The long arm of Uncle Sam

With the United States’ debt having surpassed 100 percent of gross domestic product, at over $15.7 trillion, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched an aggressive worldwide campaign to try and curb the deficit by bringing in tax revenues from US citizens abroad. While the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is not to go fully into effect until 2014, it has already caused waves in the international banking community and within Lebanon, as it will require all banks to essentially act as agents of the IRS by listing US citizens holding accounts. In Washington DC, a new building is under construction that will be devoted to handling FATCA files alone, given there are an estimated 117 million Americans abroad — including Green Card holders — and that the IRS assumes it may be able to repatriate upwards of $100 billion in taxes. “The US is not looking at Lebanon