WITNESS SEARCH UPDATE FOR CANADIAN FATCA IGA LAWSUIT:
WE STILL SEEK MORE CANADIAN WITNESSES:
Have you experienced marital stress or breakup, or medical or psychiatric illness because Canada turned you and your family over to a foreign country — or because you were afraid and entered into IRS compliance and suffered harm, or because you are in “hiding” and can’t afford to be IRS compliant or to renounce? Be a witness.
No single witness will be “perfect” from a litigation point of view. We will be seeking more witnesses (almost) right up to the time of submission of court documents. Your specific situation, that we cannot predict, might have unique characteristics that would be helpful in the lawsuit.
If you cannot be a witness, please tell a friend who you think might be interested.
— If you are interested in becoming a witness You will describe your harm in a written affidavit which will be made public and you can contact me at stephen.kish.chair@adcs-adsc.ca See our website at www.adcs-adsc-ca
FOR THOSE CANADIANS WHO ALREADY VOLUNTEERED: Unless you have already been informed by me or by our legal team that you will not be a witness, there is still the possibility — or (for some) likelihood — that you will be asked to be a witness. I’m sorry but I cannot estimate the time it will take for our legal team to get back to you with their decision. This is because they need to “mesh” the characteristics of all of the necessary witnesses and testimonies with the actual detailed submission that contains the entirety of their evidence, which are all still evolving. Please be patient in our getting back to you with a decision. Thank you for your help.
@Northern
I believe Sunstein’s wife serves as one of the Obama Administrations Ambassador’s although I forget to what country(I know its not Canada).
Tim, see EmBee’s comment below on Mr. Sunstein.
@Tom Alciere
You might find many persons waiting in line for a bed at the homeless shelter, and some might have been born in U.S.A. … You need quality, not quantity.
Just to make it clear…from my own perspective the homeless guy or gal at the shelter who was born in the USA IS a witness of the highest possible quality. The person who may have $10 in the bank but who lives in fear that the IRS may seize even that if the CRA “plays it safe” by reporting ALL accounts–that’s the kind of person I want to help. That’s the kind of person I gave a fair bit of my own hard money to try to support.
The “covered expat” with $2,000,000 plus in coin? Not such a high quality witness from my perspective. Those are deep pockets from my perspective even if the covered expat claims the money is tied up in non-liquid assets. Such a person could have fended for themselves and funded the entire lawsuit on their own. They didn’t which was their choice but as such they aren’t my primary interest in trying to support at this time. Its the homeless person–the person of very, very modest means–who doesn’t need any more holes in their already small pockets–that I’m trying to help here.
Holding signs up at sporting events? Does anyone remember that guy who used to hold up a sign across the US at golf tournaments quoting a reading in the Bible? This guy actually became well known on TV for a period of time.
It does work.
Another example of a really high quality witness from my perspective would be a young person who can’t hold down an ordinary part time job for a teenager because the costs of filing a US tax return would be far more than they’d make. And they can’t renounce both because they don’t have the money to renounce and because they aren’t 18 or weren’t 18 when they were harmed in this way.
@ Stephen Kish
Are there two Cass Sunsteins? This is the one Glenn Greenwald (and I) know …
https://theintercept.com/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/
EmBee, it has to be the same person.
So, in 2003 (the book that I have) Sunstein says that “organizations and nations are far more likely to prosper if they welcome dissent and promote openness” but five years later in 2008 he wants to to infiltrate activist groups with covert agents. Incredible. Well, I am now removing his quotes from my post…
@ Stephen Kish
Those words from 2003 are fine. It’s just the source I don’t trust.
@LM
Re kijiji http://www.kijiji.ca/v-community-other/penticton/are-you-a-canadian-with-an-american-spouse/1153482709?src=topAdSearch
It’s under Community>Other in Kelowna.
I think any headline needs to avoid mentioning FATCA, as too many people have no idea what it is. They DO know if they have a US spouse, or very well might know someone that does. Something like that is more likely to get attention. Even a simple “Born in the US?” or similar; something that people can easily relate to. FATCA as an attention getter does not have legs IMO.
‘Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein, a close Obama adviser and the White House’s former head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, wrote a controversial paper in 2008 proposing that the US government employ teams of covert agents and pseudo-”independent” advocates to “cognitively infiltrate” online groups and websites, as well as other activist groups.’
Does this Harvard law professor work for the FBI too?
The Boston branch of the FBI is one that was caught being infiltrated by organized crime, right?
I have changed the wording of my Kijiji add to emphasize the need for more witnesses. 159 views since Nov. 2014.
@Tim
Cass Sunstein’s wife is Samantha Power, who is the US Ambassador to the United Nations. She was born in Ireland and moved to the US at age 9 years. She became a US citizen at age 23 years. I wonder how she would feel about filing Irish tax returns with double taxation, threats of bankrupting Irish FBAR penalties etc. etc.
http://globalnews.ca/news/2620529/federal-justice-minister-jody-wilson-raybould-appearing-at-private-fundraiser-at-law-office/
A private reception with the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould
Thursday April 7, 6 – 8 PM
Torys LLP, 79 Wellington St. W. 30th floor, TD South Tower
Toronto, Ontario
M5K 1N2
The top of the invitation says the 30th floor, and the Event details say the 33rd floor
We’re only ordinary Canadian citizens and taxpayers, we don’t have enough money and access and clout to get justice, or face time with the Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould – who will appear at “.. a private reception at the Toronto office of prominent law firm Torys LLP to raise money for the Liberal Party.”…
Would we have a better shot at our Constitutional and Charter issues being heard rather than rejected if we were a great big ‘prominent’ law firm and fundraisers for the Liberal party?
@badger
“A private reception with the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould”
Yup, it may be 2016, but some Canadians are still not really Canadians, the long term forecast is still for sunny ways despite the dark clouds gathering ahead, and the newly elected bag of politicians is still … well … exactly the same as the old bag of politicians who were just kicked out.
Imagine that.
How many more decades of this circus show will it take before people finally realize that our system of government along with the electoral process, is completely broken?
I don’t imagine that we want to get into a great debate over Cass Sunstein. Still…
Here is the “controversial” 2008 article:
Cass Sunstein and Adrian Vermuele, “Conspiracy Theories”
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1084585
The most relevant passages seem to be around p. 23.
I am not defending Sunstein — quite the contrary — but for the sake of accuracy let’s understand that he is discussing how government ought to respond to conspiracy theories, such as theories that Israel or the US was behind the 9/11 attacks. In this scenario, how do you break up entrenched beliefs, where challenging the beliefs reinforces the (false) beliefs of believers? It is at that point that he introduces the idea of “cognitive infiltration of extremist groups” to disrupt their beliefs by raising questions in chat rooms, websites, etc.
Frankly, I think this was a really dumb move, above all because he doesn’t know what he is talking about. He is making advice based upon his reading in an area in which he has no experience or expertise so far as I know. However, his advice does not mean he advocates “cognitive infiltration” of the Sierra Club, National Rifle Association, or the American Medical Association, so let’s be straight about that. It would all be quite trivial except that he has (or had) the ear of the President.
Getting back to the paper, it was “published” on the Social Science Research Network as a working paper. That means that it has not had peer review or other vetting. If it has not been published in a peer reviewed journal, either no journal found it met their standards, or he decided not to submit it for publication, perhaps due to his own second thoughts. (On the other hand, he has not withdrawn it, which I presume is possible on SSRN.)
I guess this is all a bit inconclusive. Long and short of it, I would not make too much of it.
@NorthernShrike
I found a published version from 2009:
Sunstein, Cass R., and Adrian Vermeule. “Conspiracy theories: Causes and cures*.” Journal of Political Philosophy 17.2 (2009): 202-227.
The passages you discuss appear unchanged from the SSRN version.
Of course, being published doesn’t mean the paper is worth anything.
Today’s post still asks:
We are ESPECIALLY seeking as witnesses Canadians, who the U.S. deems U.S. citizens, who have a “REPORTABLE” (e.g., non-RRSP) account > US $50,000, — who is IRS non-compliant, no meaningful relationship with U.S. except (without consent) by birth, no relinquishment, no CLN, does NOT like being turned over by FATCA to a foreign government, willing to provide an affidavit in court…. .
Are you such a Canadian? If not, do you know such a Canadian who might be willing to help out? Can you explain to such Canadians why, given that we are suing Justin Trudeau’s Ministers over the Canadian FATCA compliance legislation, it might be helpful to have witnesses who actually have a FATCA reportable account?
IF YOU WILL NOT VOLUNTEER PLEASE HELP ME FIND CANADIANS WHO WILL. Please keep focused on what this litigation needs to move forward.
@Karen Thank you.
This morning, in an interview with CBCs Matt Galloway, finance minister Bill Morneau stated, “We believe that people should pay tax in the jurisdiction in which the money was earned”. He actually stated it twice. I will be taking that statement to my MP. The statement was meant to apply to Panama Papers types, but what it good for the goose is good for the gander. I wil ONLy pay tax in the jurisdiction in which it was earned.
@Noname, regarding Morneau’s statement: “We believe that people should pay tax in the jurisdiction in which the money was earned”, and your statement: “I wil ONLy pay tax in the jurisdiction in which it was earned. ”
Canada taxes world wide income of its residents. Are you trying to suggest to your MP, that Canada stop doing this?
You and I own houses across the street from each other. I sit in my living room playing chess on line against the Shredder server in Germany whilst you sit in you sit in your living room trading stocks on line on the Singapore exchange. Unless it is State Line Avenue in Texarkana or perhaps even Canusa Avenue in Beebe Plain (been to both) it costs the same government the same to provide police, fire department and armed forces. There is no reason why you should be taxed on what you make abroad. If I commute into Canada I get Canadian worker safety and unpaid wages enforcement by Canadian federal or provincial bureaucrats, so why should IRS get a piece of the action? Now, if you get rich trading stocks while I entertain myself playing chess, I will get hungry and open a can of ravioli while you call out for pizza, and pay tax on it. You will also pay tax on anything you buy locally or import. When you travel, you will pay hotel taxes to the local governments.
WhiteKat, you are correct in implying that this all gets back to the notion of “jurisdiction” and who has domain over whom. I live and work in the jurisdiction of Canada and consider all monies earned by me to be done so in the jurisdiction of Canada, whether the earnings be domestic or foreign. My intent in quoting Bill Morneau, as I am sure you are aware, was to point to the obvious but unstated corollary, namely that tax owed it tied to jurisdiction. I repeat, I live and work in the jurisdiction of Canada, and I will be taking that to my MP.
Posted on Kijiji for Ottawa/Gatineau. Should be up within a couple of hours.
AD ID 1154196955
Even if we wanted to come out of anonymity, we don’t have any reportable accounts, Stephen.
(We being me and Nate – obviously – don’t want SK to think I’m speaking on behalf of anyone else!)
@No Name
Perhaps listening to the CBC podcast will give Morneau’s words a little more context. Both he and Leary seem to agree that “jurisdiction” should be where the taxpayer lives. Morneau went on to say that he’s never held an offshore account (and alludes that there’s something inherently dispicable about that) and mentioned people paying their “fair share” no less than 5 times in the segment prior to th discussion about the budget (which I haven’t listened to yet).
http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/metromorning_20160407_49531.mp3