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.
@Neil This has been my fear that FATCA just opens the door for Canada to get everyone’s data irrespective of birth place or nationslity. 1984 lives before our eyes.
I am sorry guys but the article by Bugnion just trots out the same CBT stuff that doesn’t address the full problem. Immigrants to the US aren’t helped by this. If any of you are left to ever want to return to the US you won’t be helped by CBT and face the same problems as I did as an immigrant.
@Cheryl,
We are fast approaching a world where if you have anything foreign then your finances are an open book. Lets face it. The only reason you could possibly have anything foreign is if you are a criminal who just hasn’t been caught yet. If you haven’t actually committed a crime that’s only because they haven’t added a crime to catch you with yet. I am pretty sure I could have committed may serious crimes where people would be hurt and got off with lower penalties than I paid in OVDP.
@Edelweiss and @ George
I agree that this EU ruling is +++ important and should be spread to North America, South America and Asian/Australian news outlets. The strike-back is mounting!
Jackie Bugnion is a person worthy of our complete respect. She spent DECADES
WORKING (not just talking), to get Americans abroad a better deal, a better life. To expect her piece to cover aspects that were not part of her experience is to miss the point. And is extremely disrespectful. I have met her and I can tell you, she is a person of integrity.
Neill, if you want people to understand your point, it would be helpful if you pointed in the direction of who, where information that supports your point of view can be found.
@Tricia,
I have said this loads of times. CBT only solves a limited problem for Americans who live abroad. It doesn’t help you avoid problems if you ever return to the US. Remember your investments may be toxic, your pensions may get taxed etc. CBT doesn’t help Americans who live abroad who have toxic American account (HSA, 529 etc plans).
This concentration on CBT as all that’s needed is problematic.
This woman I am sure is great and all that. I hardly see how it’s disrespectful to point out that what she is proposing won’t cover all the problems. I don’t see why I should care about her anyway given she is unlikely to every cover anything of interest to my situation.
@Neil; “It doesn’t help you avoid problems if you ever return to the US. ”
A Country has the right to impose insane laws within its own borders.
A Country does not have the right to impose insane laws outside its borders.
Step One regardless, must be getting rid of certain Countries imposing their insane laws outside its borders.
Once Step One is accomplished it will be easier to get rid of the insane law within its borders.
@George,
>A Country has the right to impose insane laws within its own borders.
No it doesn’t. A number of the issues I mention are major defects in the tax treaties. My life would have been even worse except that the US can’t use local laws to override the tax treaty. So most of our pensions had to be left alone.
The treaties override local laws.
I never say that CBT isn’t a part of the fix. I just say it isn’t the whole fix each time people here say it is.
Has this April 2015 Tax Analysts article “FATCA: Swatting Flies With Atom Bombs” been previously posted? If not, it is worth reading:
http://www.amcham.ch/media/downloads/150408_FATCA.pdf
@Neil
The vast majority of the people in our online community have no intention of ever “returning” to the US, if indeed they even remember spending any significant time there to begin with. We are not “just visiting” the countries in which we live – we are, for the most part, fully embedded citizens of the countries where we reside.
This is not at all to take away from the serious FATCA and CBT related issues faced by certain US residents, including immigrants and “returnees”. I agree that the plight of US immigrants, in particular, continues to have a much lower profile than it should, but I believe that is mainly due to the fact that so few of them are even aware of what the IRS, through FATCA, has in store for them.
As for Jackie Bugnion, I too have met her personally and I have the greatest respect and admiration for her. Unlike some of her former colleagues at ACA, she has consistently fought against CBT and for RBT and has never muddied the waters with bullshit ideas like Same Country Safe Harbour which absolutely fail to address the “full problem”, as you put it. Jackie is truly one of the pillars of our community, and she does not deserve your uninformed disrespect.
@Deckard,
>she does not deserve your uninformed disrespect.
What disrespect?
Man this place really has a serious level of group think. We have videos posted for comments were the only comments are allowed are to say it was great. Why post for comments if you only want positive stuff said?
This is like the ‘see you in court’ stuff we had were everyone jumped up and down at the inevitability of the win. At the same time the government was claiming the litigants didn’t even have standing.
I am not uninformed. I read here stuff and it misses the bigger picture. She also trots out the same medicare surtax argument that’s rubbish. The 3.8% pays for other peoples medicaid not the people who pay the tax. I know. I pay the 3.8%.
@Neill
Ok, let’s just agree to drop any more conversation about Jackie – we’ve both made our points.
What I think might be more helpful to hear are your thoughts about how the US, and the world, might ever make the transition from where we are today, where CBT, FATCA and FBAR’s dominate the expat (and, increasingly, US immigrant) landscape, to a place where the US finally adopts RBT and plays nice with the rest of the kids. Is it just a pipe dream, or can it actually happen? What concrete proposals would you suggest to get us to that happier place?
The Australian: “Australian Tax Office hands over bank details to US Internal Revenue Service”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/ato-hands-over-bank-details-to-us-internal-revenue-service/story-e6frg926-1227541101398
“The Australian Taxation Office has handed the US Internal Revenue Service details of more than 30,000 bank accounts containing more than $5 billion in the first transfer of information under America’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.”
@Deckaed,
The tax treaties could solve much of this. Remember CBT is a carve out in the treaties. It’s often reciprocal but other countries don’t do it. The treaties could give first and only rights to tax income and investments earned within their borders. The US could only tax stuff earned within it’s borders or worldwide income of those that physically reside in the US (though I see no reason why the US should tax something I earn in Australia). The treaties can outlaw PFIC type taxation in countries were the anti-deferral doesn’t need to be done because it’s build into company reporting. The treaties can protect all local tax sheltering accounts not just ‘work related pensions’. This way a 529 is a shelter even if you reside in the UK (remember the UK has it’s own PFIC like taxation system).
The great thing about the treaties are they are supposed to be future proof wrt law changes as they override local law.
But who cares hey. Go RBT!
@Walt,
Had to use the google trick!
How we laughed:
>The ATO said that in return for supplying the FATCA data, the IRS will give it information about
>Australians with US accounts that will be used to root out undeclared offshore income.
Thanks for that. Very interesting.
Could get renewed interest int he foreign tax credit:
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/254689-irs-needs-stronger-security-for-foreign-tax-credit
The report behind this is interesting. I liked the fact that 73% of the bad returns were professionally prepared. Maybe they should make it simpler? The FTC rules are complex. I sit in a spreadsheet for ages crunching the numbers each year as I get the data.
@Neil,
Good luck with that. The US has something called the “last-in-time rule,” whereby later local law can override treaties, unilaterally and without advance notice.
Things like PFIC rules will need to be attacked on protectionist grounds.
http://www.canadiansecuritieslaw.com/2015/09/articles/international-developments/collection-and-automatic-disclosure-of-information-from-canadian-financial-institutions-is-legally-authorized-and-not-inconsistent-with-canada-us-tax-treaty/#comments
‘Collection and automatic disclosure of information from Canadian financial institutions is “legally authorized” and “not inconsistent” with Canada – US Tax Treaty’
Posted on September 23, 2015
Roanne C. Bratz –
From Tricia’s Twitter feed post: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2015/09/19/the-stopfatca-press-release-and-social-media-page/
BBC News, US & Canada, September 23, 2015: ” Is Stephen Harper ‘Americanising’ Canada?
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s political opponents have a difficult time figuring out exactly which disliked US leader he most reminds them of.
…
The Canadian public will soon have a chance to tell him whether they still agree or if, in their view, their nation has gone south – in more ways than one.
@badger
Good catch. Two immediate responses:
1. “On to round two.” ABSOLUTELY!
2. “We await Canada’s Minister of National Revenue’s reaction to this development.” So do we.
@Badger
“We await Canada’s Minister of National Revenue’s reaction to this development.”
Indeed we do.
@Bubblebustin
As a matter of fact, I’d be happy to hear a reaction from ANYONE representing Canada’s so-called government. My wet dream, however, would be to hear the words “FATCA” or “Intergovernmental Agreement” drip from the lips of our pathetic outgoing Prime Minister. To the best of my recollection, he has NEVER uttered these words on-record. It would be amazing to hear him personally try to defend his decision to needlessly hand-over to the IRS the financial records of hundreds of thousands of Canadian citizens – in the midst of an election campaign.
More court trouble for Harper.
http://www.canadianprogressiveworld.com/2015/09/16/information-commissioner-takes-harper-to-court-for-withholding-senate-expenses-scandal-documents/
The light this guy’s talking about is an oncoming train:
http://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/for-delinquent-taxpayers-living-abroad-there-are-several-ways-to-find-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/#.VgQSh8RHarV
How’s this pearl of wisdom:
“Passed in America in 2010 and ratified by the Bahamian government in 2014, FATCA is a widely embraced US law requiring US tax payers to annually report on their non-US based financial accounts. ”
http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/news/US_extends_deadline_for_exchange_of_information_under_FATCA44112.shtml