She has done it again!
Lynne Swanson, Special to Financial Post
Truly a great article that Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty can’t ignore…
Dual Canadian-American citizens: We are not tax cheats
We need Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to insist that Canadian banks follow Canadian laws. We need Minister Flaherty to reassure Canadian citizens and residents that Canadian laws will not be changed for a foreign nation.
Most importantly, we need our elected officials to tell the United States that Canadian laws are made in Ottawa, not in Washington. We must not allow the United States to FATCA Canada.
I’m not sure if anyone is aware, but this article appeared two years and one day after Flaherty’s letter was published in the Financial Post (the letter which American media did not publish. I was hoping it might be in on the actual anniversary date, but it was a bit belated.
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/09/16/read-jim-flahertys-letter-on-americans-in-canada/
he only change the editor made to what I submitted was the addition of Dual Canadian American citizens to the headline. As many of you know, I refuse to use the D word relating to myself. I think that was clear in my bio note at the end.
@CrystalLondon: I am willing to work with you and others to see if we could adapt this article for other countries.
@Badger: I’m working with another publication to see about getting a message out there that might help to caution Canadians not to run off and file with IRS.
@Victoria: You are probably cringing. “What happened to focus?” you may be thinking. I need to get back to focus right now!
@badger, I have a wonderful buddy from here who is helping me or else I would be needing to learn a new language because there is no way I can figure out all the crap they want on all those exiting out forms on my own and no way we can pay what some of these professionals are asking. As Nina Olsen said, they have made so some people CANNOT comply even if they wanted to.
Lynne’s article would be great on the flip side of the IBS fact sheet. You mind, Lynne?
@Badger
I share your concern that panicked minnows may swim directly into the mouths of sharks t. Often the effort to incite anger has the ability to create the by-product of fear, in fact they go hand in hand as anger is said to be a symptom of fear. It’s a huge responsibility in getting the message right, which includes avoiding any unintended consequences.
@badger & Atticus
I share your concerns about this. After all, I’m sure everyone here knows exactly what that feels like. So glad for all of you and the hard work researching alternative ways to deal with this.
We are going up north again, probably a week and I just wonder how much I am going to miss. So much has been going on here!
Bubblebustin’ I don’t mind. Because I’m wrote as an independent, I own copyright, but we should probably check at the Financial Post to make sure there are no legal snags to that. We may need to credit FP with something like by Lynne Swanson, September 17, 2013, Financial Post. I would need to check with them to see what needs to happen. I will do that if people want me to.
Were you thinking of an actual copy of the Financial Post piece or just the content?
Also, it may be too long for one page. I may need to be edited.
@ All Twitterites
Here is a partial list of Ways and Means and a few other relevant persons; I didn’t have time to do the entire committee and I cannot find my previous list with addresses for all the members.
@RepDaveCamp
@SamsPressShop
@SenCarlLevin
@WaysandMeansGOP
@RepBoustany
@davereichert
@TiberiPress
@DevinNunes
@simplertaxes
@PeterRoskam
@RepKevinBrady
@JimGerlach
@VernBuchanan
@RepAdrianSmith
@SenTedCruz
Sander Levin & Charlie Rangel do not seem to utilyze their accounts so I didn’t bother.
@Blaze
If you would take the time to do those things, thank you! My mind went to replacing references to Canada with the names of other nations, to allow it to go viral. Is that weird/not kosher? The reference to Canada’s geography would have to be edited out too.
Just a thought.
@bubblebustin, I was thinking the same thing about Lynne’s article – that it should be included with the FATCA Facts handout. It’s very stirring, and we need more than just rote facts if we want people to really ‘get it’.
Good Point about scaring people into OVDI or OVDP. “Amnesty is an IRS hoax—Voluntary Disclosure Programs Have punished innocent Canadians with thousands of dollars of lawyer fees and reams of intrusive audits!”
Amnesty programs that penalize with no consideration of whether the transgression was ‘wilful’.
Unless I’m blind, SR’s comments appear to have gone…
@bubblebustin’ Editor says “Go ahead.” So, there are no copyright issues. I own copyright. I would put some copyright statement on there, but we can work on that after we decide what will go in it.
If people are interested in working with me to adapt for publication in other countries, I am willing to do that. A word of caution about the fact sheet. Most publications would not publish it if it has appeared on the back of a Fact Sheet. They usually want first time rights to a story. I don’t know what the copyright laws of other countries would be about using it elsewhere later. We would need to determine that if we manage to get it published again.
Is anyone interested in working with me to adapt it? If not, we can go direct to the back of a Fact Sheet if that is what people want.
@Blaze
Would publications in other countries be interested in publishing something that’s essentially already run in Canada?
Just read that the Fact Sheet is a two pager itself right now.
I’d vote either way, just would like to see it used in our ‘propaganda’ arsenal, and of course within your guidelines 🙂
@bubblebustin’ It would be GREATLY modified. Probably only the first few paragraphs would be used for other countries–and even those would be edited.
Everything else would be changed to meet the needs of each country. Or maybe Victoria can find a way of doing something for an EU readership.
I finally got in to comment and it says that “Comments for this thread are now closed.” I was going to say:
Calgary, I wish your comments could have shown up. Some of mine are gone though I did not respond with mean or personal remarks, not even to the troll. I notice his comments are under moderation. I suspect as they were of a personal and attacking nature they likely won’t show up again. At any rate it’s too bad they closed comments, though not a bad thing they moderated.
I’m about to find another venue I think besides Disquis to comment anyway. Many sites are not using their moderation with that venue. I hear it’s coming with that format but, not soon enough.
Canadian Business appears to be doing another article soon. Their last article was woefully misinformed. I hope you will comment when they do.
@Badger and Others: I have now had an article posted at The Money Guide about Canadian protections against IRS.
I have given some background and a link to The Money Guide article at Maple Sandbox
http://maplesandbox.ca/2013/canadian-protections-against-uncle-sam/
Atticus, Just Me and Tricia Moon are all aware this came about as a result of a “before too late” article that the The Money Guide tweeted on Sunday. Thanks to the trio for supporting me to get this published.
@blaze
Thank you so much for creating the guide.
and @Atticus, Mark Twain, Trish and @all; I have been worried about the seniors and those without any resources, skills or ability to figure out the best road to take when they start getting forms and questions at their bank, or stumble on all this. We well know that even with resources and skills, the road forward is not straightforward and has many permutations. I want to save them as much as possible from the harm, cost, worry and depression that some of us have experienced – with no productive result for either the IRS or ourselves. I think of the very elderly that I know with dementia, low vision, chronic pain and other conditions that would definitely make it impossible for them to cope with this. Some can’t drive anymore and others do not use a computer or the internet. There are even a couple of Canadian only ‘snowbirds’ I met who are having problems because they just wanted to visit their child and grandchildren on a more regular basis.
I don’t see how any of them are going to cope if FATCA comes in here.
Perhaps the guide could be sent to CARP, to Snowbirds Association, etc., as a heads-up of what to expect when FATCA hits Canada.
Whoa! I didn’t create the Guide. The editor linked to it at the end of my article. The Guide was created by accountant Phil Hogan.
I intentionally avoided giving any accounting information in my post. I wanted the article to deal with Canadian protections only because that is what has been missing in almost all of the articles that have been written.
@ Calgary 411
Good idea sending to CARP.
@badger
I know personally a 83 year old woman who came to northern ontario with her husband and 5 kids from the usa in 1963. They had 2 more kids in canada.
He died after abandoning her and the kids. She stayed in canada as a permanent resident. She has NEVER filed us taxes. She never knew she had to. She thought she did not make enough to have to file . She owns a small house in the usa which one kid lives in. She owns a small house here in canada. She has very low income. She has old age security and also gets her husband’s usa veteran survivor benefits. She collects no social security. She did not work the required years. One kid who was born in usa became a cdn citizen. 2 went back to the states, one is a permanent resident and one died in the usa. And the other 2 born in canada. I worry for my wonderful old friend. I am afraid the stress of FATCA may kill her. Her kids do not believe this FATCA is something to worry about.
@northernstar, yes, there would be many like your friend affected if a FATCA IGA was signed, and many as there are now, who cannot cope with FATCA or don’t know about it. Perhaps any delay in implementation can help them, as well as inability of US to deal with the sheer numbers of us abroad. In any case, part of what we are doing is to help others – since some here are already personally out of the US shackles, and others are in various stages of progress towards the goal of relinquishing/renouncing. FATCA and this crusade of the US is so wrong and immoral in so many ways.
Your friend and her PR child and any others like her should get their Canadian citizenship applications submitted right away. That is very important. We do not know if that will make enough of a difference, but it affords some protection inside Canada. Better to start that process now as it was taking 18 months. Perhaps will be slightly faster because at 83, she does not have to take the test. Urge her to do that, and her Permanent resident child too.
@ northernstar, it is possible that your friend does not have accounts big enough to require FBAR, and sounds like she may not have enough income to owe any US taxes even if she met the threshold to file currently.
The crossborder issues with US AND Canadian property, and US and Canadian resident children and different citizenship combinations of potential executors and beneficiaries could be a headache. Would be good to get some professional advice to sort out best way to plan ahead, but that might cost more than she could afford upfront.
The US is so predatory that what would be more straightforward for a senior with a modest house, limited assets, and family of all US citizens resident in the US, becomes a needless tangled mess involving professional fees and complicated forms, etc. as soon as it involves both sides of the border.
sorry Blaze, for the misstatement.
I asked a fellow Brocker for help for a French slogan for the reverse of the IBS business cards
her comment is just below
It is a very punchy slogan in french. It says exactly how we feel. A raped person feels humiliated, worthless, dirty etc, etc.
this is what we arrived at.
Arrêtons le viol fiscal de nos pays par les États-Unis
non au FATCA
translation into English
Stop the fiscal rape of our countries by the US
no to FATCA