Canadians, give your FATCA briefs to Finance Committee
Blaze / Lynne Swanson posts:
Canadians: Make your voices heard at Finance Committee. Give the Committee your briefs!
In preparing my own brief for testifying next week, I learned all Canadians can submit briefs to the Finance Committee–not just those of us who will testify.
Here is what the Clerk of the Finance Committee replied to me when I asked:
Anyone can submit a brief on Bill C-31. While there is no set date it would be best to get it into us at FINA@parl.gc.ca as soon as possible so we can have the briefs translated and distributed to the Members of the Committee before the begin Clause-by-Clause.
Here are the government’s Guidelines for Preparing Briefs: . The Clerk of the Finance Committee has advised briefs must be limited to five pages.
I know many of you already made submissions to Finance Canada in 2012 and again when the IGA was announced. However, those submissions are not being shared with the Finance Committee or with Parliament.
So, if you want those making the decisions to know what you have to say: Give them your briefs.
This should be in your own words. Many of you will be able to adapt the submission you already made.
I have two suggestions:
1. Emphasize you are Canadian!
2. If you support the proposed amendment, include it in your brief.
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or the Agreement, for all purposes related to the implementation of this Act and the Agreement, “US Person” and “Specified US Person” shall not include any person who is a Canadian citizen or legal permanent resident who is ordinarily resident in Canada.”
There is no deadline for this, but clearly, the sooner the better. It may be submitted in either English or French and will be translated. If you speak both languages, you could submit in both.
Tell them what you think. Give Finance Committee your briefs!
Also send your brief to the members of the list of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, updated here:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/CommitteeBusiness/CommitteeMembership.aspx
Chair:
james.rajotte@parl.gc.ca
Members:
scott.brison@parl.gc.ca;
nathan.cullen@parl.gc.ca;
Mark.Adler@parl.gc.ca;
mike.allen@parl.gc.ca;
Guy.Caron@parl.gc.ca;
gerald.keddy@parl.gc.ca;
Murray.Rankin@parl.gc.ca;
andrew.saxton@parl.gc.ca;
dave.vankesteren@parl.gc.ca
@ WhiteKat,
I found a bit of information about Sir Isaac’s descendants in this Windsor Star article a couple of years ago.
The article mentions that 13 of his descendants were planning to attend a ceremony commemorating a statue in his honour at Brockville. One of them, Ron Jones, who is in the article, was a Windsor fireman (my favourite profession 🙂 ) district chief in fact, and has been a Windsor city councillor for the past 12 years.
Why in hell did Finance ask Max Reed to testify?
Why not Robert Stack or Jack Lew while they’re at it?
@Anne Frank ” If that is their goal, why not exclude Canadians from the IGA (or amend our privacy laws to prohibit banks from tracking data on our national origin?). I doubt we’ll get an answer to any of these questions any time soon.”
I came up with the same thought weeks ago.
Have a single line question at the bank; What is your Citizenship? _______________
Person writes anything other USA, done….
Instead we have certain banks in the UK asking;
Citizenship?
Dual/Multi Citizenship?
Tax residences last three years?
Place of birth?
@George
**Dual/Multi Citizenship**
That is to cover any other countries who will try to steal the owner’s funds… save time… do it all now
@US_Person_Foreigner
I fully expect the compliance industry jackals to recommend that firms ask for parents citizenship and their place of birth.
No doubt that will be the next round.
It looks like Max Reed co-wrote that tax guide with a former colleague of Allison’s, now with Montreal law firm Stikeman Elliot.
Doesn’t appear to be too condorish:
“Filing a US tax return and making these disclosures can appear daunting, but need not be difficult. For most people, it will simply involve filling out some paperwork and sending it in. Rather than pay a professional hundreds of dollars, you can do it yourself. You can also take advantage of a recent IRS program to catch up on past returns or even renounce your US citizenship. This guide explains how, using step-by-step, plain language instructions. It includes all of the forms you need. No software or other publication is designed specifically to help US citizens in Canada meet their tax obligations.” See more at: http://www.carswell.com/product-detail/a-tax-guide-for-american-citizens-in-canada/#sthash.eB1R3zw9.dpuf
Haven’t been around here for awhile–I hope you folks missed me!
As these briefs are focused on FATCA (as opposed to U.S. CBT) I am happy to support this by sending in a brief myself. In the amendment that I will propose, I will however delete the last clause and simply propose:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or the Agreement, for all purposes related to the implementation of this Act and the Agreement, “US Person” and “Specified US Person” shall not include any person who is a Canadian citizen or legal permanent resident.”
I don’t think place of residence should come into it for these purposes. A dual citizen living in the USA may have strong and legitimate reasons for wishing to be treated as a Canadian when they are in Canada–regardless of where they reside. Examples could include serving as power of attorney for a Canadian family member or partnering with Canadian citizens on a Canada-based business.
It just occurred to me that Kathryn Brock might have been a pseudonym or maybe just happenstance — not necessarily a descendant of Sir Isaac Brock.
Anyone subscribe to ipolitics? Oliver on FATCA: ‘Best deal’ under the circumstance:
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/05/08/oliver-on-fatca-best-deal-under-the-circumstance/
I would like to make my own submission based on the possible costs outline above
I want to gather these 500,000 (hmmmmm downplaying the numbers again?) and ask each of them to contribute to a fund to raise money to out Trump Trump and build the tallest tower in Vancouver called the Isaac Brock Society Highest International Tower. (surely I.B.SHIT for short ;-))) We need visibility as a people and something all Canadians will remember us by when we are all summarily executed. 600.00 per person should do it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver%27s_Turn
@All, If anyone is still working on their submission, I have a suggestion for you to consider. I just thought of it this this morning, and since I had already submitted my brief last night, its too late for me to go back in and add this important point, so I am hoping someone else will!!!!!
SUGGESTION: include JustMe’s ten points regarding possible options for dealing with the US threat of sanctions rather than simply accepting defeat and agreeing to an IGA. Since the argument we hear OVER AND OVER again by BANKSTERS and OUR GOVERNMENT, is that they HAVE NO CHOICE (BS!), it would be great to counter that with a list of alternatives. Here is the link to the post at IBS where JustMe’s famous list of ten can be found: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2014/02/08/10-things-ottawa-could-have-done-before-capitulating-to-the-fatca-iga/
If the government object to amending the implementation act in the way we are suggesting for fear it might result in Canadian institutions being denied “IGA” status, I have a simple fix:
pass a stand-alone statute called Financial Anti-Tormenting of Canadians Act (or “FATCA” for short). The provisions of Canada’s FATCA would be (and, apart from my humorous name, the rest of this is actually serious!):
– it shall be unlawful for any financial institution doing business in Canada as a bank, credit union, trust company, life insurance company, mutual fund, stock-broker or similar institution (hereafter a “financial institution”) to require of any client or customer or shareholder or beneficiary of any client or customer who is lawfully ordinarily resident in Canada any information regarding national origin or citizenship of such client, customer, shareholder or beneficiary as the case may be and all such financial institutions shall take reasonable steps to identify and delete or destroy any such records held by such financial institution;
– it shall be unlawful for any person who has signing authority in respect of any account held with a financial institution to transmit financial information concerning such account to any governmental authority or agency outside of Canada without the express written consent and direction of the owner of such account specifically authorizing such transmission and naming the agency or government to whom such transmission shall be authorized.
– no financial institution shall close an existing account or decline to provide services offered to clients in Canada on the basis of the citizenship or national origin of a customer, client, shareholder or beneficiary who is a lawful resident of Canada.
With a Canadian “FATCA” on the books, we can sign and implement the IGA as is, where is. The banks will be duly diligent and fail to find any resident Canadians who are US persons because they will be forbidden to ask and directed to delete any records of the fact if they have them. They will be in a state of perfect ignorance and perfect compliance at the same time. Everybody wins. For good measure, FBAR’s are made illegal in Canada unless you own the account yourself. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Robert Stack. The worlds needs to let the US know that their CBT “peculiar institution” runs counter to the interest of every other country whose national wealth is threatened by it and will not be tolerated or assisted in any way.
Anne Frank for Prime Minister — of a Canada that remains SOVEREIGN!
I have not done my submission as I am traveling with little time. I shall be home Sunday and can work on it. I hope that won’t be too late. What is the best way to submit . I have my CLN now and wonder if that can be a point to enter and also enter any other points that have not been entered. I welcome suggestions by email or on this post. I won’t be online much until late Sunday.
Great ideas Anne Frank and WhiteKat!
I just tweeted Just Me’s 10 point post to Nathan Cullen, who started following me last night (maybe as a result of sending him my submission yesterday?)
@Bubblebustin,
I just got the same email you did, re: submission being translated and distributed. I hope the committee members actually READ what we wrote.
@ WhiteKat
I hope the committee members read the submissions too. I still sent a copy (pdf) to each of the members though (Blazes’s suggestion) and now I’m in the process of picking up the 4 that I missed because I used an outdated FINA list (Allen, Keddy, Rankin, Saxton).
@AnneFrank:
LOVE the suggestions.
This was my brief. Sent by e mail . Copy to my M.P. John Weston. I received a reply that it will be translated and distributed.
I implore everyone to keep it simple; otherwise you will be ignored.
@ All
Here’s an added bonus (maybe). If you are English speaking only, like me, you will be able to see your “brief” in French when it gets posted. And it will be longer than the English version.
French:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=6526468&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=2&Language=F
English:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=6526468&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=2&Language=E
BTW, I took 6 years of French in school. Got great grades but the language did not “take and stay” I’m afraid, so I am truthfully English only.
@Anne Frank
I agree with many of your points, although I’m not sure that being “ordinarily resident in Canada” should be a criterion for a Canadian citizen to open a Canadian bank account. There are many good reasons for a Canadian living abroad to have a Canadian bank account. For example, I have a Canadian citizen cousin who hasn’t lived in Canada for decades. Her two Canadian citizen young adult sons do both reside in Canada. She likes to keep some money of her own in a Canadian bank account so that if the need arises, it is easier to get money to her sons–the money is already in Canada.
For certain purposes–especially applying for provincial health coverage–I can see that being ordinarily resident in Canada is important. But I’m not sure I see it being important for a bank account.
@WhiteKat
These are all good suggestions of @JustMe that you have passed on. I’ve already sent in my brief but I did remind them that Canada is not a tax haven.
@Dash1729
That is what I do also… keep the bank accounts in countries I have lived in & I may go back… not to hide it but to pay off bills that I may have… help family if I have any there… I think the wording I like best is from Korea… walk around money… When I get there… at the airport… I can get money from the ATM to cover the 1st day & withdraw it as I need it to cover my stay so I don’t have to bother with converting to local currency. I use the credit cards in the big cities but there are still lots of places who use cash only. Interest in most countries are not taxed or the interest is so low… I wouldn’t owe anything
We live in a mobile society. My retired parents live in India most of the time but come to Canada twice a year. I never ask them where they keep their bank accounts but I’m pretty sure they have accounts in Canada as well as in India. It’s called living.
Being able to bank locally in two separate countries should not be a crime. You know when a government like the US turns having a simple bank account into a major crime worthy of confiscating your hard earned money the world is in a very bad place. The US government has turned into a criminal enterprise like the Mafia. They come up with any excuse to take all your money.
@omgheestillanamerican
I think the worse will be the retired persons in the US who are immigrants from other countries. My elders split their time in 2 or more countries each yr… its called enjoying their golden yrs… they need the accounts to live… Its after tax money… not money from criminal activities… But now we are considered criminals cause we had bank accounts that maybe earned $20 in interest. The retired persons maybe on a fixed income but they saved & invested, not one of them expect the gov’t pensions to be able to afford them the lives they want. Age 40+… having more then 50K in the bank is normal… I am not rich…