http://maplesandbox.ca/2014/urgent-finance-canada-making-fatca-briefing-today/
URGENT: Finance Canada Doing FATCA Briefing Today!
Posted on February 5, 2014 by BlazeGet ready everyone. Today may be the day.
I was just contacted via e-mail by Barrie McKenna of the Globe and Mail:
It looks like Canada has reached an agreement with the US on FATCA. Details at 2 p.m. Are you around to react later today? Please let me know, or perhaps suggest someone else. Thanks
I responded:
OMG! Yes, I am available to speak with you. Can I share the information from you with others and on the web?
What is your source that a deal has been reached?
His reply:
Finance Dept. is doing a media briefing shortly on “issues associated with FATCA,” embargoed to 2 p.m. I am making an assumption they have an IGA with US.
So, this is not for certain an IGA has been reached. But, we should know if that is reason for the briefing when the media is able to release the details at 2:00 p.m.
I’ll keep you updated as soon as I learn more.
Well this isn’t the Battle of Manzikert, but it is one cut of a thousand that leads to death.
Sorry, Peter’s Comment….
“Under the deal, any American citizen with a Canadian bank account that chooses not to comply with a bank on the information sharing will not face a account closure. Instead, officials said, the bank will pass whatever information they have on that person on to the CRA, which will then pass it onto the IRS. Any further action on that account will be decided on a government to government basis, officials said.
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/02/05/harper-government-signs-fatca-deal-with-washington/
Hiow will they know I am a US person. That’s the crunch isn’t it. Those people foolish enough to have used ID that IDENTIFIES them will be identified. If you did not. What then? CHARTER CHALLENGE!!!
hOW WILL A CREDIT UNION KNOW THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN 2% us CITIZENS?
This seems to have been preceding the other reports. Who knows if some of the contents are accurate.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140205-710192.html
February 5, 2014, 2:18 p.m. ET
‘Canada, U.S. Reach Tax Deal — Officials’
…..”The officials, who spoke on the condition they not be identified and their comments be paraphrased, described the deal as strictly a tax-information sharing agreement between Canada’s tax-collection agency, the Canadian Revenue Agency, and the Internal Revenue Service. …..”
“Canadian government officials, speaking at a background briefing”….
“No U.S. taxes or penalites are to be applied to U.S. citizens, or dual citizens, with bank accounts in Canada, the officials added.” ???????
….”The officials said Canada’s legislature would need to approve a new bill to implement the agreement.”
http://www.fin.gc.ca/n14/14-018-eng.asp
From: James Fitz-Morris
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2014 12:07 PM
To: caroltapanila
Subject: Re: FATCA Today….????
I’m afraid it’s signed and done.
50+ pages in the agreement – still waiting for a copy. Legislation to be unveiled either later today or tomorrow.
How could they sign any agreement without support and voting in Parliament???
Here is the document itself;
http://www.fin.gc.ca/treaties-conventions/pdf/FATCA-eng.pdf
Just received a U.S. IRS W-8BEN form from a non U.S. bank today asking me to sign to prove I’m not a U.S. citizen (I’m not they have a copy of my CLN), this is how they will confirm you are not a U.S. person it’s likely a requirement of FATCA.
any MP that votes for the implementing legislation should be retired in the next elections.
We should vote with our wallets and move our accounts to exempt institutions.
sadly probably of no benefit to people in Quebec, our credit unions own a US bank – Desjardins Bank
with three branches in Florida,
I was actually chatting with Petros on facebook when this came out 2 pm Eastern, he was having a mundane complaint about being overweight. Like in NZ a day ago, all hell with break loose! Glad I shed my US passport.
CBC story with what seems like good news on the foreign trust issues involving at least some Canadian savings plans.
Here is the link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fatca-deal-takes-some-heat-off-canadian-banks-1.2524444
I’ve put up a new thread with the IGA in it, and all discussion about its merits and demerits will be welcome.
Folks, there are still a lot of things that you can do on an indivdual level to protect yourselves. Use TFSA, RRSPs to store wealth. Tangible assets like real estate or precious metals. Get your money out of the major banks and into smaller institutions. And above all, stand up for your rights. Don’t get down. Don’t let President Obama destroy your health.
The Canadian government has tried to give ‘watered down’ FATCA by exempting certain types of accounts such as tax-free or retirement. This agreement is out of the UK US IGA playbook where certain types of accounts were also exempted.
The battle now turns to what data is going to be put down on the bank’s database? A court should rule, number one you have the right to put down Canadian citizen for tax purposes, and something has to be down about place of birth as well.
It’s still data discrimination no matter what why the Government looks at it. You’re treating two Canadian citizens differently by place of birth (usually). So the IRS get the data, they can data mine, but they can’t collect. How long before the goal posts are moved in that direction?
This is a slippery slope. Legal challenges have to be made and the ‘rules of the road’ have to be established before this process matures.
Whether or not you resign US citizenship, the Canadian government shouldn’t be treating Canadian A, differently from Canadian B. It’s discrimination.
@ Native Canadian,
Petros’ comment is up there now – looks like his was the first one, followed by Mike, Atticus and White Kat a few minutes later, and now some more.
@ All
I’m putting the links to articles mentioned here and some others I’m finding on the list of Current Media articles in the Take Action! box on the sidebar.
Save the Banks: Throw them damn ex-pats under the bus. Go Canada!
My comment is Mikenotelling on there….
My comment to Barrie Mckenna: I see that Barry McKenna still consults the wolves in the US tax compliance industry, KPMG, Nightingale, etc. for information. Why not charge them for advertising Barrie? Why didn’t you talk to one of the human rights lawyers or to McGill professor Allison Christians, who is a leading expert on international tax law in Canada? Why do you continue to consult the people making money off FATCA compliance? This is irresponsible.