The American Citizens Abroad Global Foundation has just launched its educational program with a forum/debate on the merits of Citizenship-based taxation vs. Residence-based taxation.
This is a full day event, sponsored and organized by the ACA, that will be held at the University of Toronto on May 2. Registration and Information
UPDATE re booking accommodations:
My understanding is that the speakers will be staying at the Holiday Inn 280 Bloor Street West in Toronto phone 416-968-0010.
At the moment all rooms at this hotel are booked up at the central reservation service for May 1, but I called the hotel and arranged for a University rate of about C$130 night plus tax. There are 20 or so rooms still available at that May 1 date (many more for May 2). The rooms cannot be held for us but you can book now until all are taken.
To book a room you email cn312res@whg.com and request a $130 room for the RBT vs. CBT conference. You also have to provide a code. I asked the conference person to choose between RBT vs. CBT and she came up with the correct answer RBT (!) which will be your code.
If you are interested in coming to the conference I would book right away.
To my knowledge, this is the first public debate — worldwide — devoted to this important topic.
The speakers will include academic tax specialists Bernard Schneider and Michael Kirsh, who have different approaches to the taxation of US citizens abroad, with the program moderated by Toronto lawyer John Richardson.
Dr. Stephen Kish, who co-authored with Mr. Richardson a submission to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee (see below), will be the academic host.
Bernard Schneider:
The End of Taxation Without End: A New Tax Regime for U.S. Expatriates, Virginia Tax Review, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2012, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2186076
Michael Kirsch:
Revisiting the Tax Treatment of Citizens Abroad: Reconciling Principle and Practice, October 23, 2013, Florida Tax Review, (Forthcoming), Notre Dame Legal Studies Paper No. 1457, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2346458
Richardson/Kish:
John Richardson, Willard Yates, Stephen Kish, Request for Tax Rules Changes for U.S. Citizens Overseas: Submission to the Senate Finance Committee, January 2014, http://citizenshipsolutions.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/RichardsonYatesKishJan232014SFCSubmission.pdf
Keynote Speakers
Prof. Michael S. Kirsch, Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
Dr. Bernard Schneider, Teaching Fellow, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London School of Law
Phil D.W. Hodgen, International Tax Attorney, Hodgen Law Group PC, Pasadena, CA
David Kuenzi, Certified Financial Planner,® Founder, Thun Financial Advisors, Madison, WI
Charles W. Cullen III, Certified Financial Planner, ® RBC Dominion Securities, Inc., Halifax, NS
Neil Sinclair, Chapter Chair, Amcham Canada – Ontario Region
Closing comments: Jackie Bugnion, American Citizens Abroad, Inc., Director of Tax Team
Good find, badger. Thanks!
@ badger
Thanks for finding that clip but Jackie was certainly choosing her words very, very carefully. The upshot is ACA wants to study the situation more and wants people to be able to donate to their research project (tax deduction available now). Meanwhile Americans “habitually residing overseas” are about to be thrown into the deep end on July 1st. ACA’s only “lifesavers” are of a list of tax preparers. Hmmmm … think my money will stay in Canada and fund ADCS instead. If I sound a tad snarky it’s because I really would like to see the video of the CBT vs RBT debate and so far ACA has not made it available. I didn’t just want a tip-toeing, tiny synopsis.
ACA has come up with a letter and press release in response to Koskinen’s vague hint that maybe something or other will be tweaked in the disclosure programs. ACA has their own suggestions how to do the tweaking. The pdf’s can be found here:
http://americansabroad.org/news-and-events/press-kit/acas-comprehensive-compliance-program-ccp-put-forward-irs-co/
There WILL be a video of the CBT vs. RBT conference released to the public.
I mention this because it is almost two months since the conference — and still no video.
I just received confirmation from the Chair of the ACA Global Foundation that ACA-GF is working on the video at the moment but cannot yet give a timeline for the release.
Yes, I agree that two months is way too long.
Also, I will say again that the ACA does NOT control the video or the timing of video. This is all done by the ACA Global Foundation, and ACA, like me, wants this video quickly released as well.
Awesome, Stephen. Thanks for looking into it and the head’s up.
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The sooner the CBT vs. RBT debate gets into the public domain, the better. I just hope the editing isn’t a butcher job.
http://acaglobalfoundation.org/event-865796
If they have another debate, perhaps they should invite some people from the Eritrean embassy in Canada to join Michael Kirsch.
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ACA has issued another statement regarding tax reform. You can download the pdf from here:
http://americansabroad.org/issues/taxation/aca-statement-senate-finance-committee/#.U-ZXLiFV2T4.twitter
Now, more than ever, I’m hoping the CBT vs. RBT debate video gets released soon. Perhaps they are linking its release date to something else they have planned.
@EmBee, This is the disappointing news I recently received about the conference video, which I posted on another Brock thread. I have no idea when the video will be released:
“The word I received from ACAGF a few days ago (THREE full months after the conference) is that the tape is still being edited. A date for completion was not provided.
Just to clarify again, ACA Global Foundation (NOT ACA) put on the debate.
As “Academic Host” of the event I do feel some responsibility for the delay, and have pushed ACA GF as much as I can.”
Thanks Stephen,
I presume there is a close affiliation between ACA and ACA GF. Let’s just hope they are doing some strategic planning with the release and it will happen eventually. Or maybe they need more funds to pay the editor. Who knows? You would think as their host they might have been a bit more forthcoming with you. Oh well, I’ll borrow a cup of patience from my husband and keep waiting.
I hope the edited version contains ALL the highlights of the day. In fact, I can’t think of what could be cut without losing the flavour and the significance. It was such an important event – the first opportunity to actually see CBT discussed in person – and have our questions addressed face to face – not just discussed by US Homelanders agreeing without any input from those affected that our asse/t/s abroad belong to the US via selfserving pretzel logic in some Homeland tax journal written by Homelanders for Homelanders. It is so very easy to pronounce on how a government should be able to assert the right to double tax and grab the assets of SOMEONE ELSE’s disability, education and family savings isn’t it? And it was so good to have Murray Rankin attend and be a firsthand witness to the depth of the arrogant US overreach into Canada – to hear and understand what we are up against – the US asserting the right to ignore national sovereign boundaries and claim Canadian citizens and residents without ANY resistance from our own federal government.
ACA statement for Senate Finance Committee:
http://americansabroad.org/files/8114/0766/6066/aca-statement-hearing-on-tax-reform.pdf
The statement is very well done! A big hat tip to Jackie Bugnion, Marylouise Serrato and anyone else who contributed to writing it.
The Senate Finance Committee can no longer pretend not to know (willful blindness) about the ill-effects of CBT on Americans Abroad and they definitely can’t say they don’t how to fix the problem. Everything is covered in the statement, which needs to be circulated far and wide to include as many media outlets as possible.
Now lets get that debate video out. Law makers, media and the public at large really need to see it.
A hard copy of the statement should also be sent by registered mail to “myther” Robert Stack.