http://bvinews.com/bvi/premier-julian-fraser-is-irresponsible-the-bvi-is-not-a-us-police/
http://bvinews.com/bvi/early-elections-may-be-prompted-by-fatca-maduro/
The US Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) continues to fuel heated discussions here in the British Virgin Islands, and social commentator Edmund Maduro is now asserting that an agreement would be a constitutional breach that warrants a call for early elections.
Under FATCA, the United States is trying to collect taxes from its citizens and companies here in the BVI and elsewhere around the world.
The BVI Premier, Dr. D. Orlando Smith, has hinted that his government may sign a related Inter-Governmental Agreement with the United States, adding that such FATCA approach would be the best option for the territory.
Opposition member Julian Fraser and Maduro think otherwise. Fraser has maintained that a FATCA agreement would result in the BVI government ‘trading’ the liberty and private information of some citizens to the United States.
The BVI citizens and residents likely to be affected are those holding US citizenship.
More:
Premier Dr. D. Orlando Smith on Tuesday dismissed claims that his government has been conspiring with the United States to collect sensitive information on its citizens.
The information is said to be linked to immigrant status, citizenship, property ownership and income.
“The BVI government is NOT collecting information on the citizenship and immigrant status with the United States on its citizens, nor is the government diving into their property ownership or income,” Premier Smith noted in a brief reference to the matter.
He was responding to Third District representative Julian Fraser who last week told a public meeting in his constituency that the BVI government has been ‘volunteering to do the United States policing of its citizens’.
Such policing, he said, has nothing to do with the topical issues of ‘Tax Haven’ and Tax Information Exchange Agreements.
“The United States in its decision to hunt and tax its citizens and permanent residents across the globe on property and savings interest is now allied with the NDP Government in the Virgin Islands,” Fraser told his constituents.
Note: The NDP party of the British Virgin Islands has nothing to do with the NDP Party of Canada.
Good quote by Maduro
“It is an act of economic warfare being fought through intimidation and subservience,” he declared, adding: “They (United States) have intimidated our Premier and he has become subservient to them.”
Exactly!
Premier Smith is so in denial of the assertions that Julian Fraser makes, you call almost smell the money in the air.
I will add that in one of the more recent articles Premier Smith is quoted as saying there WILL be a VOTE in Parliament/Legislature to ratify the IGA once it is signed.
So happy to see that there are at least a few political types waking up to the danger of FATCA. The BVI needs to have a general election where the PEOPLE can speak not merely to get the biggest gang in Parliament to rubber stamp the trash.
Funny, I cannot get any of the links to open …. hmmmmm.
The NDP in Canada would never kick up such a fuss. Especially with that toady Mulclair as its leader. His nose is way up Uncle Sam’s arse.
I liked the wording though “volunteering to do the United States policing of its citizens”. because that is essentially what govts are being “asked” to do.
Maybe in our appeals to our own representatives in our govts, we should start phrasing things this way?
So lets say the US government gets pretty much all these places that have been typical tax havens. The tax havens are banking on being able to use the courts to get the tax on money that evaded their taxes. Sure the US isn’t going to make it easy by exchanging information. So we would enter a time where a lot of money would have to start paying the taxes due. For US investors with any kind of PFIC we are talking 43.4%, same for dividends that aren’t qualified (REIT), same for interest, same for any kind of rent. For long term capital gains and qualified dividends they are looking at 23.8% at the top end. Of course the dividends and capital gains have already been taxed at the corporate level except for REITs.
I think 43.4% is pretty much theft. So any country that can tell the US to get lost can get a lot of money invested.
The reason all these countries have money avoiding taxes is they want just too damn much of what people earn.
@nervousinvestor
They all work for me. Change browsers! 🙂
A food fight? Yes, yes, this is most delicious. How amazing if tiny BVI turns out to be the mouse who hangs the bell on the FATCAT. It should be Canada but all we get here is secret negotiations, leaks to those who matter most (i.e. the banking and compliance industries) and silence for the lambs (i.e. USPs and their families).
I did change browsers and still could not get it. I got this though.
bvinews.com seems to be down!
Go back to check another site or save this as your default.
http://isitup.org/bvinews.com
maybe there is an overload of viewers.
Linkee no workee.
Can the USA collect from Canadian citizen FBAR for Canadian account? Is this not settled. You may get some nasty letter and not visit USA. To me this not a big deal and I am not anti-American but I have no use for Obama.
@Money, I have shared similar fears but believe that it’s actually very difficult for the USA to collect taxes or fines from a non-US account, especially if one is not an American citizen. And even if one were a US Person, the IRS and FINCEN would have to pursue it through the foreign courts. In spite of all my paranoia, I seriously doubt that they’d have the resources to go after minnows. They’ll go after lower-hanging fruit.
What I could see them doing though is tracking people down living abroad and send them threatening letters demanding taxes owed and/or assessing penalties, hoping that they’ll meekly be paid. But to actually be able to collect the money would require going through the courts which is very expensive and time-consuming for both sides.
If you’re worried, the safest thing is simply not to have any assets still in the US that could be seized.
Court will not collect under revenue rule and FBAR does not even apply in Canada. I had a old green card so not have a copy of my I-407. I did not file any taxes afterward and I do no own any USA assets. I may may try and retrieve my old social security number, I have not used it in 30 years and may supply it to the American because of a stupid agreement I signed for a survivor right condo in USA with a negative capital gains less than 25 k were proceeds. I will do this just to make certain i do not follow under perjury charge. The wording in agreement is nebulous. I will then not file any USA taxes as I do not ever want them to ever bring up any possible perjuries issues.
I know based on their relative lack of bargaining power they will have to capitulate, but wouldn’t it be great if they just said ‘non’.
Pretty confusing – all of these statements refuting the BVI helping IRS are wholly inaccurate.
1) The IGA that BVI will sign does NOT allow US citizens to report their tax through the BVI government. FATCA does not have a provision for individuals to file their forms to any body other than the IRS. What it DOES do is allow the Financial Institutions to fiel the FATCA reports via the BVI government, it is then up to the potential US taxpayer to file their own forms with the treasury and the iRS.
2) The IGA DOES mandate the Financial Institutions in BVI to search their client’s data for signs of US citizenship and ask for proof one way or the other. If such proof is not forthcoming, the account will be reported via the Government to the IRS as a US reportable account.
I’m not convinced these politicians have read the agreement that they intend to sign…..
@JustMe. I suspect that the difficulty was traffic volume …. that I suppose is a good thing as it probably means that the site (and comments) are being read by someone somewhere.