Media and Blog Articles – part 2 of 11 (Year 2015)
You can access all years at this link: Media and Blog Articles – Links for All Years
If clicking on a comment link brings you to the wrong comment, click here to get on the most recent page of comments.(alternatively, to reach the most recent comment page, go to the url in the bar at the top of your browser and delete everything after http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/media-and-blog-articles-open-for-comments-part-2-of-2 )
Media and Blog Articles
EmBee suggested that it would be good if there was a thread for new articles, so that people would be aware of where to comment. So, I created this permanent page. You could mention such articles in the comment stream for this page, or if I see one on another thread, I can copy the link to here. I’ll keep adding to the list, but not deleting, so we’ll end up having sort of a “bibliography” too. [Note: Some articles are not open for comments]
For more articles on FATCA, enter FATCA into Google then click on the link “more news for fatca” just below the most recent featured article.
Note also: JC suggests to see #FATCA on Twitter for latest breaking news. JC finds that is quite a good source and there even are some international articles that one may read using Google Translate.” Others may help certain tweets and articles remain in elevated position by retweeting them.
Be sure to read the comment stream for this thread — there are usually very recent articles mentioned there that are not yet on this list.
2015.01.01
Raising revenue off Caribbean backs, Bruce Zagaris, NationNews, Barbados.
On or about 2016.01.01
16 issues to make 2016 candy for the market, Westfield Times.
2015.12.31
Tax reporting norms: FinMin updates guidance note on compliance, K.R. Srivats, Hindu Business Line, India.
2015.12.30
Top Tax Blogs from 2015, Tax Connections. (Congratulations to John Richardson and Lynne Swanson who placed 2nd and 4th!)
Global dragnet puts pressure on tax evaders as year-end deadlines loom, Jeff Gray, Globe and Mail, Canada.
IRS Employee Whose Job Was Assisting Victims Of Identity Theft Charged in $1 Million Identity Theft Tax Fraud, Paul Caron, TaxProfBlog, US.
How America’s Wealthiest Are Saving Billions Through a Private Tax System, TruthDig.
RA Returns Home, TaxProTalk forum.
2015.12.29
For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions, Noam Scheiber and Patricia Cohen, New York Times, US.
IRS Stirs Up New Crisis With Non-Profits Over Social Security Numbers, Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times.
DNC Must Heed Warning Bells From 2000, Bennet Kelley, Huffington Post, US.
2015.12.28
IRS Creates “International Practice Units” for their IRS Revenue Agents in International Tax Matters, Patrick Martin, Tax-Expatriation, US.
MF investors: Les than a4th comply with US tax law, Jayshree P. Upadhyay & Ashley Coutinho, Business Standard, India.
IRS service should improve after some saw their ‘worst tax season,” advocate says, Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch, US.
more garbage to attack
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/beware-the-risks-of-renouncing-your-u-s–citizenship-in-canada-203307241.html
The author of the article in canadianlawyermag didn’t do his research very thoroughly. He stated: “The plaintiff duo unsuccessfully argued that the FATCA violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and their right to security of person and against unreasonable search and seizure.”
The Charter Rights were not even a part of this Summary Trial. Would a “swatter” like to send him a comment?
Along the same vein, 2nd-class Canadian citizenship, this NDP Ontario Facebook site has the same chart on their site: https://www.facebook.com/NDP-Grassroots-Ontario-Region-581496741992152/timeline/ and this photo:
The person who sent this to me said…
Over to you, Mr. Mulcair.
Not sure if anyone has commented on this. We’ve all seen and been discouraged by the Senate Finance Committee’s International taxation Working Group report, which acknowledged our submissions and ignored all of them. But what about the Individual Tax Working Group? As you all may recall, 48 percent of submissions to that committee were from US persons living outside the USA, and were concerned with CBT, FATCA, etc. I just checked, and found the Individual Working Group report.
What did we get? The reminder that FBARs must be filed, and the recommendation (since implemented) to move the FBAR reporting date to April 15.
Not even an acknowledgment, as in the International Working Committee report, that nearly half their submissions were on taxation of Americans living abroad.
Here’s the report, if you want to waste your time:
http://www.finance.senate.gov/download/?id=931B680C-DC59-47A1-95FE-39FB5BF88625
@Barbara
If you take out the duplications, you have to wonder what percentage of all the submissions made to the Committee in all categories were related to our issues. I’d guess they’d still be disproportionate considering our numbers compared to homelanders.
I think it is a huge weakness that not all expats are on the same page. There are many who agree with CBT because they want their benefits and social security when they return home. Those expats who never intend to return are a wash for them. Maybe that is the bottom line anyway.
@Bubblebustin: Here’s the math for you. From the SFC page, the total submissions:
Individual Income Tax – 448
Business Income Tax – 332
Savings & Investment -128
International Tax – 347
Community Development & Infrastructure – 207
This breaks down to:
TOTAL submissions = 1462
Of course, if you remove the duplicates among these various groups, the number will be less. I’m sure some of the International Group submissions on corporate tax were also sent to the Business Tax group. I’m not going to attempt to work this out.
If you check the SFC submissions page I set up (http://fatca.eu.pn), I collated all submissions on overseas taxation issues, removed all duplicates. Adding together individual, organizational, and report submissions (the reports were submitted as individuals), we get: 279
So, even if we count the real, non-duplicate number of submissions on taxing expats, against the gross number of all submissions, not taking into account duplicates in the latter number, 19 percent of all submissions to the SFC were on individual overseas tax issues.
Which means at least 19 percent of all submissions to the SFC were summarily ignored.
Actually, let’s be fairer, and measure apples with apples.
Total submissions to SFC in all categories (including duplicates): 1462
Total submissions on individual overseas taxation (ALSO including duplicates): 460
Percentage of total SFC submissions on expat issues: 31.5 percent
Hence, nearly a third of the total of all submissions were ignored.
@Barbara
Outstanding work, thank you!
At least 1/3 of the submissions were ignored because we don’t know what other issues the committee has ignored too, but suffice it to say that ALL the expat issues were ignored! Considering we represent little more than 2% of the U.S. population (at least officially), that’s a pretty significant effort. Unfortunately 2% of the population, however vocal, is easy to ignore.
“First they ignore you…”
Fortunately for Gandhi and the people of India, they outnumbered the British – significantly.
@Polly
I don’t know that SS or any benefit is contingent on CBT…
Barbara,
Thanks for all of this analysis on top of the SFC submissions page that you set up — http://fatca.eu.pn. I hope we can use the importance of what you’ve so diligently concluded.
@polly
SS benefits are contingent on paying in the requisite number of years ,10 I believe. They are still obtainable if you live abroad for US citizens and renunciants. They do not have anything to do with cbt versus rbt. Even Medicare can be obtained by expats IF you have paid in for 10 yrs and pay the premiums at the age of 65. However Medcare is only be available in the US, so you could only get it during a visit.
polly and heidi,
I found a tool regarding receipt of US social security payments outside the US, dependent on Social Security treaties with the country one lives in, but does NOT depend on one’s retention of US citizenship. The link is available at http://www.ssa.gov/international/payments_outsideUS.html
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/beware-the-risks-of-renouncing-your-u-s–citizenship-in-canada-203307241.html
FATCA has made it to Yahoo News, but there is no mention of ADCS.
SS can be received by former green card holders. I thought I read that you have to be a resident of the US to get medicare. So that would mean citizen or green card holder.
My father just told me there was news in the UK of treating UK expats the same as immigrants if they come back. I don’t know in what context (benefits I guess). Anyone know about this?
I live in fear of the UK coming after me. I don’t currently plan to ever go back.
@neil. No you don’t have to be resident in the US to receive Medicare. You can get part A free (hospital admission)if you have paid in the full 10 yr contributions , part B requires you to continue to pay the monthly fee, now approx $104.95/ month but of course it is only obtainable while you are in the country. All info is on their website.
@neil .
UK coming after you?….in what respect?
If you have a UK passport and return, you are entitled to your UK pension and also NHS healthcare. Maybe there has been some discussion about restricting unemployment benefits and housing benefits to people who have not contributed?
What I meant was: the longer you pay in the bag (taxes) the more pension you get out of the bag. Or doesn’t it work the same way as in Europe? Your pension is higher if you have paid into it longer? As I understand it- if you don`t pay your taxes for a while, your pension benefits diminish accordingly.
@Calgary
Yes, have used that SS tool. I receive my SS benefits after paying in for 30 years! ( but with a 15% US tax withholding) which is in the swiss/ us tax treaty. The UK has a 0% withold! If there is no tax treaty, then US social security will ony pay 6 months/ yr unless one returns to the US for 30 continuous days.!!..go figure..
I believe that in the UK the state pension depends on 10 full years of contributions to get the full pension. Less yrs will get you a lower pension.
The US needs 10 full yrs to qualify for anything, but the more you have vested the higher your pension will be …up to a ceiling.
@ Heidi, the UK has a similar system to the US in that one will need ten years paid-in stamps just to qualify for any state pension at all. The pension system is in transition to a new system whereby the new version of state pension will be flat-rate at approx £150 per week but will require 35 years of contributions to qualify for the full amount.
I also believe that there will no longer be any survivor benefits once the new pension is fully implemented because it’s now assumed that everyone works rather than relying on a primary breadwinner.. This means that women will have to take full personal responsibility for their retirement planning.
To be honest though, the UK keeps changing the pension rules so no one under 50 knows how it will be set up by the time they reach retirement age; At 50, I assume it will be around 67-68 though it will be gradually rising towards 70 plus for younger workers. It may even become means-tested someday so I’m not even counting on getting anything.
@monalisa
Thanks for the update. I guess things have changed in the UK pension wise. The old system would still pay for less yrs and still does for those who are already receiving a pension. I guess the pot is running dry.
That’s really tough on today’s workers.
@Neill
There have been some changes towards expats, but I haven’t seen any sign of the U.K launching a wholesale attack on expats.
* The NHS now charges expats working outside of the European Economic Area 150% of its tariff rate for treatment, but costs are relatively low by U.S. standards: it will cost £3,282 to have a baby delivered, for example. I know a woman whose poor, uninsured niece traveled from Florida back to her poor eastern Europe country of origin to have a baby after many years away , so it does happen. You might want to buy travel insurance next time you travel to the U.K. In this area, expats are going to be treated the same as migrants, so maybe that is what your father meant. Early retirees living in the EEA also need to pay for care.
* If you have a public unfunded defined-benefit pension, such as a military pension, you won’t be able to transfer it abroad after April, so need to look into a QROPs before then.
* If you move back to the U.K., you won’t be able to claim non-dom status because you are orginally from Britain (and yes, there are people who’ve done this).
The more I read, the more happy I am to have renounced.
@heidi,
>@neil. No you don’t have to be resident in the US to receive Medicare.
>You can get part A free (hospital admission)if you have paid in the full 10 yr contributions
Isn’t backed up by the doc:
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10043.pdf
Who can get Medicare?
Hospital insurance (Part A)
People age 65 or older, who are citizens or permanent
residents of the United States, are eligible for Medicare
hospital insurance.
>UK coming after you?….in what respect?
Trying to take my money, laws that apply to me though I don’t live there. Basically all the shit america does to their own.