UPDATE 2: This post has been upgraded to a press release at newswire.ca and digitjournal.com. Thanks go to Jim Jatras.
UPDATE: Jim Jatras has provided an revised Word Version of the text below for mass distribution.
The following is a message from Jim Jatras:
Friends
Please review that following and submit comments. I hope it’s more or less self-explanatory.
As indicated in a previous comment, it’s in effect a kind of ad or statement inviting people to contact Harper, Flaherty, MPs and oppose FATCA/IGA. Ideally, it’s the kind of thing that would be posted online or even in print publications as an ad, if there were money for that. (If Canadian industry weren’t spending money trying to get the “best deal possible” from the Americans under an IGA instead of fighting.) Certainly individual comment letters to the Finance Department should be sent, but let’s not kid ourselves they will pay much attention them. What we need is a groundswell of outraged Canadians to contact Harper, Flaherty, and MPs as soon as possible with a simple message: NO!
I realize that it’s always risky to hang a draft out where anyone can take a whack at it, but feel free. Also, any ideas on where and how it can be posted and distributed are welcome.
BTW, this is the kind of thing that routinely gets placed in DC in publications like Politico, The Hill, Roll Call, and other pubs aimed at Congress. Picture a similar message aimed at Congress but making an American argument against FATCA, as this makes a Canadian one. That’s how we get things done – if we had someone with money and willing to fight.
Best
Jim
Call or email Stephen Harper, Jim Flaherty, and Your MP Today!
Call or email Stephen Harper, Jim Flaherty, and Your MP Today!
STOP an Impending Massive Handover of Canadian Sovereignty to the United States!
Tell the Government: Canada Must Say NO
to the United States on ‘FATCA’
Recently the Department of Finance invited comments on what was characterized as “an agreement to improve cross-border tax compliance through . . . the provisions enacted by the United States commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).” This eleventh-hour invitation came as sources in both Ottawa and Washington announced that they were close to finalizing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would, in effect, deputize the Canadian government to enforce this American law in Canada.
The Department’s invitation is to “persons whose interests are affected by the provisions of FATCA” but does not spell out that each and every Canadian citizen would suffer from FATCA and from an IGA to implement it:
Canadian citizens have an interest in preserving Canada’s sovereignty against US encroachment. However it is disguised, FATCA is a unilateral U.S. initiative. The U.S. didn’t negotiate a global tax scheme with Canada and other countries but instead enacted an unprecedented extraterritorial law and demands that Canada comply and bear the costs. An IGA simply puts a Canadian glove on the hand enforcing American law.
Canadian taxpayers have an interest in a tax policy that benefits Canada’s needs, not America’s. Sold under the guise of “reciprocity” and “partnership,” an IGA in reality would be a costly one-way street imposed by the U.S. Given the differences between the two countries’ tax systems, FATCA would accelerate a zero-sum game that siphons wealth from Canada and robs the Canadian treasury.
Canadian consumers have an interest in avoiding foreign schemes that impose costly non-economic regulations on Canadian firms (banks, insurance companies, pension funds, stock and investment companies) – who will then pass those costs on to consumers. With or without an IGA, FATCA’s costs will be in the billions of dollars (for example, one major bank alone would pay an estimated $100 million in FATCA compliance!) These costs would be non-productive as regards the Canadian economy and a waste of human and material resources. Imposing these costs on Canadians supposedly is justified by the unproven hope that FATCA may trip up American “tax cheats,” even though FATCA does little specifically to catch such people.
Canadians as human beings have an interest in ensuring their rights are protected under sovereign Canadian law. FATCA demands extraordinary disclosure of private information of U.S. citizens in Canada in violation of Canadian laws, such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, whose application Canada would be forced to alter under an IGA. Many of these resident Americans are Canadian dual citizens who would be denied protection of Canada’s laws to appease the U.S. Once it’s established a foreign government can demand abrogation of such rights, even of Canadian citizens, where’s the limit?
So why is the Government considering an IGA with the United States? Because of the very real fear that Washington otherwise would unilaterally impose FATCA on Canada at ruinous cost, especially a 30% withholding penalty on Canadian firms’ U.S.-derived revenue. Simply put, this is a threat of U.S. economic sanctions against Canada.
Finance Minister Flaherty and industry leaders publicly have talked a good fight on FATCA while in private negotiating Canada’s capitulation under an IGA. Canadians must not let that happen! Instead:
Contact Prime Minister Harper and tell him No on FATCA, and No on an IGA with Washington!
Contact Minister Flaherty and tell him No on FATCA, and No on an IGA with Washington!
Contact your Senators and MPs and tell them No on FATCA, and No on an IGA with Washington!
Get the FATCA facts! Find more information at [Isaac Brock Society and Repeal FATCA]
“FATCA demands extraordinary disclosure of private information of ”any Canadian citizen or permanent resident deemed by the IRS to be a US taxpayer.”
Thanks, Jim, you restated in better English what I meant.
Even though it’s wrong from a sovereignty point of view, an agreement where the foreign country withholds the tax owed, and sends it in agregrate to the US at least does not violate privacy laws and ensure Canadians that they’re not going to deal with a Foreign Government and live with the fear that the IRS is going to go after them with huge fines. No names given, no fear of crossing the border, etc. But it seems that most foreign governments are ready to give up their sovereignty to prevent damage to their financial system. They should have stood up against the 30% withdrawal “incentive” and call it what it is: coercion.
I would much prefer to see foreign governments just stand united against FATCA and agree to a better cooperation on the tax agreements already in place. I hope the feedback sent will be taken into account.
I’ve lost track now, but liked this version by bubblebustin – with the insertion of the word ‘Canadian’ before resident – just to underscore the salience of ‘Canadian‘ in both the categories – citizens AND permanent residents. And I also swapped ‘claimed’ for ‘deemed’, and added ‘on Canadian sovereign soil’:
““FATCA demands extraordinary disclosure of the private information of ”any Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents claimed as US taxpayers by the IRS, on Canadian sovereign soil, in violation of Canadian laws”.”
@badger
I knew I could hear you thinking.
How did you like my referring to citizens and residents in the singular?
““FATCA demands extraordinary disclosure of the private information of any Canadian citizen and Canadian permanent resident claimed to be a US taxpayer by the IRS, on sovereign Canadian soil and in violation of Canadian laws.”
This refers to citizens and residents more as individuals, but en masse may be better, don’t know.
@IBS
I see Petros has posted link to handbill format:
UPDATE: Jim Jatras has provided an revised Word Version of the text below for mass distribution.
[fixed]
This gives the attribution to at the bottom to IBS, not Repeal FATCA. I have no problem with that. Question: Can we use the same IBS attribution for issuance of the press release? Or would that be a problem for IBS?
Sorry, I posted that last evening. I may have jumped the gun. If so, my apologies and feel free to remove, or let me know and I’ll remove it.
(As I recall, the copy I had just had blank after for more info, so I put in Isaac Brock Society.ca)
@pacifica777
I think we all got pretty excited and felt compelled to get started.
Hopefully without cousing offense (and in appreciating enthusiasm) I think the version I sent Petros to post is a little more visual and the wording also reflects some of the comments today re Canadian citizens, etc.
But I do need a response on attribution in a press release. Any objections about IBS as the source?
@Jim
I think it would be great to have IBS attributed as the source. We’re a grassroots movement of everyday people. Isaac Brock is a national hero in Canada. We chose our name, in fact, because we are inspired by Isaac’s Brock leadership in successfully preventing US invasion of Canada in 1812. And we want more and more people to find out about our our website so they can come here for information and moral support.
PS. When I realised this morning that the handbill was still only in draft form, I put off my lit-dropping blitz til tomorrow. I’ll be putting them in the coffee shops around Parliament/govt office buildings and other targetted Ottawa locations.
Should be out on the wires shortly! Watch this space!
Hi Jim, I fixed the link with the Word file that you sent me. Is this right?
@Petros
It is. Looks good!
For email use the copy shortcut is
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Canada-appeal-.211.doc
@Petros…
Are you going to list that on the Press Release box on the Front home Page? Think it would be good along with the other one.
thnx
OK, it’s out on Canada newswire:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1071319/stop-an-impending-massive-handover-of-canadian-sovereignty-to-the-united-states-says-isaac-brock-society
Let’s cross our fingers and hope for decent pickup! Please send the above link to websites, media, bloggers, and ask them to post it.
Also:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/928803
@jim
sorry, one typo:
…Canadian laws such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, whose application Canada would be forced to alter under an IGA. Many of the people who rights would be abrogated…
Many of the people whose rights…
Well done. What an excellent piece. It is very concise and lays out all of the important facts.
Don’t know how to fix the typo now. Given it’s been read dozens of times and not noticed til now — good eye, bubblebustin! — maybe no one else will on first read.
@jim
sorry i didn’t notice til now 🙁
Outstanding job, thank you sooooo much. You were delivered to us at just the right time. Maybe someone is looking out for us (cross fingers).
Thanks for this, Jim!
I cut and pasted the relevant parts (cut the centred header, except for my transmittal to my MP) and replaced the bottom bits with my own wording saying “NO do not sign this” or “do what you can to stop this, please, Paul” (Dewar my MP). I sent emails to my MP, to Flaherty, and to Harper. For whatever good the latter two will do … But the more of us who flood them, even with a boiler-plate message, the better.
I’ve also send numerous emails to my MP, to Flaherty, and to the PM on this and related taxation issues over the past few months, so they do get more than boiler-plate from me. I urge others to craft their own messages from their personal perspectives IN ADDITION TO or as an add-on edit to this message.
And it doesn’t even directly affect me, as my wife and I both have CLNs and can sue the socks off either the banks or our govt if they give an iota of personal information to the US about us.
Every dual citizen concerned about this (and we’re not duals and never have been for even one day, by State Department certification) should get on the bandwagon and blitz them with the message. Don’t rely on others to do your fighting for you, that isn’t going to work!
@schubert1975
Good work. The important thing in politics is getting lots of message. Generally less important than detailed, well-reasoned arguments are numbers, so the MP’s staff will tell him/her “our consitituent messages are running 70% (or whatever) against FATCA.
That’s why it’s important that other media, websites, bloggers, etc., pick it up. Sending them this link ( http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/928803 ) with a simple request to post it is probably the best way. So then the more people who see it, the more that will hopefully call or email, as in http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/11/12/when-you-cant-make-them-see-the-light-make-them-feel-the-heat/ .
I’ll be mailing another cheque for Brock expenses to you tomorrow (same amount as the last one). I certainly don’t have pockets deep enough for Jim Jatras — matter of fact, mine are as likely as not to have moth holes. I really hope he can find substantial backing for an effective FATCA repeal campaign though. The financial institutions should know this lobby would be well worth a try and for them it would be a mere pittance spent with the potential of saving them millions in set-up expenses if he is successful. In the meantime this anti-IGA appeal is a terrific idea. I really appreciate Jim Jatra’s initiative on this and all the Brock enthusiasm to back him up. I’ll do my bit to help too.
Thanks Jim!
FATCA Handbill
If anyone wants to distribute handbills, I’ve made a Word document of it available here. I have updated my post of last night. It also now links to the revised version.
(Made one change to the hard-copy document for practical purposes. Can’t use links, so wrote out the urls. (Isaac Brock Society to IsaacBrockSociety.ca. and Repeal FATCA to RepealFATCA.com)
@Em, thanks for your support. True, I really do hope that Jim can raise the big bucks to fight this thing. It is exactly as you say, a little money paying lobbyists would probably keep this nightmare from being implemented. In any case, now we owe Jim for paying for this press release. 🙂