

The threats to the dollar are “ubiquitous,” the author states in his book. The only way the US can pay off its $17 trillion debt is with inflation, which would drive other countries away from the dollar while the accumulation of gold by Russia and China presages the shift to a new reserve asset.

“The next time we will have a liquidity crisis in the world it’s going to be bigger than the ability of central banks to deal with it. The IMF will basically have to bail out the world by printing the SDRs (an international reserve asset created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves). By that time, you will see the SDR emerge as the new global world currency,” Rickards told RT.

 

[LQB]

Yes, here's a good recent interview with him on the subject: Greg Hunter's USA Watchdog

http://www.sott.net/article/279682-Rickards-interview-on-the-death-of-money

 

[angelburst29]

According to this article by Jeff Berwick, the ground work for FATCA started about two years ago and has progressed.

Capital Controls Rolling Into High Gear Under FATCA
_http://www.activistpost.com/2014/05/capital-controls-rolling-into-high-gear.html#more

Wednesday May 28, 2014 - The traditional banking system was already bad enough, but now with banks around the world rushing to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) it is beginning to reach extreme levels. And it isn't just affecting the most financially restricted people on Earth: US citizens ... it is affecting everyone.

Take myself for example. I operate numerous businesses worldwide. I am a Canadian citizen as well as the citizen of a Caribbean country and our business operations are also operated out of a non-tax jurisdiction in the Caribbean. On top of that we hold no bank accounts, whatsoever, in the US ... instead, we have bank accounts all over the world.

Yet, in the last two months we have had our accounts or transactions frozen, denied or questioned in different jurisdictions at least ten times. And we have had countless other problems over the last two years.

Here are just a list of the most recent:

We got FATCA'ED. We received a FATCA notice from one of our banks in Eastern Europe. They told us that we must comply and contact them immediately. We contacted them and let them know that the company is not a US company and no US citizen is involved with the company nor the bank account. They told us that one of the phone numbers they had on file for us was a US number and therefore they'd have to close our account. We informed them that the number they had was a virtual Skype number, one of many we have, that forwarded to the property departments in our companies around the world. We are still dealing with this issue.

Constant Inquiries. At the same Eastern European bank a few weeks ago they demanded to see detailed contracts and information on a large number of our transactions. We are still also dealing with that.

Wires Constantly Scrutinized. At one of our bank accounts in Canada, with which I have had a 20-year relationship in good standing, they have blocked numerous recent wires and demanded to see information on who the money is going to and why. In more than one instance, when sending funds to the Middle East, we were informed that any and all wires sent to the Middle East were under heavy scrutiny causing us numerous problems.

The PayPal Monster. PayPal has frozen many of our numerous PayPal accounts that we have worldwide on an ongoing basis. This shouldn't come as news to any merchants who use use PayPal as the company is notorious for constantly freezing funds and accounts for all manner of reasons. In one instance, as part of operations in our hotel in Acapulco (Las Torres Gemelas Private Suites) they froze our account until we could show them proof of numerous very small denomination transfers. The transactions were for room rentals that had occurred weeks or months prior and PayPal would demand that we show proof that the person had stayed with us and approved the transaction. Often these were past guests who had just booked for a few nights, who we had no other relation with, that we would have to somehow try to contact afterwards and bother them to supply PayPal with their information and approval of the transaction!

No Cuba For You. In another instance, just a few weeks ago, another PayPal account we had was frozen after we paid for a flight from Havana, Cuba (ironically I had just stopped there for one night because I wanted to avoid the pain and risk of flying through the US) via PayPal because it was nearly impossible to purchase a flight to or from Cuba by any other means. Because we denoted the payment done was for a flight from "Havana" the account was frozen. The total dollar amount was for just a few hundred dollars.

No Brokerage For You. Last year, a brokerage account I use in Luxembourg threatened to close my account. When I asked why they said that the brokerage had recently been bought by a Canadian brokerage and there is a Canadian law that says that no Canadian can deal with a brokerage owned by a Canadian company outside of Canada. Luckily they accepted my Caribbean residency and therefore let the account remain open. US citizens are not so lucky. The SEC has made it so hardly any brokerage outside of the US will accept US citizens, effectively locking their accounts inside the US as a capital control.

And, we are most definitely not alone. At TDV Offshore we hear dozens of stories per week from people scrambling to find a way to have international bank accounts after their accounts have suddenly been shuttered. The great majority are US citizens who receive a notice that their accounts will be immediately closed due to FATCA. FATCA is essentially creating capital controls for US citizens on banking making it harder and harder to hold funds outside of the US.

In short, it is getting more difficult all the time to transact in the traditional banking system. And it seems to just get worse by the month. There appears to be a worldwide effort underway to make it harder and harder just to transact financially.

THE OPTIONS

Luckily there are still options for getting around many of these issues but it isn't cheap or easy ... and not about to get any easier.

Passports. For Americans the only way to really be able to internationalize your assets and get out from the unbelievably egregious US tax system is to get a foreign passport and then to renounce your US citizenship. This may seem extreme to some but it seems to us like the most rational thing to do. We foresee the US continuing to devolve, further capital controls to be erected and the US not being a place anyone will want to go for an extended period of time as it completely collapses ... so why not get yourself and your capital out while you can? The US government, as we have reported, has even gone to lengths to make it harder for US citizens to get foreign passports ... which should be a big hint as to their intentions. Just this month they have attacked probably the most arduous, respectable and legitimate "citizenship by investment" program in St. Kitts. And the US government has pressured the Dominican Republic to increase the time to get a passport from an original two years to now eight years. We foresee this continuing and by the time many do see the writing on the wall and want to get a second passport to get away from the US it will be too late. The demand will be too overwhelming and the supply will continue to dwindle which will drive the cost through the roof ... if it is even possible at all. You can contact TDV Passports for a consultation on what your current options are.

Foreign Trusts. Another option that is still available but may not be for much longer is to transfer your assets into an offshore trust thereby getting around FATCA rules and giving US citizens the ability to bank, have brokerage accounts and to do business internationally. This is not easy or simple and our FATCA experts at TDV Wealth Management have a fulltime job trying to help US citizens to internationalize their assets. Citizens of other countries may feel that they do not need to do something like this as their country does not currently have FATCA controls nor taxes them on worldwide income. We expect this door to be closed very quickly as the Western countries all devolve into the Greater Depression and as tax revenue for their governments decline.

Bullion. One of the best ways to retain your assets is to have them in hard assets like precious metals outside of the financial system and preferably geopolitically diversified to make it harder for any one government to seize. This, also, is getting harder and harder but is still possible even though it is now nearly impossible for Americans to ship gold outside of the country and have it insured as we know of no companies that will now do that for US citizens. There are many ways to international precious metals though and you can read more in the Getting Your Gold Out Of Dodge report. As well, precious metals should rise tremendously as the modern banking and financial systems collapse during The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI).

Bitcoin. Bitcoin offers not only a safehaven from the financial system and ability to transact worldwide in seconds for free and with no chance of any government or bank freezing the transfer ... but it also offers tremendous speculative upside. I believe that as more people awaken to the serious capital controls and inability to transact internationally easily that more will move to bitcoin as a way to hold their assets as well as to transfer them easily. This alone could see bitcoin go up 1,000% in the next 1-2 years in my opinion, if not more. In fact, bitcoin has surpassed Western Union and is now close to surpassing PayPal in terms of transaction volume which is no surprise to us here at The Dollar Vigilante (where we have been following bitcoin since $7 in 2011 at The Dollar Vigilante newsletter) as it is a much easier, better, faster, safer, more private and cheaper way to transact.

MASSIVE CHANGES IN THE WORLD MONETARY AND BANKING SYSTEM

The perfect storm is developing and it is all going as we have predicted over the last five years. The Western world will continue to inflate their currencies to keep the system alive as almost all governments are bankrupt. Governments will continue to make it harder to get your assets outside of the country. There will be further grabs on all manner of assets including retirement and pension funds and more bank bail-ins, like in Cyprus, as government bonds collapse and the currencies hyperinflate.

Luckily, as mentioned above, there are still options but the doors are closing at such a rapid pace now that if you haven't begun to protect yourself from the coming collapse you had better start doing it yesterday.