Formation 2013 Vice Chairman Solomon Yue | Tax ID no. 46-3677880 Chairman Bruce Ash Worldwide President Michael DeSombre | |
Republicans Overseas (RO) is a political organization, created in 2013, for Americans who are living outside the United States. RO, has no formal ties to the Republican National Committee (RNC), and no connection to Republicans Abroad. Much like political action committees and Super Pacs, it is a 527 political organization that operates as a corporation with specific interests. In this case, Republicans Overseas maintains a specific focus on repealing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
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Mission
Outside of repealing FATCA, RO's stated mission on its Facebook page is "To inspire and facilitate the 8.7 million Americans living abroad to engage in the U.S. democratic political process through elections, briefings and policy advocacy."
History
Republicans Overseas was established on September 18, 2013 as a 527 political organization.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
Repealing FATCA is the leading priority for Republicans Overseas. Supporting this focus, the RNC, during their January 2014 RNC Winter meeting, passed a resolution to repeal FATCA with overwhelming support. Additionally, in August 2014, the RNC unanimously passed a resolution supporting Residence Based Taxation, and another resolution Opposing OECD's Global FACTA Common Reporting Standards in January 2015.
RO views FATCA as violating fundamental constitutional rights of overseas U.S. citizens. The law was passed by a Democrat controlled Congress in 2010, lacking a single House Republican vote, and only 11 Senate Republican votes. The United States being the only First World nation that taxes its citizens living abroad indefinitely, many Americans are now denied banking privileges throughout the world because foreign financial institutions cannot justify enduring increased compliance costs due to new regulations, and refuse to be proxy agents for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). FATCA has faced considerable criticism, including from Democrats Abroad, the official expatriate wing of the Democratic Party. A lawsuit fighting against FATCA, Crawford v. U.S. Department of Treasury, with eight counts of constitutional violations, was filed on July 14, 2015 by Republican Overseas Action (ROA), a 501(C)(4) organization of RO. The lawsuit currently has ten plaintiffs, including ex-2016 presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul. Democrats Abroad condemned ROA's FATCA lawsuit, specifically Senator Paul and James Bopp, Jr., the lawsuit's lead attorney. The RNC released a statement supporting RO and this legal undertaking.
Although Republicans Overseas, as an organization, focuses primarily on the repeal of FATCA, some of its members, including chairman Bruce Ash and vice-chairman Solomon Yue, serve on the rules committee of the Republican National Committee (RNC). In that capacity Ash and Yue have advocated positions that go beyond the primary mission of Republicans Overseas, for example advocating for the candidacy of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Ash, in particular, is not only the chairman of Republicans Overseas, but also the chairman of the rules committee of the RNC.