http://opinion.financialpost.com/2013/06/14/many-rings-to-the-global-circus/
The G8 will learn about a template devised by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development to globalize tax collection. This will include measures such as transparency, sanctions and sharing agreements between governments.
An estimated $32-trillion is hidden offshore, or two U.S.-sized economies, socked away in numbered or secret accounts in a variety of dirty money capitals. And Canada is being accused of reluctance when it comes to getting information from its banks then sharing it with other governments.
According to a story in The Post this week, tax watchdog groups claim that Canada is resisting Cameron’s efforts to force governments to exchange tax information about known cheats. He also wants governments to collect information from financial institutions about foreign-sourced income and give that information to the foreign countries where the income was made so they know about it and can tax it.
Currently, Canadian laws are lax. Offshore assets must be reported, but the CRA doesn’t pursue leads as aggressively as do the Europeans or Americans. There has been some movement, but Cameron wants more. Under pressure, Ottawa set up a “swat” team to pursue offshore evaders, now requires reporting of offshore transactions of more than $10,000, offers modest whistleblower rewards and just announced that resource companies must report all payments to foreign governments. Resistance is due to the fact that the Canadian banks are a powerful lobby here, but Canadians who pay taxes deserve better management of tax collection.
There is a story tonight on PRIs, Marketplace, played in the evening on NPR stations around the country. It is titled…
Britain under pressure over tax havens
One acronym missing from the entire discussion was FATCA. I haven’t posted any comments here for a while, as I gave up on these guys ever mentioning FATCA in any of their stories. Even now, if you do a search, you will only find 15 mentions of it, in comments by me in stories going back to 2010.
I almost decided not to bother, but gave it one last treatise, as no one else had commented, or likely too.
Great strategy, Just Me. Your comment is longer, stronger and more informative than the article. Chances are good that people will read it and ignore the article. You had the most words and the last words on the topic and that is often how main stream media will leave an impression it is being fair and balanced while actually heavily weighting a story towards whatever the desired propaganda goal might be. It’s a trick they use and you turned it against them. Very good!
Well, the only consolation is that now that the National Post is behind a paywall, fewer people will be able to read the garbage coming off the end of the pens of Golombek and Francis. Dumb and dumber.
@Petros. Thumbs up! 🙂
@Em… I went back this morning to take another slant on the story, pointing out how the UK was the first poddle to sign up for this offshore war, and has already created the Sons of FATCA. This journalist obviously has NOT done his homework, or he would have put the G8 meeting into a broader perspective. However, after hitting enter, the Servers crashed, or so they said. 🙂
Sorry, Tim, I don’t get it. The article is about the OECD approach to tax evasion and makes no mention of FATCA. As I have said earlier, my personal, not-particularly-educated sense it that it is precisely the multilateral, OECD-style approach to tax evasion that should be taken. One can consistently support the OECD initiative and oppose FATCA.
By the way, not all of you may be aware that Diane Francis was born in the US. For whatever interest…
@NothernShrike…
I certainly get it. Sometimes I think these journalist, either leave FATCA out by design, (too much information for their audience?) or are just more ignorant than I thought they were.
This drive to a global GATCA of automatic exchange and exposure of all beneficial ownership, is one that rides on the back of FATCA. FATCA is the tip of the spear in this War on offshore Tax Evasion. That is what is forcing this, so if you think that is good, and I understand that there are those that do, then this is what you get – A global DATA collection regime blessed by the OECD and the U.S. Administration. In light of NSA global secret data collection, once they get this, they have it ALL. Is that good, in the broader context for human liberty and civil and privacy rights? What do you think?
See this article and my comment on PRI’s Market Place..
FATCA begets DATCA begets GATCA. The procreation lineage. The G8 meeting is about the end state desired – GATCA . I for one, would rather live with evasion then live in the end state desired result of a Global GATCA prison where all are guilty until proven innocent.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/britain-under-pressure-over-tax-havens
The following Q and A took place at the White House press briefing today. The transcript should be posted soon, if it hasn’t already. The questioner was from Russia’s ITAR-TASS agency (Andrei Sitov, “AS” below):
Q: For Caroline, simply, you mentioned FATCA. FATCA is an American law, and if you want your international partners to comply with it, what are you offering in terms of this process?
/I said – in terms of reciprocity, I think she heard me right – AS/
MS. ATKINSON: You’re right that FATCA is an American law, and what we’re seeing is general support, and what we’re hoping we will see G-8 support for the development by the OECD of a standard that would be based on FATCA. So, there would be a symbol — single global standard for the kind of information exchange that is involved in FATCA. And we believe that’s a very powerful tool we’ve already seen as having a powerful effect on tax havens and illicit activity using such tax havens, so that’s what we’re —
Q: (Off mic) — to the best of your knowledge, what is the Russian position?
MS. ATKINSON: We’ll have to wait and see what comes out from the — from the G-8 communique.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/diane-francis/g8-tax-cheats_b_3442873.html — no pay wall; only two comments.
Tim, one could almost read the US response as “since our attempts to force FATCA aren’t going well, we have decided to end run around opposition by simply revamping it as a G8 idea for the OECD. Either way, the US wins.” Or maybe I am reading between lines that aren’t there?
Northern Strike, I could agree with you if I believed that this was about tax evasion. A lot of “evasion” is be design and only accessible to those with means to influence tax law and utilize the loopholes. This is about information and the US’s insatiable need to gather it for reasons that are probably not altruistic.
I don’t care much for Harper but he’s not an idiot. If he is hesitating, there is likely a reason though I’m guessing that the chief one is he is facing an election in 2015 and can’t afford to be seen as Obama’s lap dog. Of course it could be less selfish. Maybe he really does object to handing over sovereignty and putting US interests ahead of Canadian ones.
Tim, question. The House snuck away a few days early for the summer, but was the IGA buried in any of the 19 bills passed? And if not, what does that mean in terms of deadlines?
Some Canadians will know Diane Francis, a business editor of the National/Financial Post and a dual, as one of the most extreme FATCA and citizen-based-taxation advocates.
In this morning’s (Sept 28) National Post print edition (cannot find online access) there is a long Comment article on Francis’ new book “Merger of the Century” in which she strongly argues the merits of a full merger of Canada with US.
Consider: “every Canadian would be entitled to a lump-sum payment [from US] of $492,592.” Also, with a merger we would never have to worry about “[the Green Party’s Elizabeth May] from B.C. who wants to turn [our] country into a giant park.”
Should Canadians worry about, after merger, a “nutcase from Arizona” heading up north shooting up a Canadian Tire store? No says Francis: “Well, remember that there are already something like three million Canadians living in the United States, and clearly the presence of so many guns there isn’t a disincentive for them.”
“We’ve been dating heavily [with US] for generations. So now let’s talk about common law–or even go all the way and get married.”
FATCA was not specifically mentioned in the Comment—but merger of Canada (and the rest?) with US as a novel solution to FATCA-related problems? No?