Alex Atamanenko comments on FATCA in the Boundary Sentinel, Feb 11, 2014, (found and passed along by bubblebustin): “Alex Atamanenko . . .all Canadian citizens should be entitled to constitutional rights to privacy and fair taxation“.
His description is straight forward and easy to understand of what FATCA is, who in Canada would be tainted as ‘US Person’ and how that will affect them — and their country.
Consider the implications for those Canadians deemed “U.S. Persons” and for the Canadian economy of the following:
– savings and investments of more than $200,000 ($400,000 for couples) must be reported to the IRS
– homes valued at more than $250,000 are considered foreign investment and are liable for U.S. capital gains tax on the appreciated value when sold
– possible double taxation on wills and estates
– higher Canadian tax (financial planners advise clients to divest themselves of Canadian mutual funds and direct their investments to U.S. sources).
– annual reporting requirements are complex and expensive – even when no taxes are owed, legal and accounting fees can amount to thousands
– erosion of the tax base in Canada as investments and retirement security funds shrink
It’s another of the resources I’ll pass along to others.
See http://alexatamanenko.ndp.ca/ for other FATCA information on his “Issues Blog”.
US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Network Get the FBARs sent to them. We are criminals to them.
What is happening with constitutional challenge?
We may have the protection of the Canada-US tax treaty against the US (FWIW), but what about the wholesale surrender of our private banking information to the CRA? The Canadian government is now forcing the private financial information of a distinct sector of Canadians to be sent to the CRA, without due cause.
Great to see some publicity. These rules affect overseas Americans generally, not just Canada.
It should also have mentioned the really discriminatory estate tax on non-resident, non-U.S. citizen spouses ($60,000-$204,000 depending on estate tax treaty vs. $5.3 million for a U.S. citizen).
Shouldn’t he have said that the reporting requirement starts at $10,000 (FBAR)? $200,000 in assets and you get the joy of filing additional information.
I heard at a U.K. tax talk that people with non-U.S. citizen spouses and less than $5.3 million were generally just giving them the maximum amount of gifts each year ($144,000). I guess people trust their spouses more than they trust the IRS. There is a gotcha here in that there is no tax-free allowance for giving non-U.S. spouses certain appreciable assets,so check the rules concerning anything you want to give that isn’t cash (oddly, this gotcha was not pointed out at the tax talk. I found it out while working on the article).
Does anybody have a hard answer on Canadian Civil Liberties or other association constitutional challenge?
are you kidding me? Now we belong to the US and the houses on the territory of Canada? So Harper, Flaherty and the corrupted government who were part of the IGA and signed the FATCA not just sold Canadians but the Canadian soil, our land as well.
We have enough of these Idiots from the balls to the head!
We will loose much more than they tried to keep….scared. No respect neither dignity.
We need justice. a law sue and jail for them. They betrayed and violated the Canadian and International Human rights code.
Justice should and will prevail.