Sent to me from a friend:
Letter from Scotia Bank (update, I’ve removed the pdf and have included a link to Scotiabank’s nicely formatted Winter newsletter which contains the same text).
Sent to me from a friend:
Letter from Scotia Bank (update, I’ve removed the pdf and have included a link to Scotiabank’s nicely formatted Winter newsletter which contains the same text).
If anyone is looking for a place to put money which will not be subject to FATCA, try People’s Trust in Vancouver who also pay 2.1% on a chequing account.–www.peoplestrust.com
In Ontario try Alterna Savings, a credit union that was formerly called “Civil Service Co-op” but now accepts depositors who aren’t present or retired federal employees. They have no US investments, and in answer to my email query I got a reply informing me their legal advice is they don’t have to comply with FATCA (and won’t) because they have no US holdings (I’m not sure any credit unions do, under their charter I’m not even sure they’re allowed to invest or hold outside Canada but I may be wrong).
If in doubt, contact your credit unions in your area. And remember, credit unions have MEMBERS not mere depositors. You own the credit union, and you have a vote for their directors and can probably precipitate a board meeting (you may need X number of petitioners to do this, not sure, check the specifics of your credit union) where you could force a debate and a vote on FATCA compliance if it becomes an issue. Good luck trying to do that with any chartered bank in Canada! Depositors in charter banks don’t have votes, only people who own shares in the bank have votes (credit unions also have shares, one share per depositor and that’s all you’re entitled to buy) and those folks can live outside the country, not be depositors, and hold as many shares as they can afford and hence can steamroller any individual depositor or group of depositors.
Credit unions are much more democratic than are chartered banks, quite apart from FATCA, and they invest in local businesses not in dodgy morgages and overseas ponzi schemes. There are many reasons to put your money in a credit union, and those reasons apply to all Canadians not just US-born or US-parented Canadians.
Likely ditto in other countries, which I assume have similar institutions.
I haven’t had an account with a chartered bank since moving to Ottawa in 1976. Nor will I ever again, especially now that our chartered banks are so invested in the US they have little choice but to try to comply with FATCA, subject to Canadian banking and privacy laws however, which could get very interesting and messy …
@shubert I moved to Duca after becoming a Canadian. I read somewhere that the US considers shifting funds from bank to bank for the purpose of hiding it from the US government a crime. Ha!
I did this after informing my branch manager at TD that I as now an Canadian only citizen and would you be able to treat me as only Canadian. She went to legal who asked her to get the client to put the request in writing. I refused, because wilful violation of FBAR is punshed with many lashes and such a letter could have come back to bite me (or so I thought, it was before the government of Canada’s announcement that it would not collect FBAR fines). The other answer that she gave me was that TD would follow the bank act of Canada. I removed all my accounts out of TD but keep some of my debt products there (e.g., HELOC) If the US wants to pay 50% of my debt, they are welcome to do so.
FATCA is still problem despite the announcement. We still don’t know if fines under form 8938 are collectable under the Tax treaty and even if FBAR is not, there may be a loophole whereby the Yanks think they can extract their pound of flesh.
Another potential benefit to belonging to a credit union is you may get profit sharing. I do with mine in Ontario (Libro). It’s not a huge amount, but it’s a very nice touch. Last year, I was able to transfer profit sharing I have accumulated to my RRSP.
The more you have in Libro (and possibly other credit unions), the more profit sharing you receive.
I have about 30% of my investments with Libro and the rest with Canada Trust–where I have been a 35 year customer. I have told Canada Trust if they comply with FATCA, I will transfer my funds there to Libro or to my credit union at work
@ Greyowl/Petros and others
I’m very grateful for this web site, and your suggestion to contact Peoples Trust in Vancouver. Can you imagine, I’ve lived in Canada 40years, and I became a Canadian citizen 25 years ago (voluntarily and with intent to relinguish my U.S, citizenship, but because the IRS wants to make an issue of my tax obligations after all these years I have to be paranoid that my nest egg is vulnerable to being “clawed back” for an unknown amount, and my privacy is invaded (FBAR), and I’m unsure of crossing the border to see family… I still wake up thinking this is a dream.BUT, I’m fighting back by initially getting a written legal opinion (with precedents) that clearly states that I have been a Canadian Citizen for a long time, which MAY help in the cross border travel scenario. As far as my lifetime savings for me and my family…Over the next few months I will transfer my savings (mutual funds etc.) to a bona fide trust Co. or Credit union that doesn’t adhere to the upcoming FACTA-FBAR money grab…We own no property in the U.S., we haven’t applied for a U.S. passport since our Canadian citizenship, I have worked as a SR. policy employee of the Gov’t, and a consultant to the Premier of the Province of B.C., and represented Canada and BC as a quasi diplomat whilst working for the Government. I AM CANADIAN in every way possible.
Bird wrote: “I AM CANADIAN in every way possible.”
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Who you say you are is your right. You have an inalienable right to expatriate.
@Schubert1975
Thanks for the suggestion about Alterna. I was looking at their website and was contemplating moving my money there. Now that you say they will not comply with FATCA I may indeed follow through. The one drawback about credit unions though is that they don’t typically have many ATM locations, which means you have to pay a fee to withdraw funds if you are in a jam and need to use another bank’s ATM. Am I wrong?
@zucchero81
I believe if they are part of the “Exchange” network you can withdraw and deposit at other “Exchange” ATM’s for the standard rate.
@Tim
Thanks for the info! Just looked at the-exchange.ca website and they actually do have a good network of no-fee atm’s.
Get into the habit of using cash back at supermarkets and liquor stores.
The article begins with “Are you a US person?”. I think that “US Person” is my least favourite phrase ever. I read this as if I am reading a medical journal about an inherited genetic disorder, because that is exactly how I view US citizenship nowadays.
@All,
I’m just resurrecting this post, to see if anyone has any new information regarding credit unions and FATCA. I just recently moved some holdings from TD to a credit union mentioned in this post, but did not have the nerve to ask anyone there about FATCA. No question about the dreaded US birthplace was asked. At the very least, I figure it definitely can’t hurt to have a relationship with more than one financial institution.
@WhiteKat
You are now a member of the Credit Union. Your membership cannot be terminated without a special meeting of the Board of Directors. Welcome Aboard!