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.
I am concerned that FATCA-compliant financial institutions here in Britain will continue to indiscriminately report account details to HMRC who will, in turn, relay this information on to the IRS without making a distinction between current US persons and former US citizens such as myself. I wrote to my building society who just told me that they will implement as per the IGA agreement and that I will have to contact HMRC myself if I have any issues…it’s as though because there such a large organisation, they are just going to report account details across the board for anyone with US indicated such as a US birthplace or passport, which I revealed when opening the account back in the 90s…they said I will have to take it up with the tax man.
What also concerns me is that my making a stink could make the building society and especially HMRC suspicious of me, as though I was worried I had something to hide. It’s a vicious circle. I could imagine that former citizens who haven’t properly logged out from the IRS via 8854 could thus continue to have data passed onto to IRS and consequently risk being hassled, as I understand that the US still claims ex citizens as tax citizens if they haven’t filed 8854!! They could thus start getting hit with non-filing penalties both for 1040 and FBAR from the FATCA information. My point being that it will be even harder to make a smooth divorce.
Does Mythter Stack contribute to Stephen Mopsick’s blog now? What rubbish.
I might be more inclined to believe him if the US wasn’t using extortion to create what he’s trying to portray as a consensus.
Reminder to self:
When visiting Washington, DC bring bottled water for drinking. What comes out if the taps there is some pretty strong Kool-aid.
@ bubblebustin
Mythter Stack — thwell title for him!
I showed the Mopsick quote to my husband, giving no indication of who wrote it, and I asked him, ” Whose side do you think this guy is on?” Mr. Em could not make a definitive judgment. Mopsick is a mess of contradictions I think.
Mona Mona Mona , you’re backsliding again. You have a CLN. You are no longer an American. End of!
What you are imagining isn’t going to be a problem. If you must, show your CLN to your bank. If you were to receive a note from the IRS- you won’t by the way- you would simply fire off a copy of your CLN.
What makes you think that you are of any interest? They have bigger fish to catch and can’t manage that very we’ll. Out of millions they go after a few thousand high profile cases each year in order to try and frighten you. Don’t let it work.
@duke of Devon
Thank you so much for being here. It seems that every time I start flipping out again you show up and calm my nerves. Can I move in with you?
For myself I still have many months to go before I can disentangle myself from the US, probably won’t happen till well after July 1. Please make me feel better that my hope that they are going to be so inundated with info that they most probably can’t sort it all out for a bit is true. My situation is sooo confusing but I fear to post for imput from the Brockers and can’t afford a tax lawyer. I’m counting on this site, my dwindling wits and Lady Luck and to get through this. Please sent your calming vibes often.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-14-17.pdf
Well, well, well. More and better unlaw.
First the FATCA unlaw—unconstitutional, extraterritorial, ridiculous.
Next, the IGA unlaws. No congressional authority, not treaties.
Now, not enough countries are signing the untreaties, so now we have an unintergovernmental agreement. Countries haven’t signed, won’t sign, maybe will sign, are talking about signing, have released the appropriate media propoganda about FATCA compliance, have once burped a sound that sounded like “FATCA”, or have pissed “FATCA” in the snow, are now being treated as if they have signed an IGA.
@ Mark Twain
LOL or is it unLOL … UNsure. 🙂
FATCA, enforcing the Unlaw of the Land
http://samuelclemmons.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/fatca-enforcing-the-unlaw-of-the-land/
@ Mark Twain
Good one! I checked a couple of days ago and there hadn’t been anything new up. You came back with a bang. (((( 🙂 ))))
Mark Twain always had a way with words 🙂
I am temporarily retired from my unemployment status, so there isn’t as much time for these things.
Un-believable! Thanks for your posts, Mark Twain!
This comment from a Skype chat with a friend in Taiwan…
I opened new accounts at 5 Canadian credit unions in the last few days. No FATCA-related questions in the (online) applications (yet).
@WhatAmi,
Wow, you’ve been busy! I opened an account at a credit union recently, in person, and was asked more questions than I have ever been asked at any bank. They wanted to know what the money I was depositing was going to be used for, if I was related to any foreign officials, and also asked my citizenship.
Instead of a visa stamp inside your passport, Norway now uses a visa card which doubles as an identity card. And it has the user’s place of birth listed.
@WhiteKat,
The questions about the intended usage is standard and presumably required by Canadian law and has been on every application I’ve seen in the last few years.
The question about being a “politically exposed foreign person” is probably also required by law, but curiously, only asked in about half of the applications I’ve looked at. I wonder why not all?
Citizenship was never asked on any form.
I only applied at CUs (with online banking and interest rates of 1.8% or better) that required Canadian citizenship or Canadian residency. I tried to limit myself to only CUs whose parent company required Canadian residency, but I only found one where I could confirm this (Achieva Financial’s parent requires MB residency). So, I broadened my acceptance criteria!
I’m afraid the only way I’ll know which CUs are FATCA-free will be to look at their application forms after June 30.
@WhiteKat & WhatAmI
Please see the comments I posted this evening at Maple Sandbox about my recent experience with opening an account at a credit union.
@Mr. A.
I see your comment mentioned on the sidebar, but when I click on it it’s not there.
@Mr A
OK, found it now.
Combination of recent developments regarding the data insecurity dangers, and what that might mean for what the US is demanding of the entire globe re US tax and financial account/asset reporting compliance – (magnified for those filing from abroad because of the extensive and intrusive financial asset and account information the US DEMANDS of us extraterritorially – including the demand to file the FBAR/now Form 114 ONLY online as of this year).
See articles below (and mull over in combination):
The IRS still cannot assure security of our data;
‘GAO Says IRS Security Lapses Place Financial and Taxpayer Data at Risk’
Washington, D.C. (April 8, 2014)
By Michael Cohn
http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/gao-says-irs-security-lapses-place-financial-and-taxpayer-data-at-risk-70270-1.html
and the US government reports that continue to confirm it (only the most recent of several to state the same thing),
Information Security:
‘IRS Needs to Address Control Weaknesses That Place Financial and Taxpayer Data at Risk’
GAO-14-405: Published: Apr 8, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 8, 2014.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-405
and,
‘Heartbleed Bug Causes Major Security Headache’
by The Associated Press
April 09, 2014
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=300813985
Though the IRS states in this story that it was not affected and that taxpayers filing returns should continue as normal, we don’t know how it might affect the online filing of FBAR/now Form 114 – (filing online now mandatory) and FATCA. And given the GAO reports, and the IRS plague of identity theft and data security issues – why should I trust the IRS word on this?
also see;
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9247563/Canada_halts_online_tax_returns_in_wake_of_Heartbleed
So, now that the CRA will be automatically transferring bank and asset data down to eventually the level of all transactions, how are we to have faith that they can assure its security on the Canadian end – and then, once it crosses into US hands – only starting with the IRS/Treasury, the Patriot Act and Homeland Security kick in – with no transparency, no recourse, no accountability, no discernible limits.
It has not been established that Intuit/Turbotax was not affected (thought they say that NOW they have done a fix);
http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/heartbleed-bug-websites-affected/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/heartbleed-bug-to-do-list,news-18588.html
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/04/09/heartbleed-scare-bad-sounds/4KGq7KIffclo5Y4Eo80YTJ/story.html
More about security (or lack thereof): Your Tax Returns Are Hacker Bait
When I read more and more like this, I am so thankful that I have gone through the maze, found the “OUT” door. That our Canadian and other country governments will allow themselves to be complicit in some of its population to be so abused in hand-over of their private financial information to a foreign country is abhorrent. Consider the author’s words:
Data collection for later use? Leaked on purpose, sloppiness, waiting to be hacked? US Person financial information now sent by “foreign financial institutions to the CRA, stored and further disseminated by the CRA (or other country agency) and, unbelievably, gifted to the U.S. IRS databanks? The Canadian Conservatives would condone this, not fully debate it on its own merit, just make sure it happens by hiding it in omnibus legislation?
@Swedish citizen
Are you still reading here? Nu ruller vognen i Dk – masser af Fatca infomøder! Men ingen info til borgerne.
Translation: Now Fatca information is suddenly available in Denmark – but only for banks and regulatory agencies. The general public is still massively non-informed. What’s happening i Sweden – or not?
Does anyone know the “statute of limitations” on FFI FATCA-based searches? In other words, how many years back are FFIs obligated to go in the past to search for bank customers past and present to fuflill their FATCA obligations?
Is anyone aware of where this issue might be answered, either in the FATCA regulations themselves or in the IGAs with each State?
Thanks for any responses with references where the information can be found, including links to this site in case it was answered elsewhere (apologies but I did a Google search and didn’t come up with anything).