US Embassy calls for American expats in Phuket to register to vote

PHUKET: Expat Americans in Phuket and the rest of the world are reminded that it is necessary to re-register for their voting rights.

In accordance with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act) it is necessary for American citizens to re-register to prevent themselves from being purged from the voter rolls in their state.

“In 2009, the Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment, or MOVE, Act to simplify the absentee registration and voting process and increase access to voting materials electronically via the internet and email,” wrote Kristin Kneedler, Deputy Spokesperson for the United States Embassy in Bangkok, in an email to the Phuket Gazette.

“We encourage Americans to use the Federal Voting Assistance Program website, which has the forms and information most overseas voters need,” she explained.

The Gazette would also like to remind US citizens that they are required to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), Treasury Department Form TD F 90-22.1, each year if they have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, financial accounts, including bank, securities or other types of financial accounts, in a foreign country, if the aggregate value of these financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year.

For 2010, the due date for filing the FBAR was Thursday, June 30, 2011, though some financial professionals will have until June 30, 2012 this year to file. With federal income tax returns, requests for an extension of time can be filed and approved in certain circumstances, but extension of filing dates for the FBAR cannot be granted.

For more information, see the US IRS website and the US Embassy website.