This is an update on our FATCA IGA legislation lawsuit in Canada Federal Court.
The Court ordered (May 31, 2017) that Plaintiffs provide:
— Additional personal, detailed documents related to their financial affairs. [Our litigators felt that this request was not relevant to the lawsuit or of tenuous relevance to the issues raised in the action, but Court disagreed.] Plaintiffs have now provided to the Defendants the financial documents and the Court has ruled that these documents will be kept confidential.; and
— A list of harms that the Plaintiffs know and allege have already occurred or certainly will occur. [Description of harms that might occur will be provided in a later submission.}
The harms listed in the submission are generally those detailed by the Witnesses. I am not going to provide the names of the Witnesses associated with their particular situations, but show below a brief summary of some of their harms without names disclosed.
SELECTED HARMS:
— Harm associated with sharing of account information with United States. Plaintiffs allege that financial accounts of Canadians have been shared with United States and that this constitutes a harm. However, with one exception (name of person who received confirmation of turnover from Revenue Minister listed in document) Plaintiffs have no direct knowledge whether their own account information has been turned over nor do they know names of those who have had their accounts turned over — that information is in Canada’s possession.
To the extent that these financial documents have been turned over, Plaintiffs allege that this violates their right to the security of person shrined in section 7 of Charter and the protection of Canadian sovereignty, and is a violation of section 15 of Charter.
Other Witness and Plaintiff harms (not all Witnesses or harms are listed below):
— Business Person who is Canadian and U.S. citizen. Would-be Canadian partners are unwilling to have potential financial and shareholder information disclosed to U.S.
— Canadian and U.S. citizen harmed by U.S. IRS PFIC costs taxing away gains. To eliminate harm she had to spend monies to renounce U.S. tax citizenship. Suffered psychological harm when filing forms with FINCEN, knowing possibility of large fines if there were ever to be an erroneous mistake. She feels as if she is guilty of a crime she has not committed until proven innocent.
— Canadian and U.S. citizen on disability harmed by U.S. personhood. On disability benefits, can’t afford to become IRS compliant or renounce U.S. tax citizenship. Not being compliant with IRS exacerbated psychological harm associated with precarious financial situation. This has created conflict within family as he is unable to speak to family member about situation without family member becoming upset.
— Canadian citizen mother trying to protect incapacitated son deemed only by the U.S. to be U.S. tax citizen. She has suffered psychological harm insofar as she has had her peace of mind taken away and has difficulty carrying on with normal life because she is unsure of her son’s wellbeing in future after she passes away. Has resulted in breakdown of relations within family.
— Pure Canadian spouse of Canadian citizen who is deemed to be a U.S. person only by the U.S. Spouse received bank letter asking citizenship question on account with U.S.-tainted wife. This places spouse at disadvantage compared to those not married to persons deemed to be U.S. citizens.
— Canadian citizen and formerly person deemed to be a U.S. citizen. Business partners expressed feelings that she compromised their business by sharing financial information with U.S. To escape harm she paid the costs to renounce U.S. citizenship. Feels that Canada has treated her as second class citizen.
— Canadian citizen deemed ONLY by U.S. to be U.S. citizen having entity account. As part of the roundup in Canada of all Canadian citizen “entity” account holders who have U.S. taint, she received letter from bank asking for information on citizenship…
— No CLN, we freeze your account Canadian citizen – deemed by U.S. to be U.S. citizen. It is sometimes claimed that Canadian financial institutions do not freeze accounts if there is a FATCA problem. Not true. This unfortunate Canadian citizen had her account frozen because her proof of no U.S. taint was not good enough: She lacked a CLN (Certificate of Loss of Nationality) that her bank required.
— Infant receives request from bank to provide information on birth place and U.S. citizenship in order to continue holding account. [Self-explanatory.]
Other: Psychological harms are mentioned including feeling betrayed by the Canadian government, stress and frustration associated with the financial harm, and harm by simply not knowing whether or when their financial account information will be shared with the United States.
—– The brave Plaintiffs and Witnesses are my heroes for standing up for Canada and its sovereignty. I thank the other Canadians who also bravely volunteered, but were not selected.
—– NEXT STEP: In oral testimony Plaintiffs will be examined by Government attorneys, beginning with Gwen at the end of this month…
Canadian FATCA IGA Federal Court lawsuit update
Congratulations and all our thanks, again, to the most courageous people in the fight against american feudalism!
Thoughts and prayers go with all who have had to endure this travesty. To having to be assaulted again by the very court from which is sought relief. From having to provide FURTHER financial information as though anyone, anywhere had actually sought a warrant.
And NOW to having to be grilled by a government who are paying for this abuse with our own tax dollars.
First up : Gwen with the others to follow: If I could twitch my nose like Samantha !!
And end this evil assault on you all on OUR behalf.
WHEN will this be set right!!??
Every day and in every way we pray for your strength and will to fight this horrendous ordeal.
My life rolls along on a sine wave and I was reaching the peak (again) of anxiety, very much needing to hear of some progress in the lawsuit so this update is very timely and gratefully received. Now I can slide down the other side of the wave into the valley of patience and relative calmness that with my temperment is pretty hard to muster. I’m a person who wants things fixed fast and here we are years into this but amazingly I’m still hanging in there. I hope everyone else is too. My thoughts and best wishes will be with our three awesome plaintiffs when they finally face the government’s inquisition. They’ve each got the backbone I wish I had.
What are the odds that the USA will file a friend-of-the-court brief?
Go get ’em, Gwen, and same to all the other plaintiffs who will be facing the government lawyers in due course. We love you guys and we’ll all be with you in spirit every step of the way!
This update came at just the right time. Thanks, Stephen!
Thanks for the update, Stephen. My hat is off to the brave plaintiffs and witnesses. Thank you for your courage. I wish those of us on the other side of the world could do more than just sit and wait.
“— Infant refuses to provide information on U.S. citizenship to bank. [Self-explanatory.]”
No that isn’t enough to be self-explanatory. What harm did the infant suffer from this refusal? Did a court jail her for contempt until she stops refusing, or did the bank refuse to deposit a gift check[*] from her grandparents? Hmm wait, psychological harm is enough. The infant was terrorized by the prospect of penalties for failing to file FBARs.
[* Spelt so because it came from the US.]
@ Norman Diamond
It is self-explanatory to Brockers who remember “Baby Elle”. That’s the FATCA fubar and then there’s the FBAR fubar which wants children to e-file their own form if they have more than $10K in say a college savings account gifted to them by generous, caring relatives.
http://maplesandbox.ca/2016/baby-elles-fatca-letter/
Prayers are with the entire team… Plaintiffs, Witnesses, Attorneys, entire support team including Dr Kish and the moral and financial contributors. God bless you all. May Justice be served.
Thank you again to all of you for stepping forward, and fighting the good fight.
I could never step forward, since I can’t hold my tongue, or temper, on this issue.
Yes- may justice be served. May persecution end.
I`m excited.
Thanks to you all who have devoted so much of your time and energy to repealing this injustice. That said, the United States has just announced that it will be ramping up its FATCA enforcement in the coming months, hiring new IRS staff just for this purpose. Hopefully, with your efforts, this will get shut down as concerns those living outside ‘the land of the free’. Reading this article (link below) one would never imagine that they have any intention of repealing FATCA anytime soon.
https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-criminal-investigation-chief-plans-new-enforcement-programs
My heartfelt thanks to all.
@The Mom
That is precisely why I came forward!
Thank you again to all plaintiffs and witnesses. I see our Canadian lawsuit as a ray of hope. I don’t believe that any change for the better regarding FATCA will be coming our way from the USA. Please see the following from recent Pew Research poll:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/01/u-s-power-and-influence-increasingly-seen-as-threat-in-other-countries/
Which states: “Concerns about American power and influence have risen in countries around the world amid steep drops in U.S. favorability and confidence in the U.S. president. ”
And: “America’s neighbors, Mexico and Canada, both see the U.S. as more threatening than either China or Russia. In Mexico, a 61% majority perceives U.S. power as a major threat. And in Canada, 38% feel threatened by the U.S. This figure exceeds Canadians’ threat ratings of Russian and Chinese power (30% and 25%, respectively).”
Thank you so much to brave and steadfast and altruistic plaintiffs Gwen, Kazia, Ginny, and to all the witnesses who came forward like you Bubblebustin.
It is a travesty and in my opinion a lasting stain on our government’s character and reputation that you are to be subjected to ‘examination’ by y/our own Canadian government while they defend an extraterritorial law and regime imposed by a foreign nation across our borders and on our own supposedly sovereign autonomous soil and residents and citizens and taxpayers – when supposedly according to those in power “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian” – except when the US asserts ownership of our persons and our Canadian assets even from afar.
The government’s demands for more and more of your financial details is unconscionable. I can’t see how details of your legal, local accounts and financial affairs could possibly be germane to Canada’s defense of its collusion with the extraterritorial subjugation by proxy of Canadians INSIDE Canada on behalf of a foreign nation.
I don’t know how you have dealt with the stress of the government lawyer’s demands for your personal and financial information so far – and the demands on your time and attention over this long haul — now for several years. I am only so very grateful that you agreed to do it, and continue to do so on behalf of the many who cannot or who are still unaware of what has been happening.
Those cowards and traitors in government in Canada who agreed to and signed the IGA, and those who pushed it through hidden in an omnibus bill using their majority, and those spineless political hypocrites who initially opposed it but became overnight converts to the FATCA IGA cause after winning the last election – who then took up and put on the very same Con mantle and now defend the indefensible have my lifelong enmity.
It is unjust and sickening that extraordinary ordinary Canadians like Gwen, Ginny and Kazia are having to endure this trial and sacrifice their time and peace of mind and enjoyment of life because Cons and now Glibs were too cowardly to oppose a foreign nation’s extraterritorial demands and do what is just and right instead of what was easy and expedient. How do they sleep at night as they defend the subjugation of Canadian law and the Charter to the US?
Our thoughts are with you Gwen and Ginny and Kazia. May you and justice prevail.
Well said badger. Thank you and our plaintiff’s.
Best of luck in the new proceedings.
Badger: I ditto Bubblebustin’s comment. Very well said.
Heather: I think the article in Accounting Today shows how the left hand and the right hand aren’t speaking much to each other these days. Hell, the right hand doesn’t seem to even be talking to itself! 🙂 I don’t believe the IRS or the Treasury Department have a clue that the Republican party has any plans of repealing FATCA or abandoning the century-old practice of CBT. They’re just rolling along like nothing’s happening. When Congress passes its tax reform INCLUDING FATCA repeal (and, dare I hope, a switch to the world standard of RBT/TBT) I can’t wait to see the IRS folks and all the compliance condors squirm! … at least that’s the hopeful, positive scenario. I’m going to keep visualizing this just because it feels so much better than worrying about it NOT happening. 🙂
Currently, the only other person to stand up to the USA is Kim Jong-Un. Every other country is scared to death of the USA period!
Thanks for the update and many thanks again for all those leading this fight.
What Mr. A said. Thank you all for fighting the good fight.