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 got another e-mail response today. This one from a Lib MP, Joyce Murray. I just finished sending off a reply which incorporated WhiteKat’s list of what US tax compliance means (modified it somewhat). Ms. Murray’s e-mail did not pin down what I was hoping for — a clear statement against FATCA and a FATCA IGA. I urged her and the Liberal Party to do so and to present it in parliament very soon.
Thank you for your email regarding FATCA.
In October 2012, I personally raised this issue with David Jacobson, US Ambassador to Canada, at a small business trade meeting and he acknowledged the inappropriate impact on dual citizens in Canada.
Liberals believe the Government of Canada should stand up for honest and hard-working Canadians caught up by these overly complex American tax rules.
The IRS’ Foreign Bank Account Reporting requirements were not adequately communicated to dual-citizens living in Canada, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs should ask the United States for amnesty against penalties.
Furthermore, the Finance Minister 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 recognizes them as the tax deferred savings vehicles that they truly are.
I appreciate you taking the time to write.
Best regards,
Joyce Murray
Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra
@WhiteKat,
Now that we can’t go in and edit our own anymore, I believe that if you write a comment here, giving the date of the post, and asking for an IBS administrator to delete/edit or substitute one, they can. @calgary411 can you help?
Hi White Kat,
I take it you’d like your post from 1.51 pm this afternoon with the e-mail the mp in it to be removed, so I just did. I’ll stick it temporarily in a holding file, in case I made a mistake — that way I or another administrator can put it back up.
Hi, badger and WhiteKat,
Pacifica just beat me to it or I would try to help.
thanks oh wonderful and tireless calgary411 and pacifica!
you guys are great, and have helped so many.
…speaking for myself, badger, we are only two of many here helping each other and, most importantly those new to the site.
One of the things I so appreciate is amazing the generosity of so many that contribute here — with such great literacy and insight, including YOU!!
Thank you everyone for making Isaac Brock a viable resource and support that we could not have otherwise.
@Badger, Calgary411, Pacifica, Thanks for your help in removing my comment.
@Calgary411 Ditto your comment. This is an awesome site full of compassionate, insightful people, and a wealth of information.
@Em. I am happy you used my list as a template for your letter to the Liberal MP, and that you got a positive response. I have a feeling it was more ‘fluff fluff’, but the more we speak up, the more people will eventually really HEAR us – one person a time.
To me, our tremendous and tireless support of each other that is a reward in itself, although it would be nice to see more victories as a result of everyones efforts. I’m getting a big battle worn and could use a little something that indicates something is turning our way. How ’bout a nice big cup of “FU FATCA” from the Canadian government for a start?
@bubblebustin,
Yes, a big cup of ‘FU FATCA’ from Canada would be perfect right now.
On Blaze’s suggestion from Maple Sandbox, I am going to send that thought message out into ‘ZERO POINT ENERGY’. Hopefully I will get more of a response then I have from all my email messages.
Thanks, and you’re welcome, Badger and WhiteKat. Badger, you sure are tireless when it comes to researching and analysing articles — that’s for sure! I’m so thankful for all the information that you and all of us have been pooling together and the support we give each other here.
@ badger, calgary411, em, and others
I have not received any further emails from the conservative MP who at first seemed very interested in corresponding with me about FATCA until I made it emphatically clear what I thought about becoming compliant and about FATCA.
I wonder why that was? (said tongue in cheek). I can only surmise that he knows what a lot of us around here are expecting – which is that the deal is almost done and an IGA is forthcoming. There is nothing left for him to talk to me about – the lines in the sand have been drawn.
I’m still up to a public demonstration if anyone else is? No one ever responds when I suggest this.
Public demonstration. Count me in!
@Pacifica777
I live in Ottawa. If there are enough others in the area who are interested, perhaps we could organize something.
@ WhiteKat
I’m in! It would be useless in my small town but I can get to Calgary.
@WhiteKat, I don’t live there, but might be able to get there.
I just had a mental picture of me holding a placard on mainstreet here with FATCA emblazoned across it. The reaction would be people crossing to the other side of the street and saying FA-What? We never knew she was crazy! 🙂
…and I’m in Calgary, Em.
Public demonstration – Count me in as well. Never done one before, so, like they say, there’s a first time for everything. I’m in Vancouver.
Re public demonstrations,
Surely there will be big media when (if????) Canada caves in and signs an IGA for the US. Perhaps that would provide awareness and wake up US Persons in Canada (and elsewhere) who are asleep. We need the support of many to make demonstrations effective. Surely they don’t all want to roll over.
@ tdott
You’ll get a lot from the experience. I’ve only participated in anti-war rallies but the feeling of having like-minded people around you is … well it’s the blessing of not having to explain, just looking into the eyes of those you are with, knowing that they understand. So we’ve got Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. We really need Montreal and Halifax in this too. My only request is PLEASE don’t do this in the snow months because we get snowed in sometimes and always it seems at the most inconvenient of times.
@Calgary411,
I was thinking the same thing today – that the media attention will ramp up when an IGA is signed. Perhaps that would be the time to have public demonstrations. And perhaps we should have several of them in different major cities. We would need to take this offline, and start a list of interested people by city.
@Em,
We need LOTS of people from each of those cities, to make any demonstration noticeable. Also, one of my concerns would be anonymity. Those who have become compliant I expect will be less concerned, but those in my shoes (non-compliant) will be necessarily worried about ‘coming out’. Ski masks seem a bit extreme. 🙂
@ WhiteKat
I know anonymity is a problem but maybe “V” masks, big sunglasses, paper bags and ski masks would do the trick. My husband can drive me to the demonstration but he can’t participate until he has the security of Canadian citizenship but then again Flaherty might soon be retracting that statement too. Who knows? Look, we really have to wait to see what and when something serious happens but in the meantime keep writing and doing whatever we can until it does. If the worst happens then we take off the gloves and step up our protestations another notch. I hope Tim is right and things will get stalled — all praise the inefficiency of parliament.
given that FATCA is not known, becoming known is the biggest hurdle to overcome in a protest.
One idea I was thinking of was to have SWAT teams call into any live talk show (including cooking shows) and just begin talking about FATCA.
@ Mark Twain
I guess if a person got through to a cooking show he/she could feign confusion and say “Oh, you were talking about fat, not FATCA. So sorry.”