Republicans Overseas
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Republicans Overseas (RO) is a
political organization A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in polit ...
created in 2013 for United States citizens who are living outside of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. RO is recognized by the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
(RNC), and by other affiliated groups, such as
College Republicans College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is the oldest campus- ...
. It operates in the majority of countries around the world where there are large numbers of United States citizen residents. Similar to
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
s (PAC) and Super Pacs; RO is a 527 political organization that operates as a corporation with specific interests of repealing the
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a 2010 U.S. federal law requiring all non-U.S. foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to search their records for customers with indicia of a connection to the U.S., including indications in r ...
(FATCA) and of generally representing Republicans living overseas. The Republican Party does not organize a specific presidential primary for Republicans living overseas, so Republicans Overseas does not send any delegates to the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
. This is in contrast to the
Democrats Abroad Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats Abroa ...
, which runs the Democrats Abroad presidential primary.


History

Republicans Overseas was established on September 18, 2013, as a 527 political organization and incorporated as a (C4) NPO on January 1, 2014. RO has no connection to the former Republicans Abroad, though, globally, many of its chapters have migrated from it to Republicans Overseas, following the 2013 demise of its international organization. Significant events in the history of the organization include: On January 24, 2014, the RNC passed a resolution to repeal
FATCA The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a 2010 U.S. federal law requiring all non-U.S. foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to search their records for customers with indicia of a connection to the U.S., including indications in r ...
which had been authored by Republicans Overseas. On September 10, 2014, RO hosted Governor
Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...
in Beijing. In the summer of 2014, RO hosted Senator
Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019, whe ...
in London. The RNC passed a "resolution opposing OECD's global reporting standards" on January 16, 2015, authored by RO. On April 14, 2015, RO proposed a repeal of FATCA and an end to citizen-based taxation to the
Senate Finance Committee The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...
, then, on July 14, filed lawsuit ''Crawford v. U.S. Department of Treasury'' with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to repeal FATCA. On September 26, plaintiffs demonstrated outside of the U.S. Embassy in London. RO submitted a proposal to repeal FATCA and to replace CBT with (since named) Territorial Taxation for Individuals to the House Ways and Means Committee, on March 22, 2016. On April 26, 2016, Judge Thomas M. Rose dismissed the RO's FATCA lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to pursue the suit. RO Israel hosted a major rally in support of the
Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Donald Trump ran a successful campaign for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He formally announced his campaign on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City, initially battling for the Republican Party's nomination. On May 26, 20 ...
on October 26, 2016, known as the Jerusalem Forever Event. On January 6, 2017, RO submitted a proposal on Territorial Taxation for Individuals to the
House Ways and Means Committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...
. RO UK hosted an inauguration event for President Trump on January 20, 2017. On April 26, 2017, the United States Congressional Oversight Committee held hearings on "Reviewing the Unintended Consequences of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act." Senator
Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
appeared alongside Republicans Overseas' Jim Bopp and Mark Crawford as well as fellow co-plaintiffs in the FATCA lawsuit, Daniel Kuettel and Donna-Lane Nelson, to give testimony before the Committee. In the summer of 2017, RO hosted Senator
Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
in Rome. In March 2019, Marc Zell met with Mayor
Moshe Lion Moshe Lion, or Moshe Leon (, born 6 October 1961), is an Israeli politician who is currently the Mayor of Jerusalem. He previously served as a member of the Jerusalem City Council, director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, Chairman of t ...
for RO's formal proposal of holding its October annual international conference for
GOP The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the tw ...
representatives residing in 62 countries at
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. In 2023, RO launched the Worldwide Freedom Initiative (WFI), the brainchild of Solomon Yue, Kerry McQuisten, and Randy Yaloz. The first WFI Summit is scheduled to be held in Paris, France, in November 2023.


Leadership

Republican Overseas is advised by its advisory committee, and operates under a board of governors, which includes: * Bruce Ash – co-founder and chairman; Republican National Conservative Caucus chairman; Conservative Steering Committee founding member; Standing Rules Committee, member and past chairman; Arizona delegate,
2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United Sta ...
; CEO, ACW American Properties * Solomon Yue Jr. – co-founder, vice-chairman and CEO; Republican National Conservative Caucus co-founder; Republican Conservative Steering Committee co-founder; Grassfire Strategic Planning and Management Group president; vice-chairman of three PACs; member, RNC Standing Committee on Rules * Randall Pullen – treasurer; past chairman of the Arizona Republican Party; past treasurer, Arizona Housing Finance Authority; past chairman, Board of American National Radio Corporation; WageWatch Inc. president and CEO * Marc Zell – general counsel and vice president, MENA; Zell, Aron & Co. partner *
Mike Duncan Michael Duncan may refer to: * Michael Clarke Duncan Michael Clarke Duncan (December 10, 1957September 3, 2012) was an American actor. He is best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), for which he was nomina ...
– senior advisor; past RNC chairman; past RNC General Counsel; Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service chairman; past president's Commission on White House Fellows member; American Crossroads (527 Super PAC) founding chairman * Stephen J. Yates
Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of I ...
chairman; past deputy national security adviser to the vice president; presidential campaign advisor; DC International Advisory CEO * Roger Villere – board of governors, RNC national committeeman from Louisiana * Laura Nakanelua – secretary, RNC national committeewoman from Hawaii Executive team: * Solomon Yue – CEO * Kerry McQuisten – senior advisor and spokeswoman * James Gosart – worldwide executive vice president, vice president for Americas * Randy Yaloz – deputy general counsel, president of Republicans Overseas Action, Inc. * Roger Johnson – vice president for Europe * Mark Crawford – president of Republicans Overseas Foundation, vice president for legislative affairs * Tony Rodriguez – vice president for Asia * Kym Kettler-Paddock – communications director


Alumni

Ambassador Michael G. DeSombre – Worldwide President (2013–2020)


Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

Repealing
FATCA The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a 2010 U.S. federal law requiring all non-U.S. foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to search their records for customers with indicia of a connection to the U.S., including indications in r ...
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 FATCA 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 Democratic controlled Congress in 2010, lacking a single House Republican vote, and only 11 Senate Republican votes. The United States being the only country 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 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
(IRS). FATCA has faced considerable criticism, including from
Democrats Abroad Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats Abroa ...
, 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 A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...
of RO. The lawsuit
plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
s included ex- 2016 presidential candidate Senator
Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
. 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. On April 26, 2017, the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing to review the
unintended consequences In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences, more colloquially called knock-on effects) are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was po ...
of FATCA, which included testimony from Paul and Bopp, as well as Mark Crawford, Daniel Kuettel, Elise Bean and video testimony from Donna-Lane Nelson. After initially condemning the Republican Overseas challenge of FATCA, Democrats Abroad shifted its position to support the repeal of FATCA. 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 The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
(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 Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. Ash, in particular, is not only the chairman of Republicans Overseas, but also the chairman of the rules committee of the RNC.


Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad Act

The Tax Fairness for Americans Abroad Act of 2018 (TFFAAA) was introduced just prior to the closing of the 115th Congress by
Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
George Holding George Edward Bell Holding (born April 17, 1968) is an American politician, lawyer, and former federal prosecutor who is a former United States Representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district from 2017 to 2021. He previously repr ...
(R-NC). Slated to be read in 2019 by the 116th Congress; the bi-partisan bill proposes a change from citizenship-based to residency-based taxation for nonresident citizens by amending the IRS Code of 1986. Republicans Overseas has been a key supporter of the TFFAAA, hosting Congressman Holding on April 24, 2019, in the UK, at a members' informational seminar led by Holding and Solomon Yue. RO co-founder Yue is quoted as saying that "The TFFAAA will amend the Internal Revenue Code by offering overseas Americans a status similar to that enjoyed by corporations where foreign-sourced income is taxed in the country where it is earned."


Chapters

Republicans Overseas has numerous chapters worldwide.


See also

* Republicans Abroad *
Democrats Abroad Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats Abroa ...
* Republican Party *
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
* James Bopp


References


External links


Republicans OverseasRepublicans Overseas United Kingdom
{{Republican Party Republican Party (United States) organizations Organizations established in 2013 Republican voters living abroad 2013 establishments in Indiana Terre Haute, Indiana