121 thoughts on ““If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” Obi Wan Kenobi”

1. And while I was very slowly mulling over my comment to The_Animal, Canadian Cop found the tombstone. Good.

2. “What scares me is that Canada is being absorbed by the USA, concession by concession by concession, and nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care, nobody is standing on guard. Canadians are just mindlessly mouthing the words to our national anthem.”

   Yep. exactly and that has me absolutely disgusted. More and more as I get older; this “stand on guard for thee” resonates much more strongly. The simple fact that so many Canadians are willing to “sell-out” their country because they feel that the United States “is their friend and why would friends do anything bad to us” makes me wonder if we’re anything more than simpering toadies cozying up to the slaughter. Anybody who allows any foreign nation to get a foothold in Canada should be considered a traitor.

3. @TheAnimal

   That’s precious.

4. Since this has a Star Wars Title: I find that this “slanderous” (at least to Democrats and PC’rs) is pretty apt.

   https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WXE5hWkineo/U4q20moyfyI/AAAAAAAAB5k/m6OI6HxqZ9M/w600-h255-no/DarthObama%2526Friends_rs.png

5. em, I don’t think people really notice what is going on beyond the boundaries of their daily lives. Before the whole over reach thing, how many of us were really paying attention?

   animal, being an immigrant, the line in the anthem “stand on guard for thee” is one I have meditated upon frequently since my daughter first asked me to explain to her what it meant when she was back in grade one and really learning the song in school rather than simply mouthing along as she did as a kindee. Although I am not happy about the circumstances that surround my giving up American citizenship, I think I am fortunate to have been prodded – cattle car like as it may be – to the depths I have been in terms of learning about my chosen home/nationality. Don’t despair. Canadians have a history of being complacent about the US but they also have a history of fighting back when they have to. They will realize they have to. Maybe not by July 1st but soon enough.

6. @ Tim
   Those are interesting / valid points. Thanks for sharing

7. Re the discussion about how to get the word out to our fellow Canadians: I believe we need to use the political process for our own ends. So far the political process has been used against us. But I believe that the NDP is in the mood to make this an election issue. Let’s encourage Mr. Mulcair to do just that. A political party has the resources to get this before the cameras and onto the front pages.

8. I agree with MuzzledNoMore. I say we let the NDP run with it and give them all the support they need. They have a very intelligent approach and will reach the general population better than we can. Sometimes hysteria can cause your message to get lost. The NDP can drive the message home to Canadians without being overly emotional about it. I have been VERY impressed with everything I’ve heard coming from the NDP on FATCA.

9. Imagine if the US was claiming that a large Canadian city was shared territory between Canada and the US what outrage there would be. What’s the difference between that and what they are doing by way of so called US persons. They are claiming a right to a segment of our territory through a segment of our population.

   CBT is a violation of the territorial integrity of every nation on Earth. It needs to come to a FULL STOP. Canada may be the country God has chosen to stand up to the bully because we have the largest US tainted population and because the world does not view Canada as a tax haven. If the US tries to paint Canadians as tax evaders they will only end up making themselves look bad.

   The US is behind on so many human rights issues: gay marriage, racism, privacy, CBT. It’s like the so called greatest country on Earth is still living in the dark ages.

10. @ OMG
    Good comment. It’s like everywhere a US tainted person in Canada stands the USA believes that land belongs to them so their laws apply and they have the “right” to seize any assets they wish. We have to ask ourselves whose land is this and are we willing to tell the USA to FATCA off? I know how Sir Isaac would have answered those questions. I know I’m disgusted at how Stephen Harper has handled those questions.

11. @omg
    We’ll said…a city with over a million inhabitants.
    And what also is so mind-boggling are these huge penalties that are actually for a stash of money overseas- not EVERYTHING a person owns. If they grab somebody in Florida who has hidden something in the Cayman Islands- and they want 30%-that will be a fraction of what somebody has. And that is such a far cry from wanting 30% of everything somebody has.

12. That’s what’s so pathetic about the Cons on the Standing Committee on Finance rejecting the amendment that would exempt Canadians and PR’s in Canada from the FATCA IGA. In the end, the US would look like complete idiots treating Canada like a tax haven, but by our government accepting the IGA, Canada is allowing itself to be categorized as such, and every US citizen within its borders a potential US tax evader. Very lame.

13. “Canada may be the country God has chosen to stand up to the bully because we have the largest US tainted population and because the world does not view Canada as a tax haven. If the US tries to paint Canadians as tax evaders they will only end up making themselves look bad.” Well said, OMG!

14. RELATED: Daniel Therrien to be vetted as privacy watchdog Tuesday — Chantal Bernier will not appear as an expert witness on Bill C-13, the cyberbullying bill.

    Daniel Therrien’s nomination as the next federal privacy commissioner is expected to be confirmed quickly and as early as next Tuesday, just as interim privacy commissioner Chantal Bernier wraps up her six-month term as interim privacy watchdog.

    On Tuesday, MPs will question Therrien for an hour when he appears before the Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics.

    A couple of hours later, it will be up to the Senate to approve Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pick for the next privacy watchdog, according to a notice posted on the Parliament website on Friday.The committee will not hear from Bernier, however, whose six-month term as interim privacy commissioner ends on June 3.
    …
    In her preliminary remarks on the bill, Bernier said she had not been consulted on the bill and had questions about “the new investigative powers in the bill, the potentially large number of ‘public officers’ who would be able to use these significant new powers, and a lack of accountability and reporting mechanisms to shed light on the use of new investigative powers.”

    She also noted that “many troubling aspects” of a previous version of the legislation, Bill C-30, were not included in this current bill.

    Bernier was also expected to appear before a Senate committee to give her views on Bill S-4, the digital privacy act, but to date two bureaucrats from the privacy commissioner’s office are scheduled to appear on June 4.

15. Calgary: THAT answers a whole lot of questions, doesn’t it!

16. from USCitizenAbroad: http://renounceuscitizenship.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/canadian-data-u-s-laws-and-privacy-rights/

    U.S. Citizen Abroad @USCitizenAbroad

    Harper’s Privacy Commissioner is wrong for the job http://fw.to/WvqCJkG – Great article, time to consider #FATCA IGA and privacy!

    My comment at G&M:

    How, then, would this Privacy Commissioner view Canadian financial privacy for US Persons?

    Will this Privacy Commissioner condone a continuation of the amazing Conservative MP give-away in the House of Commons Standing Finance Committee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slqAkW_eeUA

17. And another:
    Playing fast and loose with our privacy — Stephen Maher, Calgary Herald, May 31, 2014

18. A Brocker asked me to post this on his/her behalf:

    What do you think of making posters for any July 1st event?

19. More on Harper’s Privacy Commissioner from CBC, The Current

20. More on the subject of SNOWBIRDS — sent to me from a fellow Brocker:

    Canadian Residents Travelling to the United States

    …THE DIFFERENCE IS LEADERSHIP

    Attention: Canadian Residents Travelling to the United States
    Greetings,

    Are you a Canadian resident that visits the U.S. for several months out of the year? If so, there may be a requirement to file U.S. information returns or tax returns.

    Outlined below are three common scenarios that may be applicable to you:

    Scenario 1 – You do not meet the Substantial Presence Test
    If you are present in the U.S. less than 183 days and do not meet the substantial presence test as outlined in Scenario 2 below, then you do not have any U.S. income tax filings provided you did not earn any U.S. source income.

    Scenario 2 – You meet the Substantial Presence Test
    If you are considered to be a U.S. resident alien, you will be required to file a U.S. tax return reporting your worldwide income. For U.S. income tax purposes, you would be considered a U.S. resident alien if you meet the substantial presence test. To meet this test for the 2013 tax year, you must be physically present in the U.S. for more than:

    31 days during 2013; and
    183 days or more during the three-year period, based on the following calculation:

    Count each day in 2013 as one full day;
    Count each day in 2012 as one-third of a day; and
    Count each day in 2011 as one-sixth of a day.

    If a) and b) above are both met, you are considered a U.S. resident alien for U.S. tax purposes.

    However, even if you are deemed to be a U.S. resident alien because you meet the substantial presence test, you may still be treated as a non-resident alien for U.S. tax purposes if:

    You were present in the U.S. for less than 183 days in 2013;
    Your tax home is in Canada;
    You had a closer connection to Canada than to the U.S. during 2013; and
    You filed or will file, Internal Revenue Service Form 8840 “Closer Connection Exception Statement for Aliens” by June 15, 2014.

    If you meet the substantial presence test, but do not file Form 8840 by June 15, 2014, you will not be eligible to claim the closer connection to Canada for 2013. You will, therefore, be treated as a resident alien for U.S. tax purposes and taxed in the U.S. on your worldwide income.

    Scenario 3 – You are present in the United States 183 days or more
    If you were present in the U.S. for 183 days or more in 2013, you must file a U.S. income tax return. However, if you continue to have a permanent home in Canada, you may still be able to be treated as a non-resident alien for U.S. income tax purposes due to the Income Tax Treaty between Canada and the U.S. To claim the treaty benefit, you must file a U.S. income tax return and attach Form 8833 “Treaty-Based Return Position Disclosure under Section 6614 or 7701(b)”.

    If you fall into Scenario 2 or 3 please contact us to discuss your U.S. filing obligations.

    Regards,

    CPA (New Hampshire)
    Tax Manager

21. And, more information for Canadian snowbirds to consider, pursuant to the most recent ‘new and improved streamline compliance’ program — from a Roy Berg (Moodys) comment at http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.ca/2014/06/irs-issues-more-liberal-streamlined.html?showComment=1403125850459

    We found a huge trap in the new Streamlined procedure for
    snowbirds… it goes like this:

    Assume:
    Dual US/CDN citizen has house in Phoenix
    He hasn’t filed US returns because he didn’t know of
    his US filing obligations
    He spends 60 days per year at his house in Phoenix

    Under the new rules
    He doesn’t qualify for non-resident streamline
    He doesn’t qualify for resident streamline.. cause he
    hasn’t filed returns
    Only option is OVDP

    Really bad result.