Two recent announcements from Washington, one from IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, and one from Pamela Mitchell, Acting Director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, appear to signal a new awareness of the realities of the overseas American population.
On June 26, Commissioner Shulman announced new procedures to take effect on September 1, 2012, to make compliance easier for delinquent overseas filers who owe little or no back taxes but who have feared severe penalties, which will now not apply to them.
And on July 2, the Pentagon announced that alongside the 2011 version of the document overseas voters use to register and request their ballots, which requires voters to swear to their “intent to return” or not, the earlier and, to many civilian voters, far more “user-friendly” version will be available on the FVAP website.
(Note that this is the version used on the dedicated FAWCO-OVF website accessed from the FAWCO home page.)
In a July 3 article in the New York Times, Brian Knowlton clearly described both announcements and their implications for the overseas American population. For both taxpayers and voters overseas, these are two definite steps forward.