FATCA Details Slowly Emerging
Gary Rogers, Vice President, Financial Policy, Credit Union Central of Canada
This highlights the need to keep pressure on Canadian government.
FATCA Details Slowly Emerging
Gary Rogers, Vice President, Financial Policy, Credit Union Central of Canada
This highlights the need to keep pressure on Canadian government.
In every country, the bank association knows more than the human beings know. We know what governments are for.
Just a harsh reminder that the FATCA monster is still there and moving to compel Canadian compliance. The class action and other lawsuits should be prepared now and ready to be filed to get these issued before Canadian courts. Whatever IBS can do to prepare/mobilze should be done now.
I wonder if this presages a delay in FATCA implementation.
The UK IGA stipulates that account information on all relevant accounts is to be collected beginning 1 Jan 2013 and and that 2013 and 2014 data are to be reported no later than March 2015.
This document speculates that a Canadian IGA will say that Canadian accounts > $1 million will not be reported on for 2013 but will beginning 2014. It further speculates that accounts > $50,000, will not be reported on for 2013 or 2014 but will beginning 2015. I presume the US will have to offer this to all other IGA countries because of “most favoured nation” clauses contained in IGAs.
I’m sure Treasury was putting immense pressure on “FATCA partner” countries to get IGAs signed before the FFI registration deadline in September (not sure?). It’s going to be difficult to force the rest of the world to the bargaining table if they think the timelines have just slipped by 1-2 years.
in Europé, things slow down during June for Scandinavian vacations in July and Southern European vacations during August. Europé doesn’t pick up up til September.
Sophie’s meeting in EU parliament is May 28——Little can happen through the summer.
“Credit unions with assets less than $175 million will be exempt, but only if their websites do not permit account opening. We are disputing this website limitation.”
WOW, the callousness of putting such a restriction on a business, but then again, FATCA itself is a manifestation of one nation’s unadulterated arrogance and selfishness that knows no bounds. Once the line to tyranny has been crossed, mercy becomes abstract.
There are a couple of encouraging notes in this newsletter:
1. Credit Unions are still using “strongly opposed” in their rhetoric — I know it’s hard for the tail to wag the dog but that phrase is much better than “abjectly resigned.” I wonder if they’ll get to the point where they’ll balk — remember that Canadian credit unions belong to the World Council which, along with the US credit unions, has taken a very strong stance against FATCA. Keep your fingers crossed.
2. Constitutional issues are still on the table and may be holding up an IGA. That’s encouraging too.
When you combine this with the Rand Paul bills designed to get rid of FATCA, there’s a glimmer at least. My suspicion is that the anti-FATCA stuff will fail, but Congress will put the kibosh on any kind of reciprocity. Do as I say, not as I do — that’s their motto. Hopefully that will be the beginning of the end of FATCA.
Note the date on this is March 15th. What’s going on now in the US with Rand Paul & US Credit Unions may give the Canadian perspective a boost.
@bubblebustin- FATCA is the most egregious piece of legislation to ever be birthed by the U.S. government. FATCA unilaterally allows the U.S. to unilaterally determine the shape of the financial systems of other nations. This is compared to national governments being able to write the laws for their own financial industry and determine the charters of their corporations. FATCA also overrides the influence of consumer choice and industry competitiveness, all of which are free market dictums that the U.S. is SUPPOSE to cherish and promulgate.
For the U.S. to dictate to a none domiciled U.S. business the terms under which it can use the Internet to market its services is pure arrogance.
In the end FATCA will be the greatest regulatory burden that the world’s economy will have to carry and will needlessly divert both intellectual and financial resources away from growing world GDP while funnelling those resources to politicians, accountants and lawyers.
yeah, but the Europeans are crawling all over the opportunity to join in. Obifart & Levin just beat them to the punch.
More ‘bad news’ Singapore has reportedly announced today that it will sign a Model I IGA as reported in the Star Online in Malaysia today. The hope was that Singapore would wait to see what China and HK will do. Apparently, the pressure was too much for Singapore, although the article also says Singapore will also insist on reciprocity. As Singapore falls so now will Malaysia and other countries in SE Asia under threat from the Empire.
This is update from the credit union central of Canada is a month old, but I don’t recall seeing it referenced before at IBS: http://www.cucentral.ca/Connections/FATCA%20Anxiety%20Increasing%20FINAL.pdf
@Whitekat, “SOME” FATCA requirements will now happen in Canada? Decision has been made?
“However, Canadian government officials are telling us that expectations of delays are unrealistic and some FATCA requirements will be effective January 1, 2014.”
@IRSCompliant,
It sounds like the Canadian government thinks FATCA is inevitable, and that an IGA will be signed soon, but is working to maximize exclusions,
I guess those class action suits will be coming soon, unless the CG can convince USA to exclude non-US residents as Peter Hogg suggested – maybe this is the hold up we’ve been hearing about.
Does the CG really think that any exclusion from FATCA reporting requirements other than the exclusion of NON-USA residents, will be enough to avoid class action law suits?
If so, it has sorely underestimated the anger of 100’s of thousands of so-called ‘US persons’ (aka USA deemed slaves) and their families (who are also slaves by default).
Bring it on Harper and company. We are waiting impatiently.
Re: the most recent update from the Central Credit Union of Canada on May 14 (which perhaps should have a separate post as I suspect a lot of people at IBS are not aware of it) ,
can anyone hazard a guess as to what ‘moderate levels of reporting’ entails re: “Moderate levels of reporting will be required if assets exceed $175 million, if at least 98 per cent of
accounts (dollars, not by number) are held by residents of Canada. These credit unions will have
to register as FATCA compliant and undertake some reporting” ?
WhiteKat,
FATCA (if not straight to GATCA) will likely affect most Canadian credit unions at some level. As I read this, we won’t know the nitty-gritty of this any more than the nitty gritty of the results of negotiations with the US re an IGA, until the Canadian government makes some kind of announcement on what they will do / will sign (regarding waiving the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms).
May 14, 2013: Credit Union of Central Canada: FATCA Anxiety Increasing : Pause or Full Steam Ahead?
Here is an earlier post regarding views of credit union associations:
US Credit Unions endorse Senator Rand Paul’s bill to repeal portions of FATCA preceded the Central Credit Union of Canada
May 1, 2013: World Council of Credit Unions this week came out in opposition to some aspects of the United States Internal Revenues Service’s proposed implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
Michael Power: FATCA revisited