I just sent this to every MP:
What is your Party’s Position on FATCA?
The Green party has released its position on FATCA.
One million voting Canadian citizens and their families and friends are waiting to hear your party’s position.
http://www.greenparty.ca/statement/2013-01-28/backgrounder-canada-and-fatca
Sincerely,
I wrote to our MP several weeks ago and have heard nothing. I wonder if they are allowed to speak without Harper’s permission!
The answer is no, they are not allowed to speak with Harper’s permission. The individual MPs are irrelevant.
Sorry, I am tired, meant to say:
The answer is no, they are not allowed to speak withOUT Harper’s permission. The individual MPs are irrelevant.
@ Joe Smith
I’ve joined your blitz. I’m one third of the way through the list and if there are any significant replies I’ll let you know on this thread. I know enough not to get my hopes up but doing something is always better than doing nothing. (The only MPs I’m not e-mailing are those in the BQ because they prefer French and I can’t oblige.)
Em, there’s Babelfish translate. 🙂 English to French.
I don’t know. It seems that the only party to care is the Green Party.
@ The_Animal
I think you’re right about the Green Party. I’ve never done a mass e-mail before so I wanted to try it. (I’m doing individual e-mails because I know the MPs don’t give any priority to cc’d form types. They also want you to be in their riding but I can’t fudge that so I don’t.) I don’t expect much of a response but the lack thereof will be telling too. It will probably be yet another lesson of what not to do for me.
I send it to Harper with a Bcc to everyone else.
I continue to get replies from my mass mailing to all Canadian MPs (except the BQs). So far 99% of the replies are the standard thank you for your e-mail, if you are a constituent please send me your mailing address and I will get back to you. However, this reply came today from an NDP MP in BC. It might be of some interest to Brockers. I sent Mr. Atamanenko a reply to show my appreciation that he obviously understands the situation and to urge him to continue doing what he can (along with other NDP MPs) to push the Canadian government in the right direction. As a side note, Mr. Atamanenko’s e-mail ended with this quote: “Courage is having the integrity to do the right thing even if it means you stand alone.”
According to my interpretation, there has not been any change in the US law. Despite many letters to our government and my recent meeting with the US Ambassador David Jacobson, along with my federal colleagues Peter Julian (NDP Finance Critic) and Hoang Mai (NDP Canada Revenue Critic), it is clear that US citizens must comply with IRS requirements and file annual US tax returns and reports on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs).
Where the Ambassador stated “the problem has been solved” and there will be no penalties if US citizens comply, the phrase “reasonable cause” keeps coming up, with its interpretation being at the discretion of the IRS as to whether penalties are assessed.
Â
However, the update does go into more detail as to what circumstances they will consider in this regard, and I am attaching it for your information. (Please also note the embedded link to the US Examining Process for FBAR, which goes into further detail).
I understand that filing annual US tax returns and reports on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs)Â can be offensive to Canadian citizens who hold dual citizenship (especially if they were not aware of their US citizenship nor this requirement.)
The other point is that, even though dual citizens file and pay income tax in Canada, they may still owe taxes in the US for such things as TFSAs or capital gains when selling the principal residence, which are not taxed in Canada but are taxed in the US.
It is my understanding that once a Canadian dual citizen is up-to-date in their filings for three years, and the IRS approves, they may renounce their US citizenship.
In my opinion it is not right for Canadian citizens or landed immigrants to disclose bank accounts or pay taxes to a foreign country from which they have no income. I will be working with our Finance Critic Peter Julian and Canada Revenue Agency Critic Hoang Mai to continue to push our government to strongly advise the US that this is not acceptable.
Sincerely,
Alex Atamanenko, MP
BC Southern Interior
I sent a copy of this to my MP John Weston. I don’t have high hopes as he never responds. I will vote NDP or green next time
I also wrote Mr. Atamanenko to thank him and make a small correction. One of course does not need the permission of the IRS to renounce.
Below is a reply I got from my own MP (after a second e-mail to request something other than a form response). It doesn’t seem to demonstrate a full understanding of FATCA and I find that worrisome. Plus that “no role or ability to intervene” is just plain scary.
I understand your comments and concerns regarding the decision by the United States to tax American Citizens living in Canada. I have received similar concerns from Canadians across the country. However, unfortunately, the Canadian Government has no role or ability to intervene. We have, however, been advised to suggest that Canadians contact a professional tax advisor to obtain assistance.
That being said, Minister Flaherty has been in contact with his US counterparts to discuss this situation and we have been persistent in raising these issues with the US government at every opportunity. Indeed, in an IRS announcement they specifically noted special provisions for Canadian savings plans. This builds on the December 2011 IRS press release which laid out the parameters the IRS will use in applying leniency for dual citizens and green card holders who have not been filing their US tax returns and/or FBAR forms.
I have copied a fact sheet below as well as an article which should provide more information as well as some helpful links for assistance. Rest assured that both Minister Flaherty and the Prime Minister are aware of the hardship this is placing on many Canadians and we are raising this issue at every possible chance with our American counterparts.
Once again, unfortunately, I am not in a position to assist however we recommend that you contact a professional tax advisor.
Sincerely,
Ted Menzies, MP
Macleod
FYI, Ted Menzies is Flaherty’s Assistant Minister and probable sucessor were he to leave. All in all I think this has been a good exercise. I was a little dissappointed that neither Menzies or Atamenko mentioned FATCA however, I do think Atamenko “gets it.” I would not necessarily be totally negative about the responses. and to be clear I am pretty closer to a hardliner on this issue. The responses we are getting from Canadian MP’s are FAR better than those many others are getting from countries as diverse as Sweden and New Zealand.
Em Menzies assistant seems to think you want help with your taxes. He has ignored FATCA. If he is your MP perhaps a follow up is warranted.
@ Tim
I didn’t know Ted Menzies could be a successor to Minister Flaherty. The responses which are actual responses that I am getting are better than the Swedish exchange posted recently on Brock at least. That was flabbergasting.
Diane Ablonczy is Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs and here was the reply I got from her Executive Assistant …
Thank you for your recent email to the Hon. Diane Ablonczy.
In regards to the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), our government is aware of this law. Negotiations are being held between Canada and the United States on an agreement to improve cross-border tax compliance. Our Government has made important progress and is nearing a conclusion on this issue to address the concerns of Canadians who hold dual citizenship. These honest, hard-working Canadians are not the real target of FATCA.
The Government of Canada continues to work with the United States on finding a solution that treats Canadians fairly and appropriately.
The Government of Canada has received input from many individuals and groups in relation to the implications of FATCA.
If you would like to offer additional comments concerning the negotiations, please send your views to:
Department of Finance
17th Floor, East Tower
140 O’Connor Street
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0G5
For further information contact:
Kevin Shoom
Business Income Tax Division
613-992-2980
For more information regarding U.S. citizenship, please visit: http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_782.html
I will share your message with Ms. Ablonczy for her information. Ms. Ablonczy does appreciate hearing the concerns and opinions that are important to her constituents.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write.
Sincerely,
Jason Ritchie
Executive Assistant
Hon. Diane Ablonczy, MP
Calgary-Nose Hill
I replied, in part: “I am aware of Minister Flaherty’s ongoing negotiations with the USA but I think you can probably understand that for Canadian residents with US connections who are aware of this situation (hundreds of thousands are not yet aware) there is almost as much stress waiting for an announcement than there is dealing with the implications of FATCA. They see a bus rolling down from Parliament Hill, destination FATCA, and wonder if they are about to be thrown under its wheels. It matters not, to those who are directly and indirectly affected by FATCA that they were not the “real target” because they are in its crosshairs as surely as those who were. They can only hope that the Government of Canada will not relegate them to the position of lesser Canadians who will not enjoy the same banking privacy as all the others.”
@ Duke of Devon
My e-mails to Ted Menzies’ office and almost 300 other MPs did not imply that I needed help with my taxes. I was merely requesting clarification on what the MP’s personal opinion on FATCA is and what his or her party’s position is. (Obviously I gave them my thoughts on the matter, in general.) The reply I got was either extrapolated to that conclusion or it was a form response to anyone who writes about FATCA.
Thanks for sharing those replies @Em. And thanks to all of you for the blitz.
And I am particularly noting this for the next federal election: “However, unfortunately, the Canadian Government has no role or ability to intervene”…
How about the desire to intervene – does the Honourable Menzies wish to? Does he approve of the FBAR and FATCA fundraiser?
How about publicly stating that the current situation is unacceptable, and simply can’t continue? How about taking the US to task publicly about their empty claims of a ‘commonsense’ method to resolve US tax and FBAR problems? How about negotiating a truly meaningful Canadian exemption – since our not-so-reciprocal (ex. the ‘savings’ clause and the ‘last in time rule’) tax treaty with the US is the most robust one they have, and Canada is not a ‘tax haven’. Is MP Menzies taking the position that Canada will simply advise all 1 million or more Canadians with the US tax shackles to just consult with a tax advisor? And then what? > 1million to all make quiet or not so quiet disclosures? To continue to be in jeopardy because of the use of a US domestic law to hammer all of us, and our offspring – by reaching over into Canada? That’s just absurd. The US reserves the right to override the treaty when it feels like it. But Canada will just stand by and let the US suck legal Canadian assets, accounting and legal fees out of Canadian families?
Strangely, the Harper Conservatives were entirely and robustly able to intervene when Eritrea acted to extort citizenship-based extraterritorial taxes from those WITHIN Canada. And they did not state that it was only the Eritrean methods that they were opposed to, or only the use to which the funds would be put. They did not claim that they supported the principle of Eritrea’s ‘sovereign’ right to tax its citizens no matter who and where – ex. inside Canada.
The response re consulting a tax advisor ignores the fact that the costs are far beyond what many can afford. Why should someone who is a citizen of Canada, or any other country, paying taxes where they were born, work and live permanently – in a non-US country, go into debt in order to assure the US of anything?How far will the Feds let this go?
They can’t change US citizenship or tax law, but they can refuse to collaborate.
@ badger
Those were my thoughts too. I’m beginning to think I rely too much on you putting them down so extraordinarily well in writing for me but yet I’m very grateful that you do it. It sounded to me like Mr. Menzies and the Canadian government have a very defeatist attitude. Who’s damn country is this anyway and why must Canada accept US dictates? I just don’t get it, unless there is a secret understanding between Canada and the USA that the North American Union is a done deal and their (USA) laws are our laws now. Maybe sovereignty is just a quaint concept like the Geneva Conventions were to Bush Jr.
@Em, I’m not sure that my wording really works, though I’m happy if they’re of some value here. I really have to shorten up what I want to write in order to get it across in e-mails. I try to head off the general obfuscation efforts by being specific, but I don’t know whether they read it, or pay attention when I work hard to provide what I think is credible source material for what I state, or when I try to get across the nuances of the situation – in order to proactively address the bs that the US uses to justify FATCA. Or to try and illustrate just how ALL Canadians are effected. Also, to try and pre-empt any claims that the US has the right to tax ‘its own citizens’ even if they are Canadians, and even if it is overreaching onto autonomous sovereign Canadian soil. It is very hard to keep up when the response is the; ‘thank you for your e-mail’ brushoff, or the seemingly erroneous ‘go ask your tax advisor’ brushoff. Calling, both the constituency office and the parliamentary might work as a followup after the e-mail, or perhaps before sending one – sometimes gets another more specific e-mail account to use – and an invite to send more information. But, also sometimes nothing.
I’m taking heart from your efforts and the responses you shared – at least those aren’t form letters.
Perhaps I’ll try your tact too: “…requesting clarification on what the MP’s personal opinion on FATCA is and what his or her party’s position is”.
Maybe shorter is sweeter.
@ badger
I think all of us have different arrows in our quivers (mine are on the short side) and we should shoot everything we have at whatever targets we feel we might have a chance of hitting. I’m concentrating on Canadian targets because I’m not American and I wouldn’t expect anything more than a who-does-she-think-she-is reaction from media or politicians south of the border.
Today I got a reply from a Liberal MP which I found as good as Mr. Atamanenko’s response from the NDP. Here it is …
I would like to thank you for taking the time to write and for sharing your concerns regarding the United States Foreign Tax Compliance Act and how it is affecting Canadians.
Liberals believe that the Government of Canada should stand up for honest hard working people who have been caught up by overly complex American tax rules. They are not tax cheats and it is past time for Stephen Harper to stand up for them.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird should be asking the United States for amnesty against penalties as the IRS’s Foreign Bank Account Reporting requirements were not adequately communicated to dual-citizens living in Canada. In addition, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty should work to amend the Canada-US Tax Treaty so that the IRS does not tax savings vehicles such as RRSPs and RESPs, and instead recognize them as the tax deferred savings vehicles that they are.
The government has almost completed negotiations with the US that would allow the Canada Revenue Agency, rather than the IRS, to collect the data from financial institutions. US officials would then have to get the information from the CRA. However, we are still concerned about Canadian banks being forced to share personal banking information with the IRS. This raises clear privacy concerns that should be addressed before these regulations take effect in 2014. We hope that the Conservative government will act to address these concerns instead of caving into American pressure as has been their past practice.
Please be assured that we have raised this issue in Question Period and will continue to press the Conservative government to do the right thing for Canadians.
Thank you again for taking the time to write.
Yours sincerely,
Hon. Carolyn Bennett, M.D., M.P.
St. Paul’s
Thanks for asking all MPs their views on FATCA, Em — and for sharing those positive responses you’ve received. Good work.
Even better. It will now be the CRA violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
@ calgary411
Only a 13% response rate so far and of those 90% do not address the question I asked: “I am quite unclear as to your personal opinion and your party’s position on FATCA. Would you please clarify this for me?” (Followed by my thoughts on FATCA.) Perhaps in the days to come there will be a few more real responses (hope so). I am doing a follow-up reply to anything which isn’t just a standard form response. I think sending the e-mails individually may have let my e-mails slip through their spam filters but I really don’t know how that works. I used the spreadsheet that Joe Smith provided.
@ Joe Smith — You might want to remove from your list: Jack Layton (sadly he passed away) and Denise Savoie (resigned for health reasons). And believe it or not Candice Hoeppner changed her name to Candice Bergen so I got a pingback on her e-mail.
ca.news.yahoo.com/ blogs/ canada-politics/ tory-backbencher-changes-her-name-candice-bergen-150256270.html
have you looked for their telephone numbers? One phone conversation is Worth 20 emails
@ Joe Smith — To clarify about Ms. Bergen, she went back to her true maiden name after her divorce to Mr. Hoeppner. She was not copying Candice Bergen, the actress.