HM 1047

1
House Memorial
2A memorial urging the United States Department of the
3Treasury to withdraw a proposed rule on nonresident alien
4accounts and Congress to hold certain hearings on the
5proposed rule.
6
7     WHEREAS, Florida is the gateway to the Americas and, as
8such, has promoted international trade and finance, and
9     WHEREAS, the United States has had a long policy to
10encourage nonresident aliens to deposit their funds into
11financial institutions in the United States so that these funds
12can be used to foster growth, encourage economic development,
13and create jobs in Florida and the United States, and,
14     WHEREAS, the federal law does not permit the taxation of
15the deposit account of a nonresident alien, and
16     WHEREAS, the United States Commerce Department has stated
17that foreigners have deposited nearly $3 trillion in United
18States banks and with securities brokers, and
19     WHEREAS, this policy has led to the influx of tens of
20billions of nonresident alien dollars being deposited in Florida
21banks, and
22     WHEREAS, the Treasury Department has issued proposed
23Internal Revenue Service regulation REG-146097-09 that will
24require United States and Florida financial institutions to
25report interest earned on the nonresident alien deposits so that
26this information can be reported to the nonresident alien's home
27country, and
28     WHEREAS, many nonresident alien accounts were established
29in Florida by individuals from Latin America because many
30nonresident aliens do not trust the privacy of the financial
31institutions in their home countries, fear kidnappings and
32extortion when such financial information is revealed, and are
33concerned about the viability of their home country's economy
34and thus have transferred their money to the safety and
35soundness of the United States' financial system, and
36     WHEREAS, the adoption of the rule will place United States'
37and Florida's financial institutions at a competitive
38disadvantage relative to the banks of foreign countries and will
39result in significant withdrawals of foreign deposits from our
40financial institutions, and
41     WHEREAS, the withdrawal of these nonresident alien deposits
42from Florida's financial institutions will drive job-creating
43capital out of Florida and cause a further, deepening banking
44and economic crisis in Florida and the United States, NOW,
45THEREFORE,
46
47Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
48
49     That the Legislature requests that the United States
50Treasury Department withdraw proposed Internal Revenue Service
51regulation REG-146097-09.
52     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Congress hold
53hearings to examine the negative effects of the proposed rule on
54the economies of the United States and Florida and the expense
55to financial institutions.
56     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
57dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
58President of the Senate, to the Speaker of the United States
59House of Representatives, to each member of the Florida
60delegation to the United States Congress, and to the United
61States Secretary of the Treasury.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.