Roy Berg is a U.S. tax lawyer based in Calgary and has extensive experience representing Canadian residents with U.S. tax and filing obligations. He frequently contributes to the Isaac Brock forums and has recently given several educational presentations at various locations in Alberta. His firm, Moodys Tax Advisors (www.moodystax.com), recorded one of the presentations and has agreed to make it available free of charge to those who have an interest. Several Isaac Brock members have attended these presentations, the reviews of which are available on the various forums.
The following is a link to the online presentation:
US Tax and Filing for Canadian Residents
On the payment screen please enter the following code to watch it for free: MO87451
Note: You will have to enter credit card information but your receipt will show a credit for the charge, with total to you $0.00. Be sure you have entered the above code to make this happen.
As you know, the Isaac Brock Society does not endorse any service provider. However, Mr. Berg has offered this presentation in order to educate and cut through the clutter and inconsistent advice we all have found on the internet and when speaking with our own MPs.
Although focused on Canada, the presentation will provide information to those in other countries as well, just not as specific.
NOTE: Some instructions for getting to the actual presentation:
From link, choose first item — Purchase pre-recorded webinars and webcasts from the selection below or register for an upcoming live webinar.
2012 tax topics
US Tax and Filing for Canadian Residents
Pre-recorded webinar from Friday, February 24th, 2012
Learn about US tax and filing obligations for Canadian residents in this online presentation. Roy Berg, JD, LL.M. (US Tax) is the leader of the US Tax Group at Moodys LLP Tax Advisors and the law firm of Shea Nerland Calnan LLP and will present topics such as: Who has US tax and filing obligations? Who is a US citizen? What tax filings are required? What are the penalties for failing to file tax returns? How do I get caught up on my US tax filing requirements? When might I owe US tax if I am a Canadian resident? How do I renounce my US citizenship and what are the consequences to expatriation?
Click on BUY NOW
Fill in all required fields for information on REGISTRATION PAGE, including your credit card information.
Be sure to enter at PROMO CODE field: ” MO87451 ” so your charge will be $0.00 (with the Moodys Tax credit for the regular charge — which will be reflected on your receipt after you PLACE YOUR ORDER.
Next you will have to sign in with your email and the password given to you JETSLIDES Online Presentation Builder – the presentation is actually streamed from that site, rather than the Moodys Tax site.
You will get a JETSLIDES page. Click on VIEW PRESENTATION and it will load for you.
I hope that helps. Do it correctly so you don’t get a charge to your credit card.
@RoyBerg
Thanks very much! Greatly appreciated.
@calgary411, sorry but I can’t see which field in the ‘registration’ webpage (which is the checkout page with credit card fields) to enter the code into.
thank you to Roy Berg and Moody’s for this offer.
appreciatively,
brockthebadger
@ badger, @ Everyone
From link, choose first item — Purchase pre-recorded webinars and webcasts from the selection below or register for an upcoming live webinar.
2012 tax topics
US Tax and Filing for Canadian Residents
Pre-recorded webinar from Friday, February 24th, 2012
Learn about US tax and filing obligations for Canadian residents in this online presentation. Roy Berg, JD, LL.M. (US Tax) is the leader of the US Tax Group at Moodys LLP Tax Advisors and the law firm of Shea Nerland Calnan LLP and will present topics such as: Who has US tax and filing obligations? Who is a US citizen? What tax filings are required? What are the penalties for failing to file tax returns? How do I get caught up on my US tax filing requirements? When might I owe US tax if I am a Canadian resident? How do I renounce my US citizenship and what are the consequences to expatriation?
Click on BUY NOW
Fill in all required fields for information on REGISTRATION PAGE, including your credit card information.
Be sure to enter at PROMO CODE field: ” MO87451 ” so your charge will be $0.00 (with the Moodys Tax credit for the regular charge — which will be reflected on your receipt after you PLACE YOUR ORDER.
Next you will have to sign in with your email and the password given to you JETSLIDES Online Presentation Builder — the presentation is actually streamed from that site, rather than the Moodys Tax site.
You will get a JETSLIDES page. Click on VIEW PRESENTATION and it will load for you.
I hope that helps. Do it correctly so you don’t get a charge to your credit card.
Thanks, Calgary for the above link. I watched it this afternoon. Good presenter but upsetting information. As someone who truly believes that I ‘relinquished’ my U.S. citizenship 40 years ago and therefore should have no filing obligations, that is not what Mr.Berg says in the seminar. He basically says that your filing obligations cease when you formally ‘relinquish’ at the consulate. Extremely disappointing. What is the point of going to the consulate to apply for the CLN, if the IRS will come after me with penalties etc.
I agree on the point “extremely disappointing” when we were told what we were told in those days and no one gave us any “except you have to do this” and “be sure to ask for your Certificate of Loss of Nationality”. The presentation is an educational tool for us in understanding the US law. It doesn’t make it moral.
That kind of “the law is the law” goes along with the TAS Advocate 2011 Report to Congress, saying “The complexity of international tax law, combined with the administrative burden placed on these taxpayers, creates an environment where taxpayers who are trying their best to comply simply cannot. For some, this means paying more U.S. tax than is legally required, while others may be subject to steep civil and criminal penalties. For some U.S. taxpayers abroad, the tax requirements are so confusing and the compliance burden so great that they give up their U.S. citizenship.”
and, Canada’s stance is:
Finance Minister Flaherty’s letter to Shubert: http://isaacbrocksociety.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/post-re-flaherty4.pdf
(and has said Canada will not collect FBAR penalties for US persons in Canada, citizens or residents — as it stands right now.)
Lots of scare tactics. Take what he says with a barrel of salt.
For those of you who gained Canadian citizenship years ago and thereby committed an expatriating act, and are minnows, remember what S Mopsick said. to paraphrase- why would you bother filing and make the IRS’s day?
He didn’t mention that only accounts over 1 million will be intensively reviewed by your bank or investment co. For the others, if you don’t have a US address they won’t know about you. They don’t need to know where you were born. He didn’t mention that RSPs, TFSAs, RESPs, and RRIFs are probably exempt from reporting by the FFIas the regs are presently drafted.
He didn’t mention that gifts from a NRA to an American only have to be reported on form 3520 if they are over 100k.
If you don’t have a SSN, you don’t exist. Why oh why would you get one- especially if they make it difficult to obtain?
He said ‘cross the border, they can pick you up’ Sheer hyperbole.
@RoyBerg
Thanks for generous sharing.
I think the most disturbing examples of this situation are the circumstances of long-term Canadian citizens, who’s only tie to the US is a distant place of birth, and those individuals are the focus of this comment.
My understanding is that the US has no direct legal mechanism to collect tax revenues in Canada, and Canadian courts do not enforce US tax revenue claims. And based upon several statements from the Ministry of Finance and the relevant Tax Treaty provisions, CRA will not assist in collection of US taxes from Canadian citizens, unless the tax claim proceeded their date of citizenship.
3 questions:
1) Is this understanding reasonably accurate?
2) How does the US collect enforce revenue claims on US-born Canadian citizens if they have no US-based assets, income or presence?
3) Any case studies or examples of enforcement of US revenue claims in Canada from Canadian citizens with no US assets or presence?
@Chester12
Thanks for your post. After watching Mr. Berg’s webcast earlier today, I have been feeling very ‘down in the dumps’ as my late mother would have said. Your post has put a ‘brighter’ side to my evening. Should sleep better for it.
The New Yorker is a respected main stream mag. (perhaps a little too left wing for the average Tea Party member.)
From the Mar 19 issue in an article titled ‘Tax me if you can’
Page 49……. ‘The US imposes federal tax liability on the worldwide income of any foreign citizen who owns or has a permanent residence in the US and is in the country for more than 182 days……(however) … these buyers (foreigners buying US property) have little cause for concern: the I.R.S. spends few resources tracking their whereabouts, and tax experts say that there has never been a reported case in which the I.R.S. alleged that a foreign property owner overstayed the limit.’
What are the odds they will go after an impoverished Canadian fisherman hunting for Narwhales in the Beaufort Sea?
This is all confusing to me. I watched the video but still really don’t know what to do. If anyone is in Alberta and can refer me to someone please (please) give me a hand
Tea with cream More information on your situation would be useful. No more than you are comfortable with. Don’t leap into the arms of the first accountant or lawyer who comes along. They do not all have your interests first in their hearts.
@Tea with Cream,
It sounds like you are just starting your quest for information. Read, read, read here — Just Me has a lot of good advice and reminds us that it all starts with educating ourselves. There is no one answer and we all have to come to our own conclusions on how we will handle this for ourselves and our families. Please go back to old posts. There is a wealth of information and resources on this site — and the most important thing, the support you will get from others who share your plight. It is hard to find that elsewhere. Welcome to the site. We can’t tell you what to do — but we can offer lots of information for you to make your informed choices. Good luck. I’m so glad you found this site.
@ cagary411 thanks. Lots to learn. Wow
@ Chester thank you very much. Is there a way to exchange emails? I’m having trouble figuring out the forum. Arrrgh!
Tea with Cream.. I’m not comfortable giving my e-mail. Sorry about that.
Tea with Cream If you were to post on the other forumhttp://isaacbrockforum.com
I could probably send you a private message
Thanks Chester12. I’ll try;)
Hi Chester I think this works: http://isaacbrockforum.com/member.php?action=register&referrer=2180
If not I’m just lost…..:/
Tea , That link doesn’t work. Error message ‘Sorry….already registered….”