Check this out. U.S. citizens living in Canada are required to disclose their RRSPs on an FBAR. I assume that a U.S. citizen living in the United States would have to file an FBAR disclosing any “offshore IRA”. This is a rather interesting article. Assuming you believe that Mr. Romney should disclose his tax returns, shouldn’t he have an obligation to disclose any FBARs?
Does Mitt Romney have to file an #FBAR? If so, has he? blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/…
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) January 19, 2012
@Brock the Badger
Diplomats are generally exempt from host country income taxation(Canadian diplomats overseas can’t claim non resident status and thus continue to pay Canadian income tax). Children over 18 though are a different story and actually earning income outside of your diplomatic duties is a different story also. So yes at the some level they definately need Canadian bank accounts. Most diplomats at ambassador level get residences and chaffuered around etc. but I remember Jacobson in a tv interview once talking about getting in Ontario drivers license so my sense is definately a lot of people working for the US in Canada would be affected.
The US a couple of years ago passed new regulations making it harder for US banks to server foreign diplomats based in the US too which the banks responded by just closing out the accounts of anyone covered by the regulations. So what comes around goes around.
The reports I’ve seen said the accounts in the Caymans are held through trusts. I doubt he has signatory authority (a question of fact which has not been reported) and he does not seem to have sufficient financial interest in the accounts to trigger FBAR reporting requirements. Especially if he and his wife or kids are beneficiaries as well, then he does not have a greater-than-50% (note: greater-than-50% not 50%-or-greater) beneficial interest in the accounts.
From the FBAR instructions, financial interest in an account held by a trust is defined as:
Great point! I wonder how many other high profile US citizens have unreported non-US accounts.
Grrr.. too many comments.. this would be better placed in the forum.
@renounce:
“China wants it currency to become the reserve currency of the world.”
Where did you get this info from? This is the main point of contention between the US and China. China does not let their currency float freely. It’s called a dirty float. The Chinese know this. They must control their currency because they have a strong balance sheet. Because of this, everybody would buy the yuan, and the price would go to crazy high valulations and they wouldn’t be able to export anything.
Even Mitt Romeny accused China of being a currency manipulator. Well, they are, but they have to do this or else their currency would be valued at outrageous levels and they would have mass unemployment and lots of problems.
Last I read, China wanted “a basket” approach to a reserve currency.
@Petros
“China has bought a multi-billion dollar stake in the Canada’s oilsands and unconventional oil. I recently received tender for shares in Daylight Energy–all Chinese money.”
Now that’s juicy. I sent you a link to my performance so now you have to show me yours.
“To this end, I actually hope that the most hardline libertarian “I want to close every government agency possible type” gets elected.”
@Don, I think this Mitt Romney “offshore thing” was to weaken his position relative to to Obama. Personally, I’ve never voted in a US election because “the President” always the opposite of what he promises.
Let’s just renounce and forget that place!
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Just in – Romney and spouse accounts: some unreported, at least one marked ‘offshore’ http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/67919–romney-failed-to-disclose-income-from-swiss-bank
Will be interesting to see how amendments and disclosures received by IRS.
This is interesting too:
“The Romneys’ Tax Returns: Have FBARs Been Filed, Or Is Romney An OVDI “Candidate”? ” by:
Dustin M. Covello, Jonathan M. Prokup
Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin – West Conshohocken Office January 26, 2012
Previously published on January 25, 2012://www.martindale.com/banking-financial-services/article_Chamberlain-Hrdlicka-White-Williams_1425240.htm
link is: http://www.martindale.com/banking-financial-services/article_Chamberlain-Hrdlicka-White-Williams_1425240.htm
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