Author Archives: Petros

Some of our bloggers have made some nice contributions to articles this week:
An article at occupy.com cites Victoria Ferauge and Marvin van Horn:

Exposed: IRS Is Colluding With Banks To Unfairly Target U.S. Citizens Abroad

I and others spoke with globalnews.ca

Why are so many American expats giving up citizenship? It’s a taxing issue

Our own Eric is behind the article’s reporting of the discrepancy between the numbers at the FBI and the Federal Registry:

More expatriate Americans are renouncing their citizenship than at almost any other time. And comparing statistics from the FBI indicates the State Department may have been lowballing its numbers.

Continue reading →

Globalnews.ca reporter Anna Mehler Paperny is hoping to interview Canadians who have renounced US citizenship in the last few years for a story on citizenship/IRS/FATCA-related issues. Ideally she would like to use people’s real names.

Pls contact:
Anna.Mehler Paperny (at) globalnews.ca
(416) 443-6003

A lovely tax writer, Kelly Philips Erb, has written an article for Forbes magazine suggesting that Edward Snowden would have to pay taxes in to the United States if he were to work in his country of refuge, asking a presumed expert Richard S. Goldstein:

For now, Snowden remains a citizen. And so long as he remains a citizen, he is subject to our laws – and that includes our tax laws. He still has to file and he still has to pay any applicable tax. Goldstein agrees. But, he chuckled, “Good luck trying to collect it.”

She maintains that he would have to renounce his US citizenship if he wants to avoid US taxes and filing requirements.  This entails paying the $450 dollar renunciation fee to the US consulate.

Continue reading →

On June 1, 2012, I announced that we would move our blog off wordpress.com, an American blog service, to a Canadian host, with its servers located within the borders of Canada.  We hoped at the time that this would lessen somewhat the ability of the United States government to shut down our website.  Recent events confirm the wisdom of this decision.

Zerohedge reports that Lavabit, which is apparently the email service of Edward Snowden, is in the middle of harassment by the US Federal government.  See also: Snowden’s Super Secret Email Service Closes, Summing Up Why Tech Is Losing Billions Overseas.

Here is Lavabit’s farewell letter:

UPDATE 2:  Day 18 since the disappearance of Wally Dunn.

A big thank you to all who expressed their wishes of support and to those indicated that they were praying for my family.  It means a lot to me.

Through my talking to people in area, a few claimed that they may have seen my father in the Big Lake area. Two eye-witnesses believed that they saw my dad in Big Lake IGA.  Jerry Hill, the IGA manager, very kindly permitted me to view the surveillance video for as long as I needed and for two days that was my job.  Evidently, the witnesses saw other older gentlemen whom they thought was Wally Dunn. That showed to me the limited value of sightings by people who had never met my dad, unfortunately.  I only heard of the Montana Creek after returning to Ontario.  But the quality of this sighting may not be better than the ones that we already knew about. Continue reading →

UPDATE:  I received the following note from my contact:

1. I have arranged for a very experienced U.S./UK Tax Adviser to participate as well. This guy is very good – I have met him and heard him speak.

2. There will also be participation from an Investment Banker who has experience with a wide range of U.K. investments and has successfully navigated the Expatriation process.  In other words – the attendees are going to have the chance to hear from people who really understand U.K. investment products and the like.

3. The session will still be in the overall context of dealing with the trauma.

The original Canadian meeting for those traumatized by the IRS in Canada took place in Toronto on June 15 with a clinical psychologist and a Toronto lawyer (read more here). Now, the Toronto lawyer will be available for a meeting in London, England, for one session:

Time: Sunday, 28 July, 2-5 pm
Location: The Church Hall, St. Pancras Church House, Lancing Street, NW1 1NA

Continue reading →

Here is a question:  Do Canadians have the Fourth of July?  Yes, but they don’t celebrate it.

I just want to express my congratulations to the growing list of Brockers who have received their Certificates of Loss of Nationality.  For you, the Fourth of July is just another day of the month of July.

We are celebrating our Independence Day.  Not independence of the United States of America from the British, but independence for expat slaves from the United States of America.

Peter Spiro at Opinio Juris mentions our own Victoria:

This July 4th, Exploring Paths Away From Citizenship

Continue reading →

Update 3:

Those in or near  London, England  might be interested that a similar event to take place there on Sunday, July 28, 2013, is in the works. I will post the details as the become available.

UDPATE 2:

Saturday, June 15

Don Mills United Church – 126 O’Connor Dr., Toronto, Ontario M4K 2K7

Click here for directions (at the corner of Pape and O’Connor, see google maps).  There is some street parking.

Doors will open at 9:45 a.m.

Continue reading →

Will Canada’s hard line on Eritrea’s ‘diaspora’ tax apply to the U.S.?

How nice to see Canada taking a very hard line with the government or Eritrea and its attempts to impose a diaspora tax on Eritrean citizens now living in Canada. This country really does have a backbone when it comes to standing up to oppression and injustice.

How to explain, then, that while we send the Eritrean consul packing and threaten to shut down the consulate, we let U.S. Ambassador David Jacobsen stay put in Ottawa with nary a word of protest over America’s “diaspora” tax?

Read the rest at the Globe and Mail.