In a new “Special to the Financial Post” advertorial that makes Barrie McKenna look like Woodward and Bernstein, über compliance condor Max Reed attempts to reassure “American citizens in Canada” that they have nothing to fear, except perhaps some red-herring nightmare of IRS goon squads swarming across the border to seize their homes. It is a tour de force of utter nonsense and, sadly, another disheartening example of what now passes for journalism in Canada. Here are a few tidbits, displaying all the comforting factuality of a PMO press release:
Don’t panic, American citizens in Canada: The IRS is not coming to seize your house
To get on the IRS’s good side, take advantage of the amnesty program called “Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures” (which you can find on the IRS site). It will help you catch up on overdue tax returns without fear of penalties.
U.S. citizens in Canada are only subject to U.S. federal tax. (The Canadian taxes you pay are credited against your U.S. taxes.)
Unless you have U.S. source income, you will not owe anything.
The deadline for filing a return in the U.S. is April 15, but can be extended to June 15 for those outside the U.S.
Intriguingly, this is just part one of a spring series of helpful articles for “One million American citizens in Canada.” It is difficult to imagine just how much more useful advice Max Reed can offer than he does in his first instalment.
Comments are wide open.
Well, Deckard,
I don’t want to have opened up such a can of worms: a spectacle of condors (is that like a gaggle of geese?) claiming national origin discrimination. That is all our own.
Yes, there should be a rebutt article in the FP. Also, there should be a letter to the Law Society and/or Bar Association about this inaccurate and misleading testimony in print under his professional name. He is harming naive readers and earning money spouting lies; this is not appropriate professonal behaviour!!!
If there is going to be such a letter from IBS, it should be written and edited by a group, just like the UN Human Rights submission, and if we can get a lawyer or two and/or a professor of taxation (Allison?) to be part of those who write this complaint, all the better.
I upvote the term “Brocked” for the IBS lexicon – as used in this post by Charl:
Charl says
March 6, 2015 at 10:51 pm
I wonder how the Financial Post will react to Mr. Reed having been officially Brocked? All journalists should be fearful of the Brock gnat swatters. Maybe one day they will realize they need to get their stories right or the wrath of Sir Issac will be unleashed upon them.
I read over the posts and note this one as I have not heard much at IBS of the racist angle of referring to Canadians with US personhood as anything but Canadians:
George S. • 10 hours ago
Mr. Reed, your comment “One Million American Citizens in Canada” is downright offensive and racist. Most of these men, women and children are Canadian Citizens living in Canada.
Calling a Canadian Citizen in Canada anything other than Canadian is offensive and has deep underlying racist tones. Do you call people Black Canadians? Maybe Jewish Canadians?
Most of these “Americans in Canada” do not have a US Passport and consider themselves solely and absolutely Canadian. Calling them ANYTHING other than Canadian implies subtly they have loyalties elsewhere. There was a dark day in 1940’s USA when the same terminology was applied to US Citizens who had “slanted eyes and yellow skin.”
Remember that it is a FOREIGN power which is bestowing FOREIGN Citizenship on these loyal Canadian Citizens living in Canada. The United States bestowing foreign citizenship is no different than Ireland, Russia or any other FOREIGN country bestowing its citizenship on a Canadian Citizen.
Your comment is offensive and racist, you my friend and this paper need to apologize to the loyal Canadian Citizens which you have besmirched by referring to them as anything other Canadian…..
George has provided this site much information, that aspect being one of them. When I get time, I can lead you to some of his excellent comments here!!! George’s words have buoyed me up many times.
I read this elementary article today on my flight home from Vancouver. Nothing new to see here folks , move along. There probably hasn’t been an article in the press about this garbage for a whole two days at least so the compliance condor is panicking and thinking he needs to give us another reminder. Wouldn’t be surprised if he already has more work than he can handle as it is and this is just a courtesy public service announcement.
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Another thing — Note that, along with this article, FP provides a link to a related article from January by the same author: Why Canadian mutual funds can cause U.S. tax headaches,
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/01/03/holiday-series-max-reed-canadian-mutual-funds-cause-u-s-tax-problems/
In the January article, Reed cautions that “Common Canadian investments can inadvertently cause U.S. tax problems for U.S. citizens in Canada”, and if considered PFICs, “There are punitive tax consequences for owning such an investment.”
Perhaps the author will explain the contradictory statements in the two articles — In March: “Unless you have U.S. source income, you will not owe anything” vs. January’s “punitive tax consequences” for owning Canadian mutual funds.
Max Reed needs to have a listen to the video of the young man who challenges “The Young Turks”. Max Reed might have a better understanding of the current FATCA issues. He might just twig that his article is far from good and redo his blatant insensitivity to those of us who are in this disaster. Maybe he would like to contribute a percentage to our cause as well with all the money he is collecting from his scare tactic.Guys like this gall me. They are more annoying than telemarketers.
As expected, Max Reed has a new article today in Canada’s Financial Post which is also in the widely read Saturday print edition.
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/03/13/gimme-shelter-how-the-u-s-eyes-your-canadian-registered-plans/
The FP never responded to our letters a week ago insisting that the FP retract inaccurate statements made by Reed in his earlier article.
I hope that some of you will follow up on this (I will) and ask the FP again on line and in letters to the editor to correct the statements (e.g., nothing to worry about unless you have U.S. source income). Suggest to FP that it consider seriously the issue of liability/lawsuits when it knowingly (WILLFULLY per IRS definition) allows tax advice to be published that is incorrect and could result in significant harm (“I never bothered filing because I have no U.S. source income. “)
Today’s Reed article deals in part with IRS 8891 associated with Streamlined. I don’t know the answer but thought that there is no need now to file 8891. Is Reed wrong again?
At the very least, Max Reed should be sued for the unauthorized use of the title of a Rolling Stones song.
If nothing else, I think persons should get a second opinion on this advice given in a newspaper article.
The March 14(online) and 15 (print) article was NOT published in the Business section of our newspaper yesterday, although the first one was in the business section on March 7.
I just sent another personal email to the Financial Post editor (who replied previously by acknowledging to me the issue and notes that others have sent letters of complaint) asking for the third time that the March 7 Max Reed sentence “Unless you have U.S. source income you will not owe anything.” be retracted with apology.
The FP “response” so far seems to be limited to yet another article by Reed in today’s print FP (March 21) pointing out that Canadian citizens who are also U.S. citizens might actually have to pay capital gains tax to IRS should they sell their home: http://business.financialpost.com/2015/03/20/real-estate-tax-one-million-american-citizens-in-canada-face-double-tax-troubles/
Obviously capital gains tax is not U.S. source income.
I have the feeling that this new Reed article is the response of Reed and the FP to our complaints and that FP now considers the issue of retraction resolved and closed. I don’t agree. I still want a retraction. Perhaps some of you might want to send comments on the new Reed article or a letter to the FP editor and ask why this new article is not consistent with Reed’s previous “do not worry if no source income” statement and why Reed and the FP refuse to retract that incorrect and misleading statement or point out the inconsistency to its readers.
Actually I believe the new article is part of a series that was preplanned/written in advance.
You’re probably right, Trish, but I did write to the principal in the my legal firm where Max Reed works with a link to his original article, suggesting he read the comments, where mine appears:
“PS Max Reed, I’m one of your firm’s clients and you should know better than to tell people that unless they have US sourced income they probably wouldn’t owe anything. Your firm handled more than a few cases (including mine) where your clients incurred a substantial capital gains tax liability on the sale of their Vancouver homes. Considering how much I’ve paid your firm in fees as a result of this tax liability, you shouldn’t be so forgetful!”
@ Stephen Kish
I tried to comment at the latest FP Max Reed article but it went into moderation. Maybe it will pop up later. If not, I’ll try the “dot” workaround on the links I put in and try again. I wonder if they are getting a bit testy about the backlash to the inaccuracies they allowing in their articles?
Yep, FP is one of those no links in comments sites. I wish they’d mention that at the top of their comments section.
This is my last attempt to change the mind of the FP Editor:
Dear Mr. Akai,
As you are VP Legal Affairs for PostMedia (the publisher of National/Financial Post), and are associated with the “Governance” Postmedia page which states that your Company employs “the highest standards of ethical conduct”, I ask for your help in resolving a problem I am having with your Financial Post Editor, Terry Corcoran.
As you can see from my email to Mr. Corcoran below, I am asking that the FP issue a retraction of a statement one of its columnists made which is incorrect and which could cause financial harm to some of its readers. As you are VP Legal Affairs, please consider also the possibility of litigation should one of the FP readers actually act on the statement in the FP article and suffer serious financial harm.
Mr. Corcoran (cc’d) promised to investigate and get back to me (see below), but never did.
Could you please give him a call and explain to the Editor why it is important to publish statements (especially in the form of advice to readers) that are accurate and not misleading? It would seem to be a simple matter of ethics and common sense.
Really, it should not be that difficult for the FP to issue a one sentence retraction and apology.
Thanks in advance for your help.
With best wishes,
Stephen Kish
@ Stephen Kish
Being an FP writer means never having to say you’re sorry … no matter how many readers you lead astray.
@Stephen Kish
Financial Post Editor Terrence Corcoran expects the invisible hand of the marketplace will write his reply to you for him. Send it, too.
Thus the delay.
The Financial Post previously had Julius Melnitzer writing about FATCA for them.
Julius Melnitzer was a prominent London Ontario lawyer until the 1990s. He then pleaded guilty to defrauding Canadian banks of $67 million. It was the largest bank fraud in Canadian history. He was sentenced to nine years in prison, but served only a few and did not make full restitution pas was required. He was disbarred. His name still resounds loudly in London to anyone who lived here then.
He also defrauded his law partner who is now an Ontario judge.
The Financial Post had to know all of this when they hired him as a legal writer and published his FATCA articles.
Why would we think Financial Post has ethical or legal standards when we consider all of that?
Unlikely now to have any retraction from Canada’s Financial Post. Shame on the Editor and Publisher.
Instead we have yet another article this weekend from Max Reed also at odds with the statement that we will not owe money to IRS if we do not have U.S. source income.
Lynne Swanson is now commenting on this new article and getting the usual response: “Nothing to stop you from denouncing your citizenship, folks. If you don’t like it here, please leave for good. We sure won’t hold you back.”
Maybe you could help her out:
http://business.financialpost.com/2015/03/27/estate-planning-benjamin-franklin-was-doubly-right/
I suggested millionaire Rajit help out ADCS in the comments on Max Reed’s latest article. Unfortunately, a comment with the website was not accepted.
There’s a peanut-brained and possibly planted troll in the comments section at the FP. I bit once but I will not bite again. Please don’t feed him! His ignorance and malevolence are so obvious he is actually undermining his own attempt at undermining others. He will be seen for exactly what he is.