Treasury Department spokesman Robert Stack claims it’s a myth that US persons living their everyday lives outside the US are being harmed by FATCA. We know it’s true because the damage FATCA has caused and is causing to our lives is real.
In relation to the Stack statement, Tim noticed that Treasury was “re-iterating on twitter that NO ONE will give up their US citizenship because of FACTA and that it is only a myth that that is happening,” which caused Not Amused to write, “That makes us all mythical creatures then. If anyone related to any US government agency ever tries to contact me, I’ll tell them to have their head examined because people like me don’t exist.”
“We Are Not a Myth” is a protest on Tumblr where we post our photos to show that we are real. You can show your face or hide it in your photo, as you wish, and you can add a message along with it. You can add your photo yourself OR e-mail atticusincanada@gmail.com and she’ll add it to the display.
Thanks much, Atticus, for setting this up on Tumblr. Thanks to Blaze for the original suggestion, “It occurred to me that would be great to do around the world as a Treasury Myth Buster. Each person could do their own sign I Am Not A Myth and perhaps the country.”
And thanks all for your photos – the visuals are so eloquent!
Thank you everyone who’s contributed to the Tumblr site in an effort to counter Robert Stack’s propaganda war on US citizens abroad.
It’s high time for the “Mythical Canadian Grannies” to unite a strike back in revenge!
http://youtu.be/bIHF4rVTK4E
Don’t try to argue with the US Treasury !!
It’s futile.
http://youtu.be/kQFKtI6gn9Y
Yes, keep them coming. I’ve had several new ones this week that were fantastic! I can insert text for you now if you like as I was able to get a quicker program for doing so. Don’t make the text too much and I can insert it for you or you can do your own “sign” Remember to not send a huge photo as those will not be able to be uploaded to Tumbler. I’m looking forward to seeing a few more coming my way this week. Thank you to everyone who has sent a photo so far.
How many of us 6 million Americans would put a photo here with a little coaxing? A few hundred might make a signifcant protest to FATCA. It is an opportunity to be untraceably creative too.
It is so important. The more represented, the stronger our voice. Thank you, Gordian. Thank you everyone who has helped in this effort. It takes ALL of us to fight this and a visual snapshot of those affected can be very powerful. Please!
Some wonderful new additions today. Please keep them coming and tell others as well.
http://we-are-not-a-myth.tumblr.com/
I’ve left my wife out of this…because I feel my voice as a Canadian speaks stronger than hers in that this will affect not just Americans, but the Canadians attached to them as well. IN fact if the Canadian government is traitorous to the ideals of what Canada stands for – the IGA will spell the end of Canadian sovereignty and we will just end up becoming a vassal state of the United States, doomed to sink along with the sinking ship.
Fabulous — every addition makes our voice stronger!! Thanks — they’re all wonderful statements.
@The Animal, I think you make a great point there. A lot of the personal violations upon families impact those who are not even American and that point needs to be driven home again and again. Fines and penalties are on everyone in the family too as is the cost to “comply” Why should a Canadian or Brit or French citizen “comply” just because the are related to a “U.S. person” and further why should they be fined and fee’d into poverty. What about their kids?
Yes, every nation that allows their citizens to be treated this way by a foreign nation IS selling sovereignty.
P.S. I also don’t want my family on zero taxes owed to be penalized financially to help out President Predator Drone. Hyperbolic? Perhaps, but also the truth of how we feel. Bullied into being stolen from.
I want to thank those of you who are sending me these photos but, who have never posted here. I’m happy to see you participating!
I see Patricia posted her story. Good for her! Very moving every time I read it. I hope that the IRS will see fit to refund her FBAR penalties!
@Bubblebustin, I spoke with her on the phone this week. She and I are going to meet up later in the month. I posted her story. It’s all over the net now. I hope she gets her money back too!!
I’ve had five new additions since yesterday. Keep them coming people! Some of you are very creative!
http://we-are-not-a-myth.tumblr.com/
AtticusinCanada:
I hope that Patricia has been in contact with the IRS Taxpayer Advocate, or sends her letter to the Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/About-TAS/TAS-Leadership http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2013/Jan/20126726.htm as well, and that it makes it into her next report to Congress as in http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/userfiles/file/FullReport/IRS-Offshore-Voluntary-Disclosure-Programs-Continue-to-Burden-Benign-Actors-and-Damage-IRS-Credibility.pdf http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/2012-Annual-Report/offshore/ .
For shame on the US. And Ambassador Jacobson – what about that disingenuous ‘we are not unreasonable’ bs? http://canada.usembassy.gov/ambassador/news-and-speeches/18-october-2011-ambassador-jacobsons-remarks-to-the-canadian-club.html http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/10/18/happy-anniversary-ambassador-jacobson-thanks-for-introducing-me-to-canada-grandmas/comment-page-1/ He said: …”…Nonetheless, grandma could be theoretically subject to serious penalties. To my knowledge we have never gone after a grandma in those circumstances….”…”…. We are going to work together to see if we can’t find a way to accommodate grandma — and others — here in Canada. But we have to figure out a way to do it without letting the person who is trying to evade taxes in the Cayman Islands off the hook.
My message on this one is to sit tight. We are not unreasonable. We are not unsympathetic. We are not irresponsible.”…….
That was no ‘theoretical’ circumstance and FBAR penalty that Patricia reports, along with the tens of thousands in ‘compliance’ fees. And it is obvious that a major portion of the legal local funds in the accounts originated from the legal local post-tax funds belonging to her non-US husband, as well as a balance attributable to her house.
The US has no shame or ethics.
American Taxman, I am Not a Myth — I am a Canadian, Lynne Swanson
Blaze, you out-do yourself each time out. You are one of my heros — all of my heros hang out here.
Thank you all. Those are powerful additions to the picture we are painting. Keep them coming to AtticusinCanada.
And a big thank you to Patricia for the addition of your story. Wish I could meet with you as well, special lady!
Wow!
Blaze, how great it felt to see that video.
Fantastic to be able to send this to our MPs.
Thanks so much!
Calgary411 – can this get its own post here?
We need for those in other countries to be able to find it and see it too, for inspiration.
Wonderful Blaze! Thank you. If only Randy and his American woman, Denise, would sing your words for us.
Besides the Ways & Means submission and the tumblr photo, where else do we look for Patricia’s story? She deserves an apology from Jacobson and a refund from the IRS of her extorted Canadian savings. Unfortunately there is no way to compensate her for all those lost LCUs.
There is a VERY simple way for them to go after people in the “Cayman Islands” who are actually “off shoring” while not harming Canadian grandmas. NO FBAR penalties for Canadian duals at ALL. No one comes here to avoid U.S. taxes. It’s as simple as that. VERY few were ever told about FBAR and the burden of that proof should not be on us as it is self evident. IRS wasn’t telling anyone about those papers. Canada should not agree to anything unless FBAR penalties are abated. Saying “we won’t collect the fines” is not enough. Zero taxes owed or very little? NO Fbar penalties in preferred nations or nations. ONLY use those penalties where it is clear money has been “off shored” for the purposes of tax evasion or tax cheating. That’ would not be hard to do and they know it.
It has it’s own post, put up by USCitizenAbroad. http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/10/23/an-old-classic-destined-to-become-a-new-fatca-classic-lynneblaze-american-taxman-stay-away/
Let’s use it!
WE are not a Myth Pictures are very, very, moving.
I really hope that there can be more participation and that this can be lifted up in importantce.
Absolutely! It deserves a place on the sidebar where it will be easily noticed. I’ll do that.
Mark Twain,
I agree — visual learning about this is very, very important.
Another small visual, along with passing out information, is across the street from the Stampede Grounds and the BMO Centre in Calgary in conjunction with the upcoming Conservative Convention, starting Thursday, October 31. Would love anyone else around to join in with me and “BornInCanada” and “Yoga Girl” (I hope).
Wished there was a way to add the Petros CCTV video to that…
http://youtu.be/L2YaIOtJddA