FATCA Discussion Thread (Ask your questions) Part Two
Please ask your questions here about FATCA.
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NB: This discussion is a continuation of an older discussion that became too large for our software to handle well. See FATCA Discussion Thread (Ask your questions) for earlier discussion.
Liberatad. OVDI is not meant for people like your fiancée . The accountant who suggested it is only interested in the fees. He’s not interested in your welfare. It’s for criminals which you most certainly are not. Either close the account and forget about it or report it going forward. You will be fine. There are 200 million US taxpayers. Banks fom all over the world will be sending in tonnes of indecipherable junk. They won’t worry about you and you shouldn’t worry about them.
northernstar,
I wasn’t a founder of Isaac Brock. I was one of those being censored for what I said on ExpatForum.com. I believed, with others, that was wrong. IsaacBrockSociety.com was started and then moved to IsaacBrockSociety.ca. I’ve been here from the start. I continue to voice what I think it is my right myself and for others. I think all here do believe in that right, within the guidelines of staying on focus of the purposes of this site.
@libertad
Another option is the Streamlined Procedure. This is the official way for expats to get into compliance and IMO is a reasonable way to do so, if you qualify.
See: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Instructions-for-New-Streamlined-Filing-Compliance-Procedures-for-Non-Resident-Non-Filer-US-Taxpayers
As others have mentioned, unless you’re a genuine tax evader, stay away from OVDI.
@Liberatad
Are you an immigrant? OVDP is NOT a good option for the benign minnow immigrant even if you still live in the U.S. I am assuming that to be the case when you say married to a U.S. Resident or is it citizen? Doesn’t really matter I suppose, as you are U.S. Persons, and that is all the IRS cares about.
Read this recent report about the outcomes from previous programs.
http://www.procopio.com/userfiles/file/assets/files1/the-2013-gao-report-of-the-irs-ovdp-2739.pdf
It will be abundantly clear that the IRS and those attorneys are “fear mongering” and you need to relax and think clearly. There are other options to come into compliance, although the IRS depends on your ignorance and fear to get you on the processing line.
If you are inside the U.S, you absolutely have to be compliant with offshore reporting rules, especially since the jihad started in 2009. The problem, of course, is how best to do that, and they ALL come with risks. Quiet disclosure has its risks too, and they will last for a few years until the statute of limitations runs out. Can you sleep with that knowledge?
There are other options also, like compliance going forward, but again, with the GAO encouraging the IRS to screen for those situations, there is risk there too.
You might think the $50K de minimis rule will save you, but that assumes that the FFI doesn’t decide that is too hard, and just report everything.
I wished there was a no risk option for compliance, but that is NOT how our masters work. They want your penalty money, and they don’t care about you!
A long time back, I wrote about doing your drudgery before you make any decisions. I would suggest that it might still be applicable.
Also, Steve Mopsick (ex IRS prosecutor) has been an attorney that is very sympathetic to immigrants, and you might want to read some of his blogs for ideas on how to handle your issue.
Here is an link to an article he published in Tax India International.
@WhatAmI
As to the 17th question in the CRA’s FATCA FAQ:
17. Does the Agreement require Canadian financial institutions to report to the CRA on any individuals who were told that they relinquished their U.S. citizenship when they became Canadian citizens?
The Agreement does not require Canadian financial institutions to report on any individuals who have relinquished their U.S. citizenship and are not residents of the U.S.
Individuals who have relinquished their U.S. citizenship may be asked by their financial institution for documentation to this effect.
Since I was already on Credit Union Central’s FATCA IGA page (which incidentally mentions the possible exemptions both for being under $175 million as well as the other one for having Canadian residents only as account holders), I decided to write to their FATCA resource person to ask how they will be treating the problem of old relinquishers and the documentation required. I gave him a link to the “Malevolent time machine” article, and expressed my hope that a Canadian certificate of citizenship, dated at the time when loss of US citizenship was automatic, would suffice.
His name is David Phillips : PhillipsD@cucentral.com
He also happens to be President and CEO, which seems to indicate that this is an important matter for CUCC.
I am using that email as the basis for another to be sent to the ministers of finance and national revenu as well as several MPs. I will post it here in both English and French for anyone who would like to correct it, or cut and paste in for their own use. Note that I am presenting this as a serious problem for elderly Canadians, as we are talking about pre-1986.
@libertad
Ignore my post – my reading skills apparently suck and I didn’t originally see that you’re to marry a US *resident* (not expat). Streamlined doesn’t apply to your situation.
@Petit
I’ve repeated your post from yesterday below. Strange, this does not appear in the IGA anywhere that I can find, unless it’s Article 4 (5). The number 98 percent is not found anywhere.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/nhncdrprtng/fq-eng.html#q3
@Liberatad……
The most important thing for you right now is to take your time to ask yourself some simple questions to develop your facts and circumstances with regards to the non-compliant foreign “offshore account”.
1. How many years non-compliant
2. Account balance (max and year-end)
3. How much unreported interest p.a
4. Did I need to file and FBAR (FinCen Form 114)
5. Single or joint account (savings,checking account)
Once you have written down answers to these questions start your discovery process.
Find out what and FBAR, SFCP, GF,QD,VD is, what constitutes willfulness or NW and what are reasonable cause arguments etc. I am not saying that in your current situation you need any of this but knowledge is power.
It is a time consuming effort and your learning curve depends on the “screen time” you are willing to invest to educate yourself about this topic. The more research you do the more knowledge and control over your affairs you will develop.
There are a lot of opinions out there including here on IBS but remember this is your life , your LCUs and your level of risk tolerance. For now relax and think clearly.
In your case there are many options to come into compliance. You and your fiancee are Minnows , Benign actors, your omission is far from egregious , “small potato” BUT perfect clients for the compliance industry a.k.a. tax lawyers and certain CPAs.
Keep in mind that many tax lawyers and CPAs do not themselves understand the complexities of the tax law; when penalties can apply under the law, and when a criminal act has actually been committed when evaluating a taxpayer’s options. The result is that many of these “advisors” may simply have neglected to truly advise their clients of the law and its application and the options available to each and every Benign and Bad Actor separately.
In the beginning it might be a bit overwhelming but trust me it is worth it. Here are some good resources besides IBS :
http://hodgen.com/blog/
http://www.federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com
http://www.taxlitigator.com/
http://taxlitigator.wordpress.com/
I would urge some caution with regards to the endorsement of tax attorney “30 year IRS veteran” Steve Mopsick on this thread – I would not touch him with a 10ft pole in your situation. Mopsick is a compliance lawyer perfect for OVDI/P but anything outside he has a very hard time to grasp and support.
I was a former client of Mopsick and to put it politely was not happy with his representation and billing. He tried many times to push me into OVDI, his partner even screwed things up with regards to the classification of my case in front of the IRS until I had enough and gave him the “Donald Trump” . A tax lawyer should be part of the solution and not part of the problem which was clearly the case here (btw. my case is closed with the issuance of Letter 3800 – a Warning Letter on FBAR filings and full relief from FBAR penalties).
If you decide in the end to engage a tax lawyer (which imo. I think you or your fiancee do not need) make sure your ask him very specific questions with regards to his personal experience – not his firm.
Ask him how many OVDI,OVDP cases he or she handled so far, how many opt-outs ?
How many traditional VD cases or SFCPs etc. Were his clients mainly USPs (Homelanders) or expats,duals or green cardholders.
Many tax lawyers are very vague and unspecific when it comes to answering these simple questions.
Do not hire a tax attorney or tax resolution firm that want to charge you a “fixed price” (all-inclusive so to speak… it never is) instead of the retainer – hourly billing procedure. Make sure in your “letter of engagement” you are as specific as possible with regards to the expected scope of your lawyers involvement.
Keep in mind that hourly rates normally increase by approx. 25$/h every year . So if you lawyer starts working 11/2014 @ 500$/h his rate will be 525$/h by 1/2015 without your specific consent.
If and when you do find “Mr. Right” watch out for possible billing traps or commonly known as “liberal billing practices” :
– they call it “research” any time they thought you were asking a really chargeable question
– ”pro-actively” carry out unauthorized work and insist on charging you
– hand-off your simple stuff to a different person every week to boost billable time and increase
mistakes because of no familiarity with the file
– duplicate your own work to “verify” it and then charge you for the time
Good luck !
@SEAT
Thanks for your comment, and I do think you provide good advice for @Liberatad.
I was interested in your experience with Mopsick, as yours is the first reported case of someone actually dealing with him…
I am curious, for my own edification, when was this time frame wise? Recently, or if in the past, what year?
I do know there has been an evolution in this thinking, and his blogs show a clear sympathy for immigrant minnows now. He has also advocated against the OVDP for benign actors and now has talked about just taking a Noisy Disclosure route. He has been opposed to Quiet disclosures. So just curious.
Also, I too know that both Phil and Jack whose blogs you reference have had their advice evolve over the OVDP years.
BTW, I think if you read back what I said, you will notice I was careful NOT TO ENDORSE or even say contact Mopsick any more than you did by listing Phil Hodgen’s and Jack Townsend’s blogs. I suggested that some of his blogs discuss other options specifically for immigrants, so I do think, as part of an education process for @Liberatad his opinions are good to throw into the decision mix.
In my OVDP Drudgery for Minnows, I will think you will find both Hodgen’s and Townsend’s blogs as resources.
Bottom line, @Liberatad should NEVER make a decision based upon what someone says on a blog. They have to do their due diligence.
I generally try NOT to tell folks what to do, but rather how to educate themselves (the drudgery) so they come to the right decision for themselves based upon risk tolerances.
Anyway, any additional insights as to your dealings with Mopsick and the timeframe would be interesting to me.
I think a lot of practitioners have had an evolution in their thinking about the IRS OVDP programs as time and experience has exposed them to how the IRS has conducted itself.
I have have had recent correspondence with an immigrant who right now is in a fight for “reason” with their OVDP examiner. I will not share the details, other than to say, the IRS are doing their usual fear mongering to extract the maximum. They kicked them out of the OVDP and immediately sent them 11 penalty letters to amp up the fear! Bully tactics.
Back to my point about Tax Practitioner thinking that has evolved over time.
This immigrant said this to me…
So, if even the one of the author’s opinion can change about his very own program, so too can attorneys who try to figure out how to respond. 🙂
PS…
You provide good insights as to the billing practices. I would NEVER advise someone to turn their problem over to an attorney unless they had Way more money than LCUs and common sense, and didn’t care one whit about the expense. It is a buyers beware world out there.
PSS…
Would definitely like to hear a longer narrative about your particular case especially since it ends, as they should, with just a “warning letter”. We have had several other examples of that reported here on IBS, like Moby, IJ, Not that Lisa and Sally. Any others we can add to mix give folks hope that there are other more positive out comes than the fear mongers provide would be great to have.
@Liberatad, I second Just Me. Read his OVDI drudgery post.
@SEAT, I agree with you regarding Mopsick. My case was similar to @Liberatad (with a smaller account). I contacted Mopsick 2 years ago in 2012 and he tried to shove me into OVDI. He might be “compassionate”, but he is by the book, meaning that since the IRS only advises OVDI to become compliant, he will recommend that maybe with the intent of opting out. Stay away from him. I ended up being compliant forward and after April 15th, this year, the SOL tax will be over for me. The SOL for FBAR is much longer, but I don’t know if I should keep worrying. Besides, I closed the account.
@libertad @SEAT – I made the mistake of entering OVDI and after a long, expensive and entirely unnecessary process, I received a Letter 3800 Warning letter, too. I also share SEAT’s view of Mopsick. I contacted him in 2012 after I had fired my OVDI lawyer, but was still afraid to be on my own. I quoted Phil Hodgen and stated that the cure (OVDI) was worse than the disease (de minimis taxes owed). The response I got back was really weird and I felt I was dealing with another tax attorney who did not listen to me. He seemed to be reading things into my statement that I had never said. Also his view of what would happen with the IRS was just plain wrong. He told me that the IRS was going to fight a lot harder to do better than the 5% penalty for which I thought I was qualified. (Note: when my case was handled,. one of the first things my agent told me was that I had qualified for the 5% penalty.)
In one sense, his response was good as it convinced me that I was better off on my own than with a tax lawyer. It was clear to me that they were a major part of the problem.
With that said, Mr. Mopsick has evolved to some extent since then if we look at what he has written about OVDI and FBARs and immigrants. I think my point is that if you want to go into OVDI, he will certainly be good for getting you into that and 30 years in the IRS does not mean that he is any better than any other lawyer at predicting what your OVDI penalty would be.
Now, let’s look at your facts. As you will marry a US resident, he or she has likely been tax compliant. While all tax lawyers and many on Brock will scream that this is scary, why not consider a go forward strategy, or just amending the still open tax returns for the last 3 years? You are not likely to be indicted. Also, the IRS has to prove fraud to re-open any tax years that are already closed. There is nothing illegal about amending your returns. These are considered QARs, qualified amended returns. Additionally, consider the amount of tax you owe. Is it de minimis? Will it realy be cost effective for the IRS to chase after you? The IRS should happy that you have paid back taxes and interest and late payment penalties and they have not had to spend a cent in the case you do not owe much tax.
Finally, outside of OVDI, you can argue reasonable cause. Take a look at the resaonable cause arguments of Moby, ij and myself that are in posts on this site. Some of them may be relevant for you. Why should you go to all the expense of OVDI, just to opt out and then be in the same position for arguing reasonable cause that you would have been in if you never went into OVDI?
The IRS will send lots of letters that are meant to scare you, but most of these are pro-forma. Also, remember, OVDI was intended for criminals The treatment in OVDI is not appropriate for inadverent errors. However, the fear factor the IRS puts out is high and misleading. Check out the level of FBAR penalties that would actually apply to you with a $45,000 account. If that is truly your balance of all your overseas accounts, then the maximum penalty that can apply is $500 per account, not to exceed $5000. Is that less than 27.5% of $45,000? Look at the IRM Manual 4.26-16.2, which is the table for normal FBAR penalties after 2004.
Do not think just because you use a lawyer that the stress factor will be any less. It will not. You will still have to supply the lawyer the same information you would give to an accountant to re-do the return, plus you will the stress of the lawyer’s fees. I did not find the IRS that scary to deal with. However, individual experiences vary.
It is good that you take this seriously and get your declarations right for the future, You should follow all legal procedures for doing so. OVDI is not law. I am also not a tax advisor. Consider what has been said and make your own decision.
Bloody terrorist tactics, Not that Lisa, or at the very least more USA fear-mongering!
Have you had trouble with your bank because of your U.S. passport? If so, Bloomberg would love to speak to you for an article about the effects of Washington’s clampdown on tax evaders on average citizens living abroad. Reporter Catherine Bosley can be reached at cbosley1@bloomberg.net
Liam Pleven, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal continues to do research on the impact of the ongoing U.S. crackdown on U.S. taxpayers with overseas assets. Liam is looking to reach people who can talk to him about their own experiences. Liam is interested in hearing about people’s personal circumstances, how their lives and the lives of their families have been affected, and any emotional repercussions – regardless of what income bracket they may fall into. If you are willing to share your story, please contact Liam at liam.pleven@wsj.com or by phone in New York at 212-416-2766 prior to January 29.
https://www.facebook.com/RAEurope
Looks a little late on both of them, but maybe the first one is still open for comment.
No doubt the headline will include “tax evaders”
They should at least be contacted to write their headlines appropriately.
@ all ………. I want to make sure the people here understand that this is not about tax lawyer bashing – the system is flawed here in so many ways and the compliance industry just takes advantage of the fact that nobody is there to stop them.
“Google” what the typical salary of an IRS tax attorney or even prosecutor is.
You can multiply that figure conservatively x 4 since 2009 when these folks went into private practice by the hundreds. Why would people be so naive to believe that their motives were anything (or mainly) but greed ? Why would people be so naive to believe that they are part of the solution ? Money or for profit motives makes anybody including the compliance industry do a lot of things that have nothing to do with morality,integrity or plain decency.
In the beginning I started my own due diligence process out of personal necessity, just because the typical fear mongering , armageddon approach from the first CPA and counselor I contacted would have meant I would have ended beyond broke – 30 years of life savings gone….. . I knew 0 about the US tax system , my obligations etc. I was one of those that just asked his CPA what kind of bank/broker statements, forms or receipts he needed , if we used up all the possible deductions , where should I sign and paid his agreed fee. This has changed dramatically since 2011 – since than I have spoken over the phone with > 60 tax lawyers (everybody from Jacks OVDI list) anywhere from 30min to 1.5h.
In the beginning obviously just to discuss my case but since I received so many different opinions I really became hooked on the subject and even after my case was closed I still continue to this very day with this process (I know get a life ….). This whole experience/drudgery has changed me as a person in so many ways….. some good – some bad .
For everybody here that needs a tax lawyer for whatever reason – make no mistake this will be one of the most important decisions you will have to make in your lifetime – try not to rush this and do not be afraid to ask questions and form your own opinion on your facts and circumstances :
Imo. it makes a big difference with regards to the tone and attitude your tax attorney is approaching the IRS on your behalf (emphasis) about options available, discuss penalties, or dictate how to categorize your case.
Obviously that tone and attitude comes from past experience the the tax lawyer had with his clients cases. If most of your clients were in OVDI/P & US residents , you have a different approach, penalty expectation, attitude, tone and experience than when you deal with expats,duals or green card holders that have paid their taxes in the country they live and work.
@ Not that Lisa! @libertad
I share your observations and many of them are not limited to just S.Mopsick.
After all the conversations/ e-mail exchanges I have had with tax lawyers the things you describe seem to belong to the trade because they reoccurred so many times.
1. does not really listen to you and your specific facts and circumstances – is basically on auto pilot
2. sometimes had the feeling you were speaking to a “stranger” because you received generic responses that have not much to do with your case
3. reading things into your statements that you have never said
4. makes remarks that constantly defends the IRS and the “system” as honorable and just
5. factual errors – small and bigger ones
6. disorganized with regards to billing statements and client correspondence
The bottom line here is do not think just because you throw money at the problem and use a lawyer that the stress factor will be any less. It will not and imo. the more you actually know about the facts and circumstances of your case the stress and anger level will rise significantly because you have to “babysit” and constantly check what your lawyer is doing on your behalf and trust me your lawyer is not happy when you know more than he does . They want you to stay out of it as much as possible.
I will never forget when Mopsick told me after he received my retainer : “Mr….. you can relax now – we got you covered “
@ noone
I agree with you that he is compassionate and not a bad person but unfortunately that does not help me when my life savings are on the line.
I have not worked for 30 years so that Mopsick can squeeze me with his OVDI/P conveyor belt to Mordor.
I disagree with people here that he has evolved. There is a big difference what he writes on his blog and what he does.
It was interesting to see how many people from IBS actually have contacted him.
I still have not heard of one attorney who will advise you of what the penalties are according to the Internal Revenue Manual. The IRS scares people into OVDI on the basis of “could” and it seems that most attorneys are the IRS’ henchmen as they treat this program of the IRS as if it was law. They claim it is uncertain what will happen when one is audited outside of OVDI. Technically, it should not be any different than a normal audit. The IRS and tax lawyers mislead people by not stating this openly.
While I am glad that some lawyers present go forward and quiet disclosures as an option, to be thorough, they should discuss all possible penalty options based on the IRM and a client’s facts. This is what I expected and once I had signed on, I became part of an OVD mill that churned out commodity OVDI work via rookie associates who had no interest in anything except billing hours for things like reading 8 years of bank statements of a normal life and asking me questions like, “What is Electric Company?” “What is Phone Company.”
No, I am not lawyer bashing, I am just stating what are facts.
@libertad
start with a cost/benefit analysis :
1. how much would your CPA and/or tax lawyer cost
2. check out title 26 civil tax penalties
3. check out title 31 civil FBAR penalties (IRM Manual 4.26-16.2)
Now you perform a worst case scenario with all the possible penalties – compare that to your compliance cost and you will realize that it would be cost prohibitive to engage an “advisor”.
I generally try not to tell folks what to do, but rather how to educate themselves so they come to the right decision for themselves based upon their personal risk tolerances and budget but if these are all your facts with this $45K offshore account and approx. 1.5% undeclared interest for 1 or 2 years than if it were me I would choose the GF (Going Forward) process. File the FBAR (6/30/14) and 1040 for 2013 including the interest income from the offshore account . Done. Keep in mind the audit probability for your income level is 2 years ,there is nothing illegal about amending your returns for 2012,11,10.
….for some reason my comment got cut off – it should read :
….Keep in mind the audit probability for your income level is 2 years ,there is nothing illegal about amending your tax returns for 2012,11,10.
Of course you will hardly find any tax attorney who will advise you of what the penalties are according to the Internal Revenue Manual. The IRS FAQs and answers, representing some 28 pages in length with more than 16,000 words of explanation…..in no part of the IRS FAQs, is there any attempt to explain how penalties under the law actually apply to any particular factual circumstances if the taxpayer were to NOT participate in the OVDP. Your observation that most tax lawyers are the IRS` henchmen is a good one.
They both need each other – it is a win-win situation for both but unfortunately not for you. The IRS examiner is happy to close cases – the more the better to get his supervisor off his back – the tax lawyer needs to find ways for billable hours – the more he can dublicate simple tasks the better which means the OVDI/P annuity in form of many retainers is perfect.
The bottom level IRS clerks are happy to talk to them about how to categorize a case – how to integrate them into the IDRS , about options available, discuss penalties etc.
http://lasthonestlawyer.org/2012/05/02/how-a-10-minute-hearing-can-cost-you-3265-17/
The need to bill 1,900 to 2,200 hours a year also means that “there are bound to be temptations to exaggerate the hours actually put in. The possibilities for fraud abound, though fraud is often hard to detect. Lawyers can cheat by writing down hours they didn’t work or by exaggerating the hours they did. They can credit themselves for hours worked by associates, paralegals and secretaries. They can bill one client for work already paid for by another, or double-bill two clients for the same hours (recycling work product and billing the client who receives the recycled work product time already billed to another client when that work product was originally created ). Timeliness of invoices : The longer the time between work done and the invoice, the likelier it is an estimate or “best guess” and not indicative of actual time spent. The ABA said in 1993 that it’s unethical to bill one client for travel time and a second client for work performed en route, but surveys show that the practice has not been eliminated.
Some lawyers who have left private practice point to the billable hour as a central motivation for their departure. Patrick Schiltz is a law professor who, along with his wife, left a firm. He gave up a stake in the very large fees earned by his firm from the Exxon Valdez oil-spill litigation. He tells his students that they are entering a profession that is “one of the most unhappy and unhealthy on the face of the earth—and, in the view of many, one of the most unethical.” Much of the blame, he has concluded, lies with “the hours.” “You should not underestimate the likelihood that you will practice law unethically,” Schiltz advises new lawyers. The problem, he warns, will “begin with your time sheets.”
Rules that prohibit padding or lying about hours worked include ABA Model Rules 1.5 (requiring that fees be reasonable), 8.4 (prohibiting fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation by lawyers), and 7.1 (prohibiting false statements about a lawyer’s services), and the comparable rules in most states.
@SEAT
Thanks for your good comments and that last link. What you say about attorneys and billing hours is soo true, but not just them, any profession whose method of billing is in opposition to or in conflict to your best interest. Just like investment advisers, NEVER accept the advice of someone that has a commission to gain for their advice!
When I heard, via an internet conference, a Tax Professor of some renown advising new students to go into FATCA compliance because it is endless billable hours, it just told me how corrupted the system is.
No wonder we have such a rich library of lawyer jokes. That is the only way we can deal with the truth of the situation.
As for Mopsick, I am one of those that think he has evolved, but then again, I guess, I could be wrong. Having had MANY exchanges with him over the years starting 1st here at IBS, and reading his writing I think I have observed it. I understand that others disagree. Those 30 years inside the belly of the beast carry lasting scars on ones view of the world.
That said, I have NEVER hired him for advice or guidance and do NOT provide endorsement. I continue to say, that there is good information to be gleaned from his writings just like Townsend or Hodgen. Just have to remember that good ole circular 230, like for all attorneys, requires them to advise compliance. You have to know that going in when you talk to ANY attorney.
Truly it is a buyers beware world.
In the course of my OVDP back early in the program, I bought some time for answering specific questions I had. I had some time provided to me, pro bono also. That all added to the understanding as to my options, and ultimately I took my own council for the decisions I made which was different than the advice I received. Knowing what I know now, I don’t think I would have entered the OVDP, but that is hind sight, as I can see more clearly now than then. I did NOT escape the processing conveyor belt as unscathed as some did, but at some point you cut your loses, (a business decision) to move on.
@WhatAmI
As to the CRA’S FAQ on the IGA stating:
A partial exemption is available for a Canadian financial institution if it is not part of a multinational group (i.e., it is not related to any entities organized outside of Canada) and at least 98 percent of its financial accounts are held by Canadian residents. These financial institutions will not be obliged to apply due diligence or report on accounts held by individuals who are Canadian residents.
@WhatAmI, I’m not completely sure, but I think that that statement refers to Annex 2, sections III.A &B.
The 98% may come from the US Treasury regulations referred to in the text.
Isaac Brock moderators, do you guys think it would me useful or possible to have a permanent list of the FATCA status of various Canadian banks and credit unions as info on them accumulates? I have the feeling that a good many readers will be obtaining info info that the might want to share. Itcould be something like the US Consulates list that already exists.
The Taxpayer Advocate became involved in my case. After I submitted all my documentation to them, in about 1.5 hours of time, I finally had the discussion I wanted to have about my facts. They explained the program and the law to me and answered my questions about my facts. For $40,000 I had spent on my ex-lawyer, I never had a a discussion like that. After the Taxpayer Advocate discussion, I had to decide what to do with the information I had finally received. It was not advice, just a clear statement of what the law was. I made my decision and the ultimate result was no FBAR penalty and no tax penalties. If most of the tax lawyers that handle benign actors acted with the same conscientiousness and efficiency that the Taxpayer Advocate did, it is clear to me that there would be little work for them.
@Just Me
Some of those 2009 OVDP participants have had their penalties refunded to them:
http://m.economictimes.com/irs-to-refund-certain-2009-ovdp-penalties/PDAET/articleshow/13410410.cms
@Seat…
In my previous comments I have asked some questions of you, and wondered if you saw them. Would you be willing to share, is a longer (singular) format your personal story of OVDI experiences, as it would be good to have a reference here.
Your result, is a good one for those poor souls agonizing over what to do
I have referenced your comments over at my Drudgery piece.
Thanks for your contribution to the education process.