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Badger, I don’t think you are wrong at all about Harper trading an IGA for Keystone approval but it’s not a done thing (and maybe that’s why there has been no IGA announcement) b/c Obama has environmentalists to pretend to appease but more importantly, there is Warren Buffet. Buffet owns a railway that would stand to gain big time if XL doesn’t get built b/c bitumen would then be hauled. It’s funny b/c hauling the stuff by rail is less safe a prospect than sending it via pipeline. In any case, the US doesn’t really need our “oil” at this point b/c of the recession and the reduced demand down there. And though oil will be a factor in the future, don’t forget that Canada has freshwater that the US will also need. Water might actually be the more valuable commodity as time goes on.
The border creep is scary though. We only travel south via land crossings and we try to hit small border crossings when possible. The build up of facilities on the American side at this tiny crossings is a stark contrast to the little crossing stations on the Canadian side.
It’s interesting to me that the Liberals and the NDP don’t rake Harper more on his appeasement policy with the US given that there is a very palpable undercurrent of anti-US sentiment where overreach is concerned.
There is a long game being played that we aren’t privy to, imo.
“Water might actually be the more valuable commodity as time goes on.”
@ a
Yes, water is definitely the pickle of the future (perhaps near future). NAFTA will send Canada down the drain on that one too. The SPP or whatever they call it now (I call it the on-ramp to the NAU super highway) is very secretive and we won’t know what is being negotiated away until it hits us. We do know that only corporations are represented and that does not bode well for either national autonomy or individual freedom. The same is happening with Canada and the USA re: FATCA/IGA. The meetings are being held but mere people are not invited. The nearly hidden invite for our input was probably just a gesture but I guess we can hope that someone of significance read some of what we submitted.
photo 2 of 15, you see Barry with his right hand man of the Band of Merry Men, where Timmy is saying: “I have a new idea for screwing US Citizens, here it is”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/january-2013-photo-daycheck-out-white-house-photo-offices-picks-photo-
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/12840
Here, you can see the frequency of visits by US treasury dept to the mid east. FATCA will be top on their discussion list, where Lebanon will be collating the data of US Citizens, which will be use for…..?
http://genevalunch.com/2012/01/23/fbar-assumptions-add-to-media-muddle-over-hildebrand-story/
…………”Little that is clear in morass of US filing obligations: Kashya Hildebrand not alone”
The article, like those earlier in Handelzeitung, Insideparadeplatz
and Sonntagszeitung, confuses Americans’ tax obligations and financial
reporting requirements: the Fbar requirement to announce the highest
amount during a given year in all financial accounts to the Treasury
Department is the result of anti-terrorism legislation and may have
little or no impact on taxes owed.
The Lake Geneva region
newspaper states without any clear proof that Hildebrand has not filed
her Fbar forms for past years, unlike “many American citizens”, an
assumption that flies against information circulating in the US overseas
community. The US tax arm, the IRS, enforces the Fbar requirement,
which is not filed with tax forms but separately. The IRS was given the
task because compliance was so low, 20 percent in 2003. The figure may
be rising due to hefty fines and more publicity, much of it negative
within the American community abroad,
where there is confusion over complex and changing rules, and strong
opposition to the heavy reporting requirements and what are seen as
disproportionate fines.
If Kashya Hildebrand has indeed not yet
filed Fbar forms that are due, or if she is in arrears on US tax
payments, only she and her husband are privy since even her US tax
consultant is not obliged to be up to date on this. If this is the case,
she is not alone.”…………..
I liked the next part in that article too, badger. Seems like there is one very black domestic pot calling the overseas kettles black.
@Em, yes, but apparently that means nothing to the US IRS and Treasury hypocrites. There are all the various federal agencies which won’t pay up either (but instead, they come looking to extort money from us outside the US – who have already paid taxes in full to the country where we live):
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/534/3056626/Federal-agencies-owe-14-million-in-unpaid-taxes
Federal agencies owe $14 million in unpaid taxes
…”the IRS said it is “committed” to collecting the billions in
employment tax deposits agencies are required to withhold and pay each
year and cited the “substantial progress” it has made over the past
several years.
In 2005, the amount of delinquent employment tax deposits owed by
agencies topped $406 million, the IRS said, which has since dropped by
nearly 97 percent to its current $14 million level.
“Despite a number of complexities, the IRS is working to continue to make progress in this area,” the agency said.
The list detailing which agencies owe back taxes and how much each owes
was redacted from the audit report. TIGTA spokeswoman Karen Kraushaar
said by law,
no taxpayer’s return information, including taxes owed or delinquent,
can be disclosed. That law applies to governments as well as individuals
and corporations.
The audit found that 18 agencies also failed to file or were late in
filing their tax returns. Agencies owe $2.6 million worth of taxes
dating back more than three years. The IRS stopped trying to collect
$2.4 million worth of those oldest cases, according to the report“….
….”
The IRS cannot charge the federal government interest or penalties for
not paying taxes like it can private taxpayers or businesses. Nor can
the IRS place a lien or confiscate government property to enforce tax
laws.
Instead, the IRS relies on its Federal, State, and Local Government
Office to educate agencies and encourage them to pay their taxes in full
and on time.“….
Further to the Federal Employees in arrears which you refer to, the breakdown by department is very ironic too:
See also detailed breakdown of federal employees who have not paid their US taxes, including the Treasury Department – which has one of the highest outstanding arrears;
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=&sid=2720349
Delinquent: Feds, military owe $3.4B in unpaid taxes
@ badger
I wonder why there is such a high number for taxes owed in the US Postal Service? Could it have something to do with the agency being forced to prefund health benefits for future retirees (demanded of no other company or government agency)? Is the USPS not passing along the payroll taxes it withholds from its employees because it hasn’t got enough money to operate?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/opinion/nocera-its-d-day-for-the-post-office.html?_r=0
@Em, don’t know why re the Postal service. Only know that the US should be looking where all those taxes are uncollected inside the US before laying claim to the loose change under my Canadian sofa cushions.
It is quite likely that the media will be Calling to the Mayor of Tina Turner’s hometown.
It might be smart to let her know why people renunciate
MAYOR
http://www.haywoodcountybrownsville.com/Contacts.aspx
Jo Matherne, Mayor
111 N. Washington Avenue
Brownsville, TN 38012
731-772-1212
E-mail: jmatherne@brownsvilletn.gov
More Time Allowed For Some FBAR Filers
I added a comment which I see Robert called out.
@Just Me, can’t see why the comment was called out. For being truthful and rational? You are temperate – so what is the nature of the yardstick being applied?
@Badger…
At Forbes, ‘Called Out’ just means that the Author has read what you said and either wants to comment back, which Robert often does, or just thinks it should have wider visibility across all the Forbes produces, and not just remain hidden away under a collapsed + sign.
That is better than most other comments sections on other periodicals where you have NO IDEA if the author saw it or read it.
So, it is better if it is called out, than not called on, is the only point of it. I have enough of them that don’t get called out… LOL
IF there are any Norwegians on here they ought to know about this
The U.S. Embassy is hosting a free Tax Seminar on January 31! Contact osloamcit@state.gov for more information and to sign up! Personal note: This is apparently by sign-up only. There are some tax changes in the works that you will want to know about. Norway and the State are about to sign a financial information agreement under which Norway will inform the U.S. of your financial accounts in Norway and the U.S. will inform the Norwegian tax authorities about the financial accounts of Norwegians in the U.S. the meeting is in Oslo
Perhaps the invite list can be used to record who is non-willful and who is will-ful.
The U.S. Embassy will host a Tax Seminar at the American Lutheran
Congregation on Thursday, January 31,
2013 from 6:30 -8:30pm.
IRS Tax Attaché Lynn Marsland from the Internal Revenue Service
Office at the U.S. Embassy in London will be the guest speaker and will present
information on tax issues for U.S. citizens overseas. After the
presentation, there will be a question and answer session.
If you are interested in attending the Tax Seminar, please contact
the U.S. Citizen Services section by e-mail at osloamcit@state.gov. Please bring you passport for
identification to the Seminar.
Address
for the U.S. Tax Seminar:
American Lutheran Congregation
Fritznersgate 15
0264 Oslo
Please contact us at osloamcit@state.gov if you have any questions.
Thank you,
U.S. Embassy
U.S Citizen Services
Henrik Ibsens gt. 48
0244 Oslo, Norway
Website: http://www.norway.usembassy.gov
I found this interesting article in the January 2, 2013 National post pg FP5
Comment: Beware CRA’s Formidible Audit Powers by Vern Krishna
executive director of the CGA Tax Research Centerat the University of Ottawa
I was unable to download the article but here are the ? NB paragraphs.
The article starts out:
“The Canada Revenue Agency has virtually unlimited powers to audit taxpayers, inspect and seize any document or thing and demand information that afford evidence as to the commission of an offence under the Income tax Act.
Except for requiring a search warrant approved by a federal court judge to enter a dwelling house, the CRA’s audit powers are formidible. The items to be searched and seized do not have to be described with specific particularity in the application of the warrant…….
The Charter of Rights and freedoms provides only minimal protection against the use of tainted evidence obtained thru an improper or unreasonable seizure of tax documents.
The minister can also demand from any person information for the purpose of administering the tax act , tax treaty with another country or an information exchange agreement.”
Since Canada hasa tax treaty with the USA and may be in the process of signing the IGA I wonder if this can be applied for FATCA and FUBAR penalities etc.?
the article further goes on to mention:
“To be sure the charter protects against unreasonable seizures, but the protection is not absolute. The ubnderlying value that the charter protects is the taxpayers interest in privacy. The test for “reasonable” search and seizure is fluid and depends on the type of intrusion into the taxpayers privacy. (for example demand for information vs physical seizure of documents.) the type of taxpayer individual vs corporate, ;location where the the seizure is executed (for example business vs personal residence) and the context (for example criminal vs regulatory,/administrative) ”
This article makes me wonder if that is the reason why the CRA may be responsible for sending info to the US????
Isn’t Obamacare penalty-that-is-a-tax a parallel system to FATCA?
As I understand, Health care agencies report who is paying their Insurance bills to a central box (Treausry?). They look through the list and see who is missing. In parallel, people declare whether they have or have not purchased Insurance. Treasury collates a list of missing persons, and assesses them penalties, and then the burden of proof goes to the individual to prove that he is not evading the purchase of Health care, on top of that there indeed ought to be a draconian penalty for falsely reporting. Is this Close to how it will work?
@Mark…I’m sure it’s the usual “Under penalties of perjury, I declare….” when you have to declare each year will be in effect. They could nail you for lying, but supposedly, the extent of collections is withholding your refund to pay the penalty…they aren’t supposed to audit or send to collections obamacare penalties.
In theory, people could just do a dance by reporting too many exemptions on their W4 (but within 90% of their annual income to avoid penalties), and make sure never to overpay thus having to pay a little bit of tax April 15 and avoiding the IRS seizing refunds for non-payment of obamacare.
But, the main database is indeed the one that comes from the Healthcare agencies. The person must prove something otherwise?
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/irs-cheapest-obamacare-plan-will-be-20000-family
The Green Party might be the only international party
Can anyone persuade the Green Party to ask its international cousins to stand with them?
Starting with Sweden. (Miljopartiet de Grona)
David.Nilsson@mp.se
http://www.mp.se/kontakt
It this new?–“No penalty will be asserted if the IRS determines that the late filings were due to reasonable cause”
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/FAQs-Regarding-Report-of-Foreign-Bank-and-Financial-Accounts-(FBAR)—Filing-Requirements
Q. What happens if an account holder is required to file an FBAR and fails to do so?
A. Failure to file an FBAR when required to do so may potentially result in civil penalties, criminal penalties or both. If you learn you were required to file FBARs for earlier years, you should file the delinquent FBAR reports and attach a statement explaining why the reports are filed late. No penalty will be asserted if the IRS determines that the late filings were due to reasonable cause
@Mark Twain…
No, not really new. It is the old discussion about what constitutes “reasonable cause” You declare, and they decide.
Here is a letter you can copy paste, and send to a chosen radio station–state run or private, in your country. Change my country to your country. Consider if you need to translate. Hit send. Follow up by phone.
Illegal US law soon to be adopted upon Swedish Citizens in Sweden
Here is a 2:48 minute production that could be copied by your channel. Simply interview the right people in Swedish (replace “Canadian”). You could do it in English or Swedish.
There are about 100,000 Swedish people living in Sweden who are effected by a stupid US law, that demands information about them shall be collected by all Swedish banks (expensive to SEB, Nordea, Swedbank, etc). The private financial information of Swedish persons will be sent from Sweden to USA. In USA, penalties will be assessed to Swedish people, living in Sweden, who are so unfortunate as to have once had contacts with USA.
Sweden is now in negotations for the Swedish government to help.
Very soon, there will be an agreement between the administrative portion of Sweden (likely without RIksdag approval), to send Swedish citizen data (Swedes living in Sweden) to USA, with the help of Swedish government
http://www.swedishbankers.se/web/bf.nsf/$all/87D71CF8A96F41D7C1257AD80035D35E?OpenDocument
On the USA side, the agreement is with the US Treasury.
http://apps.irs.gov/app/scripts/exit.jsp?dest=http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1759.aspx
http://apps.irs.gov/app/scripts/exit.jsp?dest=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/treaties/Documents/FATCA-Model-2-Agreement-to-Implement-11-14-2012.pdf
. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/us/politics/panel-chairman-criticizes-gop-request-on-hagel-financial-data.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130209
“I am doubtful that, as mere adviser to these companies, Senator Hagel has either access to the corporate financial information that is sought in the February 6 letter or the authority to release such information if he were able to get access to it,” Senator Levin wrote.
Carl Lenin has never had any problem forcing any of the 7 million to release their company’s private financial data (the last section of the FBAR)
Subject: IRS collection in Canada without CRA collaboration
This seemed like the best thread to post this question. I’m not really worried about this personnally, but I am curious.
In the case of Canadian citizens, we have assurance that the CRA will not collect against them for liabilities claimed by IRS after they became citizens.
The question arises however whether the IRS would have standing before a Canadian civil court to sue for collection of a debt. It seems I saw something in IBS concerning this but I am not sure.
This might cross the mind of people wo have substantial assets.