A friend of mine sent me a private message on Facebook:
Hey, if you have an introductory article for us Americans who are clueless about FATCA, let me know and I’ll send it around.
I considered sharing with him Daniel Mitchell’s article:
Is FATCA the Worst Part of the Internal Revenue Code?
However, I wonder what others might recommend to their clueless American friends. Which article would you recommend for your clueless Canadian or French or Swiss or other friends?
And speaking of Facebook, it would be good to network on social media. Have you considered liking the Isaac Brock Society on Facebook, or requesting friendships with such people like Petros? Then, you can share FATCA/FBAR/Renunciation articles with your social media friends.
After reading and re-reading numerous comments on this blog, plus the sources listed ib the right hand column of the blog, I still don’t have a clear picture concerning the following situation.
(1) Assume a US-born person who has been living in Canada since 1969, married a Canadian spouse, worked and had a home in Canada since 1969, and finally acquired Canadian citizenship in 1993 with the intention to relinquish US citizenship.
(2) This “US Person” assumed that by so doing, the US citizenship is relinquished automatically, and that no other formalities were required.
(3) Consequently, this “US Person” didn’t use a US passport or file tax returns after swearing allegiance to Her Majesty. All traveling was done with a Canadian passport.
(4) A few years ago, when panic spread in the press and among expats about the hunt for “US Persons”, the person in question began filing tax returns with the intention of answering the five-year filing requirement needed for a formal relinquishing and obtaining the coveted CLN.
(5) Now assume that this “US Person” files for an appointment with a US embassy/consulate in order to obtain this CLN. On the basis of the foregoing info, can the US authorities refuse to issue a CLN? If they do refuse, can the said “US Person” ask to renounce and pay the $2000+ ransom? On the other hand, if they are willing to grant a CLN, do they do so on the spot or is there a long, convoluted process with a long lag time as reported in this blog and a possibility that a refusal will be made at the last minute?
Can anyone please enlighten me on these points?
Thank you.
Powerful article posted on AARO FB page today:
http://www.sott.net/article/286662-FATCA-what-How-to-fight-the-war-on-tax-evasion-one-American-at-a-time
1. Start with Robert Stack and his List of myths … to set the stage.
2. Then the 2 pieces published in The Economist
3. Then the most recent piece in The Guardian
… and finally:
4. The video on YouTube explaining FATCA in 4 minutes
Links guys, please post links, not just names of articles, it would be very useful. Thanks!
Articles that are politically biased or speak in over the top rhetoric (eg the article cited by @Bubblebustin above) are, in my opinion, not helpful for newbies. They are preaching to the converted.
In my view, the best articles come from neutral sources. The ones I have had most success with are the original, magnificent Accidental Kenyan article, to set the stage:
http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/archives/story.html?id=71cc9019-69f0-4556-8ab7-f257e8ec2ccf
And the two Economist articles mentioned above:
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21605911-americas-fierce-campaign-against-tax-cheats-doing-more-harm-good-dropping
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21605907-americas-new-law-tax-compliance-heavy-handed-inequitable-and-hypocritical-fatcas-flaws
@Star
Some people only listen to over-the-top biased rhetoric. Cite Fox News.
One must consider the audience when recommending which source of information to choose from, otherwise it will fall on deaf ears.
@Bubblebustin
Good point.
To dt804a :
Relinquishing would have happened in 1993, now he would only want the US consulate to recognize that. The CNL would be backdated to 1993, no need to file 5 years of tax returns (1993 – 1988) for that, since covered expatriate laws were not in place at that time. But his behavior would have to confirm his intent. Filing tax returns post 1993 tax returns would play against him when he argues that he relinquished in 1993.
Everything looks nice except for (4) – if he relinquished in 1993, he wouldn’t hold himself as a US citizen – unless he met the substantial presence test (spent a lot of days in the US) – why in the world did he file US tax returns? Because he hold himself as a US citizen (I’m not saying that, I’m just raising the issue that the consulate could raise).
He should try to have his relinquishment recognized (but having filed tax returns plays against him). If he fails, then he can renounce (which will only be effective at the date of renunciation appointment) – pay $2,350 and there you need to have 5 years on file and file form 8854 in order to not become a covered expatriate.
I had an interesting meeting with a Japanese businessman in SE Asia today that illustrates the depth of the CBT/FATCA problem. He lived in the USA for many years, but has lived in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur now for an equal number of years. The discussion naturally turned to FATCA and how I am marked as a US Person with a US place of birth. I told him he was very lucky not to be a US Person and to hold his Japanese passport – then he pulled out a Green Card. He has not been filing US returns, owns property in the US (a significant interest) that he said his interest is ‘buried’ (i.e. not obvious). I just looked at him and told him he has a big problem and needs to dump that Green Card and cut the US ties. This CBT/FATCA problem is so deep and affects so many people’s lives and it’s effects are only starting to be felt. His recommendation to me…sell all my US assets and renounce…which, sadly, is my 5 year plan. Thank you Mr. Obama for destroying the lives of otherwise law abiding citizens of the world.
Re: introductory article. When “tax” is mentioned people often turn off. Then of issue is a second set of taxation – double taxation by the country where you live – placed on top (in the homelander viewpoint). Makes the whole topic more mind-boggling and of less interest. I suggest this article that taps into other aspects than tax:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/09/12/dear-son-why-you-should-leave-america-now/
@JC
That’s why I’m starting to tell people that as a US citizen I fully support being part of the US tax system – only one based on residency not citizenship, in the same way I would support the Canadian tax system if I lived outside of Canada as a Canadian citizen.
This is a good one:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/10/07/guest-post-the-accidental-tax-invasion/
Introductory Articles: Three Very Important Articles from The New American by Alex Newman:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/19072-gop-votes-to-end-tax-regime-that-is-crushing-americans-abroad
The important point, among many made in this article above is that : Overseas Americans ALREADY pay tax on WORLDWIDE income in their country of residence.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/item/17986-the-dark-road-the-worst-tax-law-you-ve-never-heard-about
The important points in this article above concerns the illegality of both FATCA and IGA’s implemented by Treasury, who are not authorized to do so. When asked to cite either statutory , constitutional authority they cannot because there is none. NO authorization whatsoever from Congress which is mandatory. The entire article, as all three, cover extremely important points.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/item/17987-a-new-world-tax-regime
And this article details the plans by the OECD to implement WORLDWIDE FATCA, calling it Residency based because borders no longer count with this scheme. Sovereignty is moot since their aim is to eliminate sovereignty of nations in favour of UN based taxation on the entire world.
Again, an important article that emphasizes the assault on not only citizens of the US but all citizens of the world.
From the Article: First paragraph:
To anyone who even casually monitors international agencies — such as the UN, the OECD, and the IMF — it will come as no surprise that those agencies have long wanted stable sources of funding that they could count on, rather than relying on handouts from governments around the world. But it would likely come as a surprise to most that we will likely see the initial operation of a world tax regime to fund international entities by 2015.
From the Article:
In mid-February, in fact, the OECD officially unveiled its plan informally called GATCA (Global Account Tax Compliance Act) by analysts. Calling its ploy to put the final nail in the coffin for financial privacy “game changing,” the tax-funded OECD said it would require governments to collect massive amounts of sensitive personal information on individuals from banks and other financial institutions in their jurisdictions. “The reality will be that for the automatic exchange of information rules should cover what kind of information is to be exchanged, how often, who should collect the information, to whom it should be sent, and in what format,” claimed Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, speaking as if the plot were already a done deal.
Autocrats “R” Us
Over 40 governments, which the Paris-based OECD misleadingly refers to as “countries,” have already committed to the controversial scheme. In a “joint statement,” participating governments celebrated the planetary plot, implying that it was only being instituted to catch tax cheats. “Tax evasion is a global problem and requires a global solution,” said representatives from dozens of governments, including more than a few run by self-described socialists. “We therefore strongly support the development of the single global standard for automatic exchange of information between tax authorities.”
The entire article on the OECD and their nefarious plans to enslave the entire world, including individuals , small businesses and corporations is an important view into what plans are afoot while we are all focused on FATCA and the IGA Canada signed.
While the movements to sue both the Canadian government and the lawsuit to be filed in the US are important, VERY important and we should all be supporting both, it is clear we have to keep our eye on what they plan to do with our government officials, both Canadian and US, approving and a part of this OECD scheme.
What we need more than anything, in both the US and Canada, is an INJUNCTION. This would stop all activity while the court cases move forward. We must maintain support for these law suits to move forward and continue at all costs.
And This:
Also from the New American by Alex Newman:
“None of the proposed changes look likely to benefit the common man — only governments and their functionaries. For Americans such a scheme would turn American traditions and constitutional protections upside down. According to a brief by the OECD, among the data that governments would share with each other as part of the “automatic exchange of information” regime are various categories of income, changes of address, purchase or sale of property, and more. Instead of being secure in one’s house, papers, and effects without a warrant and probable cause, governments and autocrats around the world will be free to rifle through Americans’ most sensitive information at will.”
Hackers, criminals, and identity thieves, among others, will almost certainly be able to access the data, dubious globalist promises of “security” notwithstanding. The situation is similar in other nations where authorities are busy gutting long-standing protections on privacy rights to comply with FATCA.
While Americans might recoil in horror at the prospect of sharing private financial information with Third World socialist regimes, the OECD boasts of its collaboration with them. ”
Noting that automatic information sharing between governments and even ruthless tyrannies was becoming “the new standard.”
The chance for abuse of individuals’ information is 100 percent. Consider that among the early participants in the scheme is the imploding socialist regime ruling Argentina — currently searching frantically for wealth to plunder as the economy it misrules collapses around it. Also on board is the radical South African Communist Party-African National Congress regime, which has been implicated in genocide in South Africa by the world’s leading expert in the field, and which has more poverty today than when power was transferred from the white government to the ANC. Eventually, globalists hope to force every government and dictator on the planet into participating. More than a few brutal autocracies are already lining up to join.
“If countries with less restrictive tax regimes do not bow down to the OECD demands, they can be blacklisted as “uncooperative,” or worse, with economic sanctions being the implicit threat. The tactic is especially effective when bullying smaller nations — Switzerland and Hong Kong, for instance — particularly with Obama and bloated governments ruling major Western economies already fully on board with the agenda.”
Where It Goes From Here
In an interview with SwissInfo.ch, OECD tax czar Saint-Amans portrayed his organization — funded in large part by $100 million annually from U.S. taxpayers — as a global authority. “The beauty of international organizations is that we oversee relations between nations and the differences between states,” he boasted, though it was not clear where the OECD had any sort of mandate to “oversee” relations between governments.
With the unaccountable bureaucrats at globalist institutions almost always more than happy to trample individual rights and siphon more wealth out of the productive sector, little to no official opposition is expected to any of the ongoing plots to quietly erect, piece by piece, a global tax regime. Plus, powerful socialist forces and tax-funded “non-governmental organizations” are already working overtime to make sure the global tax regime and all that it entails can move forward.
Because the OECD, the G-20, and other forces seeking to foist the global FATCA, GATCA, and taxation regimes on the world are largely unaccountable to the public, stopping the scheme will be tough at this point.
If and when it goes into effect, governments all over the world will have instant access to people’s most sensitive financial records, including bank accounts, assets, income, insurance, interest paid, capital gains, property ownership, investments, sale of real estate, and more. And the age-old notion of innocent until proven guilty is being flipped on its head, with authorities searching through people’s highly personal information in search of potential crimes without warrants or even suspicion.
Escape will become virtually impossible for the poor, middle, and upper-middle classes. However, as multiple analysts have already pointed out, there will be more than enough loopholes in the new world taxation regime for the truly mega-wealthy members of the global establishment to protect their own wealth from outright confiscation. The rest of humanity, though, will suffer the consequences if the brakes are not slammed on the scheme very soon.
Historically, the U.S. government has largely resisted the OECD’s efforts to “harmonize” global taxation policy — at least tepidly. Under the Obama administration, however, the global plot has received among its biggest boosts thus far with the adoption of FATCA and the administration’s full-blown open support for all of the key globalist talking points — automatic information exchange, global minimum taxes, giving up sovereignty, global warming-related wealth redistribution, and more.
Critics of the machinations say the best methods of fighting back, for now at least, include raising awareness of what policymakers are doing and urging lawmakers to put an end to the lawless schemes. Stopping all funding to the OECD would be a good start, too, and an easy one if Congress would take action.
Now in public view, the pieces of the New World Tax regime are already falling into place. With firm resistance, though, the emerging planetary taxation regime can still be stopped — along with everything such a terrifying scheme would entail.”
It is important to note that in the IGA wording that Canada signed it is emphasized that the IGA “adheres to OECD guidelines”.
I cannot think of anyone, once they have read these articles through, who would not rush to both movements and donate.
It is IMPERATIVE that these schemes be stopped dead in their tracks.
Our own effort and that of Lee and Bopp and Yue, although behind ours, is also very important, for it will hit the beast in it’s own den.
And a two pronged assault is a very good start.