Today, I received a letter from my Member of Parliament (Deputy Finance Critic), Phil McColeman.
I’ve been hounding Mr. McColeman on Twitter (I’m relentless at times) for months about FATCA and it seems he simply doesn’t feel the need/urge to reply there.
So I went old school and sent a letter.
I’ve told him about the accidental Americans I meet at random in his riding…the look of anguish when I make the decision to force feed the the red pill known as FATCA. I’ve also told him about the impacts of FATCA on non-Americans (spouses, children, etc.)
Oddly, he didn’t mention them in his letter.
I’ll be writing him back and adding the PDF from a few weeks about about potential costs of FATCA to the Canadian economy and some new stories of accidental Americans he “represents” in Ottawa.
Anyway, here’s the letter if you’re having trouble falling asleep:
I’ve said it before, but here’s what I think the perfect solution that the Canadian government should do: Reciprocate the 30% withholding and do the same to payments from Canada to U.S. banks. Furthermore, put that withheld money in a fund that helps Canadians with U.S. citizenship pay for accountant’s fees to be compliant, renunciation fees if they decide to renounce, etc.
Kelly, Sounds good, but the Cdn government of the day (or yesterday or tomorrow) won’t care about your perfect solution or any other solution that ‘Americans living in Canada’ might come up with to save their skins. From the government’s perspective, the cheapest and easiest solution is to sacrifice one million second class Canadians to the US wolves. Throw a little self delusion and denial into the mix, and they can even convince themselves that we are the cause of our own misery. Now that their collective minds are made up, the cognitive dissonance has set in, and they avoid us like the plague.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
While the letter from Mr McColeman is a canned response, he is aware of this issue on a personal level.Present the following senarios:1. A Canadian only couple have a child while on work leave in the US. They return to Canada- the child is raised in Canada-but now disadvantaged because cannot have RESP /onerous reporting/taxation to the IRS/ must register for Selective Service – BUT is that child American or Canadian? What makes him/her American if s/he is raised with only Canadian values and why should s/he be treated differently by the Canadian government? 2. It is common knowledge that he has a disabled child – How would he feel if his son was born in the US – could never renounce his citizenship -disadvantaged by the inability to have a RESP.etc ? Would he fight tooth and nail against this injustice? I know he would. 3. A Canadian couple – both born in Canada- only to find out one inherited citizenship through a parent – subject now to reporting/taxation. Can he justify that the Canadian with US taint – born in Canada- who can trace their Canadian roots back to 1812 – had no idea they were considered “American citizens”be now subject to a law imposed by a foreign government? Can he justify the Canadian only income earned by the Canadian only spouse be taxed by the US because of joint accounts/mutual funds etc? How does he feel that money that would have stayed and benefited Brantford is now gone? Or would he work to try to help the Canadian only spouses that are caught in the trap? 4. Many Canadians attend US universities- and by fate could meet their future American spouse – Does he recommend that the Canadian government issue a warning to Canadians not to “fall in love”? 5. Those who spend time in the US as snowbirds and own property could be trapped if the US changes any of its laws to now include them as a “US person”. Can he guarantee that the US would never do this? The dream of owning a US property could turn into a nightmare not unlike the OMG moment many discovered when they were trapped by a foreign government. How would he feel if his decision to own property in the US brought financial ruin to his family ? It is one thing for the property in the US to be subject to tax but what if they want your Canadian only sourced income too? How would he feel if the reaction from the Canadian government to American imposed laws was “oh well.. they made us do it”. I do believe he is morally conflicted by what is happening with FATCA. But he needs to walk a mile in our shoes. He would want to be on the right side of history.
McColeman was a rich overpaid A-hole from the start. I grew up in Brantford and lived there over 30 years. Phil has earned quite a name, see here…. http://www.dumpphil.ca/ You should expect this rhetoric as he has shown in his letter. These people should be hung for treason plain and simple!!
‘“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell’
Telling the truth on a US tax return is illegal — IRS, US Department of Justice, and several US courts.
@unamerican You bring up some very excellent points. If you know of anybody who may live in Phil’s riding (that goes for everyone), I’d love to put some pressure from multiple people on him when it comes to FATCA and CBT. Phil did go to university in the U.S. and could have easily met someone there.
@NativeCanadian I’ve seen that site. One thing I’ve noticed about the Americans (mostly accidentals) I meet is that they’re First Nations people. I even wrote to the local FN publication editor to make them aware of FATCA – no response.
While Mr. McColeman did attend university in the US he did not meet his wife there. As far as the Canadian couple with the American born child and the derived citizenship example- he will know who are referring to without any names. You can pose them as a hypothetical even though they are not.
@unamerican Thank you. I meant that he could have easily met someone (other than his wife) there who would eventually become his wife.
There’s a Dual Citizens of Brantford-Brant facebook page if you know anyone who’s interested in having their voices united into one strong, concerted message to Mr. McColeman.
@Middle Finger
I don’t see how what you write here would be assumed to be what you might say to someone directly? Rant away – it’s good for the soul 🙂
I’m infuriated that these dopes keep sending hapless Canadians directly to the tax compliance industry when many of those accused of being American by their banks have in fact relinquished US citizenship. The “indicia” method cannot distinguish between US persons and non-US persons with indicia, so why send people to where they would be assumed to be US persons? For this reason, the Canadian government would be prudent to recommend the accused seek the advice of a citizenship expert BEFORE talking tax with anyone.
It’s one thing to say you’re powerless against how another nation taxes its citizens, but when Canada starts manufacturing US taxpayers out of thin air solely through its implementantion FATCA that’s another story entirely. Also, the fact that US persons with Canadian birthplaces are able to fly under the radar makes their claim that FATCA is necessary for tax compliance A BIG FAT LIE.
Shouldn’t a good legal team be able to make legal hay out of these lies and inconsistencies in court? We need a witness who’s relinquished but been railroaded back into the US tax system by the FATCA IGA, and the Canadian government’s recommendation that we seek the advice of a US tax compliance expert. I personally know of a couple who were told by their bank to talk to a tax person, when they clearly had relinquished. They thankfully had the presence of mind to talk to someone who could make that assessment. Going on the advice of our MP’s like this one, and the Finance Minister, many won’t!
@Bubblebustin He (and his office) is about as smart with taxation as they are with immigration. I was told by his office that I would have to leave my wife and son in the USA, move to Canada on my own and THEN I could apply to sponsor my wife through an outland application. The person I spoke with in his office was almost insulted that I would even think it POSSIBLE that I apply to sponsor my wife’s Canadian permanent residency while I lived in the U.S.
Of course, there’s a line on the outland application form that takes care of that issue:
immediately after my spouse, common-law or conjugal partner and dependent children become permanent residents, I intend to live in:
( ) A province or territory other than Quebec
( ) Quebec
“The person I spoke with in his office was almost insulted that I would even think it POSSIBLE that I apply to sponsor my wife’s Canadian permanent residency while I lived in the U.S.”
The person might have had some reason to know how the rules were 20 years ago and maybe not have any reason to know the rules changed. If the MP didn’t have a little blue flash card, maybe he didn’t know either.
>>We need a witness who’s relinquished but been railroaded back into the US tax system by the FATCA IGA
I figure once you’re in, you can never get back out no matter what you do. You can buy your freedom with a fee of US $2400 and do all cumbersome and expensive leg work to get released from slavery, yet continue to be reported by which ever Canadian bank you use, why would the bank stop reporting you to the CRA, and from the CRA to the IRS, even after you told them to stop? How would you know for sure they actually stopped? No one will ever inform you unless you ask, so the onus is on you to poll the system each reporting period until you die.
Once your data is sent off to the IRS, your personal details are on another separate list that is managed by a hostile foreign country, you will have no means what-so-ever to be removed, and you won’t even necessarily know that you are on the list until one day you cross the border into the USA and get pulled over by the Homeland FATCA police.
@Middle Finger. Apparently your bank won’t tell you if your info has been passed to the CRA and the CRA won’t tell you if your info has been passed on to the IRS. No one on this board I’ve heard of has had any luck finding out anything and asking seems to be pointless because they each point to each other and tell you to “ask them”. We may refer to it as “our” information but it seems to belong to everybody but us.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that at the rate they’re going pretty soon everybody will be on some sort of list and being “listed” will no longer mean anything.
“No one on this board I’ve heard of has had any luck finding out anything”
TD Canada Trust DID inform me after about three rounds of questioning. They said they did not pass my information to CRA for use under the IGA.
Unfortunately, subsequent to obtaining that answer, I completed their version of W-8 and sent it to them with a copy of my CLN. If I’d known what was going to happen, I’d have skipped it and waited to find out if they were going to send my information later.
@Norman Diamond. Well you’re one person, then. It sounds as if you had to press TD hard for something which should be readily disclosed upon request. Better yet, they should be automatically notifying their customers instead of fighting them although in your particular case there was nothing to notify you about.
In my case, when this whole situation started to develop a few years back, I took immediate action to “FATCA proof” all of my accounts. I’m fairly confident I won’t be reported, but obviously I’m not about to give them a hint by asking pointed questions. In the unlikely event I am reported, the first I would know about it would presumably be a brown envelope from the IRS.
“It sounds as if you had to press TD hard for something which should be readily disclosed upon request.”
It wasn’t too hard. I only had to ask about 3 times, and didn’t have to sue or threaten or anything.
“In the unlikely event I am reported, the first I would know about it would presumably be a brown envelope from the IRS.”
The IRS uses white envelopes. I still receive all kinds of unhelpful notices from them, though less frequently than they used to be. One arrived yesterday. The notice was dated 2016-03-30, the envelope had a postal meter for 1st class mail from the UK (the IRS used to use 2nd class mail, which the UK’s Royal Mail allows even for letters), with no date in the postal meter, and it arrived 2016-04-30 in Japan. If this were a kind of notice that requires legal action to be taken within 30 days then of course I’d be screwed. The IRS did play the same games with some letters that demanded replies (but not legal actions) within 10 days or 20 days, which of course was impossible, so I replied late.
This particular notice repeats a previous notice saying that they need more time to research my inquiry which reached them in October 2015 regarding tax year 2009, and it solicits payments for tax year 2009.
I cannot imagine what inquiry reached them in October 2015. I sent an inquiry in 2010. In 2010 they sent a notice telling me to apply for an ITIN, but the first two times I had obeyed such notices they had rejected my ITIN applications, so I asked if I should use my Canadian passport instead of US passport in applying for an ITIN (I was still dual at the time). They didn’t answer, I used a notarized copy of my Canadian passport notarized by its issuer the Canadian embassy in Tokyo, and they issued an ITIN. But in between, I also used my US passport for another ITIN application because of discussion with some other IRS droid, and the IRS rejected that application, and the IRS returned my US passport by sea mail from Germany to Japan. I thought the use of my Canadian passport for an ITIN application would terminate my US citizenship, so when my US passport finally came back I sent it to the US embassy in Tokyo for cancellation, but the embassy said I was still a US citizen. I had to make appointments to renounce. Anyway, the only inquiry that I made regarding tax year 2009 was during 2010, and my inquiry reached them in 2010. So whatever inquiry reached them in October 2015 was a forgery. TIGTA has reported lots of identity thieves working for the IRS, but others have been arrested that TIGTA didn’t report, and I don’t think they’ve caught the ring leaders yet.
And why does this notice solicit payments for tax year 2009? The IRS knows that my US tax was $0.00, and they never alleged any penalty was owing for any allegation of frivolousness because by that time they had informed me I had to sign the preprinted jurat regardless of knowing that it was false, I obediently and unwillingly committed perjury, and the IRS accepted it immediately. Whatever amount of money they’re soliciting, for whatever reason, they have not notified me, and they didn’t make any such demand for tax year 2009 before this year. I wonder what corrupt alterations have been added to IRS records this time.
We are all Canucks: Re: the following words from your MP, “As the FATCA is a legislative requirement of the Government of the U.S., you may wish to direct your concerns to U.S. Government officials.” Here’s my reply.
No, sir. FATCA, via the IGA signed on Feb. 5, 2014, is now a legislative requirement of the Government of Canada, adopted by royal assent into Canadian law in June 2014. It is your responsibility to address the concerns of Canadians about the effect of this Canadian law upon their lives. I am a Canadian. My representatives on this earth in the halls of power are here in Canada. I have no representative in the United States to which to turn, nor will I. You, sir, will stop passing the buck and get down to the business of protecting the rights and interests of the citizens of Canada.
@Muzzled. Heh, I like that! It isn’t like these MPs just accidentally parachuted into their positions. They actively ran for election with the commitment that if elected they would represent the interests of their constituents, namely the citizens of Canada. I don’t know about you, but the starting salary for one of those MPs is a hell of a lot more than I ever made. For one of them to then suggest to a citizen who is suffering harm under the FATCA IGA that they should consult with the US government is absolutely ridiculous. The US government inflicted this abomination on the world in the first place and isn’t about to “address the concerns” of Canadian citizens.
The Liberals may not have supported the IGA at the time it was enacted but they own it now and they all need their feet held to the fire until they do something useful for their own citizens instead of acting as IRS shills. And they wonder why the public holds politicians in such low regard.
Hear, hear, maz57!! 🙂