The Isaac Brock Society

Thanks to Tim for mentioning this news on the Elizabeth May thread:

Rand Paul Blamed for Blocking FATCA

Washington, D.C. (May 2, 2013)

By Michael Cohn

The research and advocacy organization Global Financial Integrity is urging Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to allow the Senate to vote on agreements negotiated by the Treasury Department with Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hungary and other countries to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, in an effort to ferret out tax evaders.

Senate rules allow any Senator to place a “hold” on legislation removing it from consideration, and Paul has placed holds on bills to implement every tax treaty negotiated since his election in 2010, according to GFI.

Read the rest

Here are links to some other related articles and previous posts:

US senator, lobby group in tax info disclosure pushback

Senator Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties (Businesses eager for treaties to win Senate approval)

US eyes FATCA pact for info on Americans’ assets in India

A fairly standard, neutral review of yet another draft IGA, this time with India.  The significance here, of course, is both India’s immense population and its counteracting gravitational pull from its BRICS membership. I have already left a number of comments on the article and the field seems wide open for debate and information sharing. For those tired of the frustrating uphill climb at Huffington Post this may be a refreshing change and a chance to reach out to a very mass audience.

39,000 Tax Cheats Come Forward Under New IRS Programs

So here we are, back to square one again.  A new article by AP hack Stephen Ohlemacher dutifully regurgitates stock IRS tax cheat language in reference to OVDI and FATCA and how “some taxpayers try to avoid penalties through a technique the IRS calls “quiet disclosure”.  I’ve already posted a couple of comments, but it frankly feels like pissing into a Category 5 hurricane of ignorance.  I would urge fellow Brockers to get on there and help out – this one is really bad. It feels like the clock has just been turned back two years or more.

Sigh. Another corporate overlord will soon be dispatched to supervise the northern colonies:

Obama picks Goldman Sachs exec for ambassador to Canada

If approved, new ambassador would replace David Jacobson

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/03/pol-us-ambassador-to-canada-obama.html

I wonder if Mr. Heyman will be invited for a drink at the exclusive Canadian IGA club where Canada’s big banks, the Canadian Bankers Association and the Federal Finance Department have already gotten the FATCA party started.

Here are two of the stranger and more delusional articles to come down the FATCA rail line so far, courtesy of the Bahamas Tribune:

Bahamas Takes ‘Regional Lead’ Over Fatca

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/mar/28/bahamas-takes-regional-lead-over-fatca/

June 1 Deadline For Decision On Fatca

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/apr/03/june-1-deadline-decision-fatca/

Inexplicably, the Bahamas seems to be trying desperately to convince itself not only that FATCA might actually be a positive thing for their banking sector, but that they will also somehow convince the US government to help pay for its implementation. Does the Bahamian government, or its media, have ANY idea of what an unmitigated disaster FATCA will be for their island paradise, and for the rest of the world?  Astonishing.

CCH Group posted this new article on March 28th, 2013:

IRS Planning FATCA Corrections and Clarifications, Looking at “Refinements” to Final Regs, Official Says

The IRS will provide clarifications and technical corrections to the final regulations issued on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-147 ), an IRS official said on March 27. When asked whether there might be further ”refinements” to the final regulations, John Sweeney, chief, Branch 8, IRS Associate Chief Counsel (ACC) (International), said that the IRS is also looking at what issues might require substantive changes, but he did not promise that the Service would issue amendments to the final regulations. Sweeney spoke during an American Bar Association (ABA) Tax Section webcast.

More

Just noticed this article published last week by the Jamaica Gleaner:

Gov’t moving to reach FATCA agreement

A couple of interesting points:

“A senior manager with Ernst & Young quoted a price tag of US$30 million for each local financial institution to implement the requirements of FATCA.”

and

“The US, the law [sic] is expected to affect about 614 firms in Jamaica when it comes into effect. Those institutions include insurance companies, licensed securities dealers and collective investment schemes such as unit trusts and mutual funds.”

The Gleaner’s numbers ($30 million x 614 firms) seem to suggest that the implementation costs for FATCA compliance in Jamaica could reach as much as 18.42 billion dollars.  Using a 2011 population estimate of 2,889,187 means that every man, woman and child in Jamaica can theoretically expect to pony-up $6375 to pay for the FATCA Follies in their little corner of paradise where the per-capita GDP in 2011 was $9100.  Anyone care to check my math?

Especially for poorer nations, there can be little doubt that a FATCA IGA amounts to nothing less than a suicide pact.

From Out-Law.com:
UK financial institutions may face compensation claims if they send inaccurate data under FATCA regime

Excerpt:

In its document, which sets out answers to ‘frequently asked questions’ on the issue of data protection and FATCA, HMRC said that financial institutions could face claims for compensation from US nationals if they provide inaccurate information to the US authorities.

“In addition to any rights you may have to claim compensation from the US authorities, the DPA (Data Protection Act) gives individuals the right to claim compensation from a data controller where they have suffered damage because of a breach of the DPA,” HMRC said in its guidance. “As both HMRC and the financial institutions are data controllers for the FATCA information, you can make a claim for compensation to either (or both).”