By SAMUEL RUBENFELD Wall Street Journal From Risk & Compliance Journal

The Republican National Committee approved a resolution on Friday that called for the repeal of a law aimed at U.S. tax evaders.

The party adopted a resolution to repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, a 2010 law requiring foreign financial institutions to supply the Internal Revenue Service with information on U.S. account holders for tax purposes, or face stiff penalties. The law’s requirements take effect July 1, 2014.

Since its passage, FATCA emerged as a global standard as countries seek information on their own citizens’ offshore money. The law’s slow rollout, however, has led some to call for an extension before it takes effect.

But other critics have blasted it as overreaching in its efforts. In its resolution, the RNC slammed FATCA as “overzealous,” saying the law “forces Americans living abroad to make a horribly unfair choice” between renouncing their citizenship and abandoning overseas business.

“The Republican National Committee…urges the U.S. Congress to repeal FATCA,” the resolution says.

Resolutions “express the sentiment of the committee,” said an RNC spokeswoman in an email.

FATCA’s looming implementation has become a casus belli among those concerned with its provisions, especially over privacy issues. Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) proposed legislation in May that would repeal anti-privacy provisions of the law, saying at the time that Congress should consider “less onerous” means of enforcing tax laws.

Watchdog groups slammed the vote. “Long before FATCA, Americans who worked abroad and had assets abroad had to pay U.S. taxes. Prior to FATCA, it was a crime to evade those taxes,” said Heather Lowe, director of government affairs at the nonprofit Global Financial Integrity. “FATCA makes it easier to crack down on those tax evaders,” she said.

PHOTO: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) speaks to the press outside the White House.

For more on this story go to:

http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/01/24/republican-party-backs-fatca-repeal-resolution/