At an NDP event last night I met a fellow whose son has written this.
Do not take this as an endorsement as much as potentially useful info for those who wish to “not remain hidden.”
American citizens abroad have always had an obligation to file U.S. income tax returns. In recent years the IRS has stepped up enforcement of this obligation against U.S. citizens who live in Canada. For the first time, many American citizens in Canada who have little or no connection with the U.S., other than their citizenship, have become aware of their U.S. tax responsibilities. Filing dual tax returns can appear daunting, but need not be difficult. Most people’s tax situations are not complicated. But instead of completing their returns themselves, they pay financial professionals hundreds of dollars.
This book provides an alternative solution. This plain language guidebook helps American citizens in Canada complete and file their U.S. tax returns.
This may be one of the last remaining venues for individuals who cannot afford tax lawyers and Accountants.
I think it is a brilliant idea…that is of course depending on the content….hopefully it is not full of text that makes it hard to understand.
The web information that the IRS provides can be somewhat confusing….and
The IRS refuses to answer any tax related questions on how to fill out there forms to expats (I know, because I had a simple question regarding my final filing and was told they could not talk to me due to my status of relinquishment).
Also..I don’t know if you have been browsing some of the tax forums lately..but a friend of mine was on one of these forms (starts with an ‘S’ and has a russian flavour to it) with some tax questions that the moderator considered ‘silly’ and then called him an ‘idiot’ and that he should put ‘i am an idiot’ on every line of his tax return.
Talking to my friend, he told me that there have been numerous complaints about this individual on this forum…but most are scared to say anything as he/she is quite knowlegable (when he/she likes you) and therefore no-one want to burn any bridges. Seems the forum administrator puts up with this cyber-bullying…..so basically this forum has become useless, unless you ask a question that they like.
I am so glad to be out of the US tax system…it just seems like a bad nightmare to me!
Interesting! This is written by Dick Pound of Olympic fame (former VP of the IOC, etc).
What we really need is some industrious international lawyers to write a book which uses the international doctrines of dual nationality to show that the United States has no right under international law to tax dual citizens who are resident in the jurisdiction of their non-US nationality. It shouldn’t be too hard to do, given the rules concerning dual nationality. See http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/01/07/dominant-and-effective-nationality-and-why-it-matters/
Canadian citizens, resident in Canada, who have never paid taxes in the United States, should yawn at the United States demands. They must not believe that such laws can apply to them, as they live outside the jurisdiction of the United States and they do so as citizens of Canada, but they must understand them to be unconstitutional violations of their human rights. One should not voluntarily cede one’s rights. This is why US persons who are permanent residents in Canada must apply for citizenship as soon as they can, lest they find that they may not have full protection from the United States under Canadian and international law.
Hopefully this Guidebook explains all the rights, both US constitutional and international-universal rights, that its readers should enjoy, and explains under what circumstances that people may simply ignore the demands of the Obama administration that they file taxes in the United States. I have my doubts: cross-border specialists are going to do what they can to make folks think that they have obligations under US law, but when they are dual citizens living in Canada, they have none. US laws only apply to them when they are in the United States.
Petros wrote;
This is why US persons who are permanent residents in Canada must apply for citizenship as soon as they can, lest they find that they may not have full protection from the United States under Canadian and international law.
This statement is probably one of the most important things you will ever do to protect yourself and your finances.
I note it is 400 pages long!
@mach73
The IRS wouldn’t talk to you yet they’d be happy to take your money even though you’ve relinquished. This is appalling. I wonder if it’s the same for TAS…
These guys sent me a review copy of this book a couple of months ago, but I haven’t had the time or energy to get through it yet. They contacted me after seeing that Sun piece I did on Peter Hogg.
I was intrigued by Dick Pound’s name on it.
@bubblebustin
Yes..i am not sure if this is something new, but once you say you have relinquished/renounced they will not answer any questions regarding anything..in fact she when I asked if there was an answer to my question she advised there was, but she could not tell me due to my status…and that I would have to hire a Tax Attorney/Accountant to get move forward on my issue.
Basically i just called right back…got someone else…and didn’t tell them i was an expat!
Sounds to me like the perfect companion volume to the Renunciation Guide. Use them for a couple years then pass them on to a USC friend!
I, too, noticed the exchange on the forum that mach73 refered to. Seemed a little over the top to me as well. Perhaps a bit of past history between those two that I don’t know about? It would have been better for him to simply not reply to those queries in my opinion. I have noticed the moderator has little patience with questions that can be answered with a search of past discussions.
That said, the forum is still very useful for those trying to get compliant to properly exit the US system once and for all.
This is from the blurb promoting Richard Pound’s book.
‘Since your bank is now obliged to advise the IRS about these accounts, there is little chance of evading scrutiny.’
Fortunately this is not true so far and may never be true except for accounts over 1 million. Wonder if there are lots of mistakes or not. I won’t be buying the book.
@maz57
That exchange that you refer to is actually nothing compared to what this individual has said to others
@KalC
I traded a number of emails with Max Reed, the co-author of this guide, before he sent me the review copy. What comes through (as you see in the blurb you quoted) is that they do not believe Canada (or anyone else) has any wiggle-room on FATCA, and that US persons living in other countries have no other choice than to come into compliance before their banks rat them out.
Remember that they are trying to sell a tax guide that helps people do that. They are part of the FATCA compliance industry and stand to benefit significantly from people who accept that message. That has been the insidious nature of this entire debate — the people who are (perhaps) most knowledgeable about all this are not really advocating for you, they are advocating for the compliance network. My nemesis Roy Berg fits this profile, too, unfortunately.
That’s why IBS is a breath of fresh air. Go look at Badger’s recent comment in the “US Citizens are not reporting trusts” thread; she has brilliantly encapsulated how the authorities play the “information is power” game. They (the IRS/Treasury) have it (or more accurately, they make it up as they go along), and we don’t. And unfortunately “we” includes the Roy Bergs, the Max Reeds, and the Dick Pounds. All they can do is apply their considerable expertise to the same information vacuum that we all deal with and, importantly for them, try to make some money out of it.
Arrow We agree completely. That’s why Fred is so refreshing . Quote The best strategy was, is and appears to remain: Just ignore the idiots. ‘
Petros, I think your point about being a paper USC due to having a US parent or being a border baby or being born there to non-US parents is a valid place for people to start challenging the fact that USG simply tags and then tries to bag people who clearly aren’t citizens. If ever there was a time to challenge this arrogance, it’s now.
The USG has no right to claim the citizens of other countries as their own when their main motivation is monetary and subverting sovereignty. I just don’t understand why other countries put up with this theft.
Maybe expats just need to stage a quiet revolution, don’t file if you have no US income and if you do, file as a non-resident alien. What can they do really if millions of people took this stance?
Arrow Even if Canada signs an IGA there is very little for most in Canada to fear and certainly no reason to panic. RRSPs will be exempt. RESPs, TFSAs, and RDSPs will probably be exempt. Accounts under 50k -exempt. Accounts under 1 million- subject only to an ‘electronic search for US indicia’. IT’s really not difficult to avoid being ratted out by ones bank or FFI
@YogaGirl
Although i agree with your comments…what the IRS does best is divide and conquer…people could change everything if we all stayed on the same page…but unfortunatley that never seems to work out so well.
@KalC says
Yes, and make sure you do not cross the border…
@Joe Smith, some US homelanders get that if we start self-restricting our travel to the US, it will only hurt the US economy http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2013/05/10/wdr-border-fees-banned-by-senate.html
The American Chamber of Commerce in Canada said that several years ago, but apparently got no traction.
http://www.amchamcanada.ca/sites/default/files/docs/US%20Canada%20Economic%20Relations.pdf “The American Chamber of Commerce in Canada (AmCham) believes these expanded reporting rules pose a barrier to Canada-U.S. trade. Canadians may view these rules as an invasion of privacy and may decide to limit travel to the United States if it means they must provide their financial information to the IRS.” from http://www.amchamcanada.ca/position-papers/proposed-changes-to-irs
@KalC – ignore which idiots, the accountants or the IRS?
As to Arrow’s point I would suspect that most of the FFI’s especially the smaller ones really don’t know much more about FATCA than we do. Again at the end of day the IRS/Treasury makes this up as they go along. The only people privy to good information are the compliance industry, some of the very large FFI’s, and select foreign governments(not Canada) such as the UK who are willing to play to ball politically on this issue.
I should have also said in my previous post, but didn’t, that people like Roy Berg are lawyers and are bound to advise you to follow the law — if they tell you otherwise they are in big trouble. I guess the only distinction might be, whose law must they tell you to follow?.
Clearly a Canadian lawyer called to bar in Canada and nowhere else is not bound to advise a Canadian in Canada to follow US law. Where I suspect it gets tricky is with lawyers who are accredited to practice on both sides of the border. In fact, I wonder about the ethics of that. What does a bi-lawyer say to a client caught between conflicting laws in different jurisdictions?
WhoAmI It was Fred who said that. I suspect he meant the US altho it applies to both.
mach73, oh, I know that getting everyone to agree and get on the same page is nothing more than a dream, but, it would be nice and might actually accomplish something.
KalC, more and more I become less and less worried.