March 8, 2016 UPDATE: Legal fees paid — on to Federal Court for Charter trial contesting Canadian FATCA IGA legislation.
Canadians and International Supporters:
You came through once again: $594,970 for legal costs have now been donated and our outstanding legal bill is finally paid off.
Thanks especially to those who donated even though they never had any “spare” money to give, and despite this gave over and over and over again.
This last round of fundraising also shows that our Canadian lawsuit remains dependent on the kindness of our International Friends: There would be no lawsuit without their financial help.
Know that a very generous donation (today) from a supporter in the United States made it possible to pay off the remaining legal debt. Also please appreciate that there would be no lawsuit without the help of the Isaac Brock Society which has kindly let us use its website to solicit funds.
Our next step is the Constitutional-Charter trial in Federal Court.
For this we need more Canadian Witnesses, and my next post will be devoted only to a request for Witnesses willing to go public, like our Plaintiffs Ginny and Gwen.
For the future: I want a win in Federal Court — and I want the new Liberal Government not to appeal that win.
Thank you all for your support,
Stephen Kish,
for the Directors,
Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty
“If the judges have ethos (ethics) then […]”
Yeah, that’s the kind of proposition that students of logic study all the time. “If judges have ethics then sanity clause exists.” “If sanity clause exists then tax laws will be fixed.” True but devoid of meaning.
Under Iraqi law, Kuwait was part of Iraq. However, Iraq never had any right to annex Kuwait and could not acquire such authority by manufacturing a document entitling itself to do so.
Agents of sovereign states need to understand and apply the same principle with U.S. laws.
“However, Iraq never had any right to annex Kuwait and could not acquire such authority by manufacturing a document entitling itself to do so.”
That’s why Iraq sent soldiers to invade. Iraq would have obtained the right to annex Kuwait if it had won the war.
“Agents of sovereign states need to understand and apply the same principle with U.S. laws.”
We’d better hope for another Isaac Brock.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorengould
http://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/dragons-den-double-dating-app-take-flirty-approach-to-pitching-the-next-tinder-in-episode-one-a3144361.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06ts26v/dragons-den-series-13-episode-10
(If you have a VPN that can switched to a UK IP address it can be watched online).
The UK version set looks different from the CBC’s version.
FATCA has now collided with a reality TV show winner. Loren Gould is one of three co-founders for http://www.joindouble.com which won a 75,000 pound investment on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den by dragon Nick Jenkins (founder of moonpig.com).
If anyone goes on the BBC iPlayer the episode is posted now.
He’s listed on Companies House as British as a director of Lomond Tech Ltd. However, he was an intern for former US Senator Ted Stevens of AK. Under the Senate rules you must be either a US citizen or legal resident.
If he has a US place of birth then he’s FATCA’d even with his British passport.
It would be interesting what the investing dragon, Nick Jenkins, would say about Loren’s FATCA responsibilities?
What an impressive argument regarding the effort to bring the Canadian Constitution home by Pierre Trudeau and the government of the day.
I remember it well and it is wise to remember those times and who worked so hard to accomplish such a monumental effort.
The man whose very son now sits as Prime Minister of Canada.
How ironic he should fight against the very document his father fought so hard to bring home and secure the sovereignty of the nation.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau was Prime Minister for a long time and had many enemies in the nation, political and personal .
If Pierre Trudeau is remembered for anything positive it should be this very effort. For in that effort he secured for Canada the very sovereignty under attack today.
It appears very clear that the government of today, headed by his son, nonetheless will NOT defend that sovereignty by removing the legislation that enabled a foreign nation to destroy that very sovereignty OR at the very least remove the government as defendants in the lawsuit to restore it.
@ADCS and Ginny/Gwen;
I know its not a lot of money but another donation is going in the post today. Probably a couple weeks to Toronto based on holiday mailings.
This non-Canadian is standing side by side with all of you.
I do look forward to the day when this is all behind us.
@ADCS, did the Crown Lawyers ever turn over documents?
Just before the Christmas holidays, my children received copies of their Registration in the Book of Foreign Births from our country’s Irish Embassy. My kids derived their Irish citizenship from me. I derived mine from my grandfather who left Ireland 100 years ago and naturalized as a US citizen. Ireland demanded nothing of him after he left so he was able to keep his Irish nationality. I exercised my claim to Irish citizenship back in 1990 as there was no down side to it. Ditto with my children. Nothing owed or expected unless any of us decide to move to Ireland and start working.
Now for my US nationality. I was born and raised in Boston and attended grade school during the Bicentennial celebration. Given the time and my location, I learned about the American Revolution inside and out. “Taxation without representation is tyranny”– this short phrase summed up why the Americans revolted. I was born in the Athens of America, the City on a Hill, the Cradle of Liberty. In grade school, we were indoctrinated with the idea that democracy was perfected in America. America was the greatest country. Ever. And as a kid born in Boston, American citizenship was my birth right.
How ironic then. My birth right was taxed away from me. Taxation without representation. I was forced to relinquish my US citizenship because it was taxed away from me. For the so-called Beacon of Liberty, citizenship is all about the taxes. “Taxation without representation is daily life for the US expat.”
@BC_Doc
That is very interesting. My father-in-law was born in Ireland 96 years ago and moved to Canada with his family. So, my spouse- a first generation Canadian born- can claim Irish citizenship through him? I would really like to look into this for him. Could you, if you have time, ask the admins for my email address so we can chat about this? It might make a nice birthday present and open up some ‘escape/adventure’ avenues for us. Is Ireland considered a tax haven as Canada is? Btw, I assume you are speaking of the Republic of Ireland, correct? :-}
@George
Thank you for another donation. Most of all, thank you for your kind words. You always cheer me up, and help me to keep going. I have had a few FATCA free days over the holidays, as we recommended everyone to have, but now it’s back to reality. Some days are easier than others. Some days just seem like a struggle. It’s been so long. I’d be less than honest if I said this was easy. But I do believe we will get there. With the help of our friends, like you and so many. Best wished to us all ( there are just too many for me to thank individually) in the New Year. I keep all of you in my thoughts every day because I know we are on the right path, together.
Companies put European head offices in Ireland because it’s a tax haven for companies. I doubt that it’s a tax haven for humans, but homelanders can’t tell the difference.
Hi Ginny,
I’d be happy to tell you more about the process to register in the Irish Foreign Births Registry.
Mods, kindly pass my e-mail on to Ginny.
Thanks,
BC Doc
P.S. Yes, I’m a citizen of the Republic of Ireland (each of my grandparents came from the South- three of the four from around Galway). As Norman says, Ireland has low tax rates for corporations but not so low for individuals.
@Ginny, “So, my spouse- a first generation Canadian born- can claim Irish citizenship through him? ”
Our friend BC-Doc will sort you but some comments here so others may see. I am Irish along with BC_Doc which is the second citizenship I acknowledge.
Your spouse can not “claim” Irish Citizenship because he is already an Irish Citizen!! He simply applies for a passport to show the claim.
If you guys have kids, they may claim Irish Citizenship and I would highly recommend they do so! That way it keeps going down generation after generation.
The handy thing for BC-Docs kids that are adults is that registration is a relinquishing act for the USA. My children will register only when they are adults. It is in that manner that I may help them for the disease they have received through me.
George, thank you, a friendly “non-Canadian”, for your continuing support which helps keep our lawsuit alive.
You ask about the discovery documents from Government that we requested. They have not been received and Arvay has sent another letter. I don’t know the reason for the delay, and we assume that the documents are all available.
My dream is that the new Attorney General has instructed the Crown attorneys not to turn over the documents….
@Ginny, remember that your spouse has effectively quad-citizenship Canada, Commonwealth, Ireland and European Union.
You gain the benefit of being the spouse of an EU Citizen meaning you also have rights to now live anywhere in the EU.
Sadly you missed out on the ability of a spouse to register as Irish……which would have been a US relinquishing act.
@George. Has that “registration” been run through DOS?
@Cheryl, “regsitration” as an Irish National after birth is an expatriating act and I know persons that have used it with State in the past 24 months and received a CLN.
The reference is contained in 7 FAM 1250.
“Terminology: Foreign state procedures for conferring nationality after birth may transpire under various terminology such as “naturalization,” “registration,” “declaration,” or “reintegration.” The terminology used is not determinative; the important factors are whether the person acquires the
foreign nationality after birth and whether an application is made. If these factors are present, a potentially expatriating act has been performed.”
The Irish Statute is very specific in that you are not Irish until registered and that you are only Irish after registration. I believe that differs from a Canadian perspective.
I have also learned in prepping for my kids……that application MUST be made by them individually after age 18. There must be no taint or remote indication of parental coercion.
@Cheryl, my relinquishment is unrelated to my Irish Nationality as I was registered as a young lad and for that it was then made clear on passport applications I had not relinquished. I affirmatively hold Irish and one other nationality which was the relinquishing nationality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GmZ1a5hnxo
Ran into this old 1963 JFK speech.
JFK talks about equal opportunity, inclusion, being able to obtain your full potential.
How with FATCA you can be considered financial equal with other citizens, getting the same service from FFIs, getting to your full potential abroad with the IRS monkey on your back?
Yes JFK was tackling racism and discrimination in 1963, but why is it OK for the US government to strip away the rights of foreign citizens within their own country of residence?
This is the only question that needs to be answered in 2016.
@Ginny Hillis – You may want to visit the following website.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/
Many moons ago I went through the process. You’ll need your grandparent’s Irish birth cert which is available on http://www.certificates.ie . You pay the fee, they’ll post it straight from Ireland to Canada.
I believe you then need your grandparent’s marriage cert, you parent’s marriage cert, your parent’s birth cert who has the Irish parent, and finally your own birth certificate.
Go to the Irish consulate and get an application for to Register a Foreign Birth. Fill it in, pay the fee, and armed with all the documentation drop it off at the consulate for checking and submission.
https://www.dfa.ie/embassies/irish-embassies-abroad/north-and-central-america/canada/
Ireland covers Canada pretty well with consulates.
https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/citizenship/born-abroad/
Apparently this process can be done or at least begun online as well.
You’ll wait a few weeks and finally in the post will arrive a Certificate of Irish citizenship. With that certificate get an Irish Passport application, and do all the other usual stuff (photo, fee, etc.) and submit that to the Irish Consulate.
Again wait a few weeks and presto your EU dark red passport will arrive in the post and you’re done.
Ireland has also just launched a new Passport Card that can be used traveling within the EU/EEA and Switzerland. So you can leave the passport book at home.
Costs? For an person living in Ireland the registration fee is 270 Euros plus all the costs of the documents plus the passport fee which I think is about 85 Euros.
From beginning to end it should cost about 450 – 500 Euros including fees for birth and marriage certificates. It sure beats the $2350 BS.
https://www.dfa.ie/passportcard/
Now once you have the Irish Foreign Birth Certificate you can then apply for the Irish Passport online as well.
Perhaps you can avoid the Irish Consulate all together.
@Stephen
There’s still the hope that our new government will do some research into the constitutionality of the IGA, and unlike the previous government will set the bar higher than a 5% chance of passing constitutional muster when allowing it to stand.
Thanks, Don!
That, and what have we learned since then? Could the path forward for the world have been more sane?
@Don
Thank you so much for the information. I had forgotten that having an Irish passport gave rights to live in the EU. Lots to think about.