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.
http://www.aranca.com/knowledge-center/articles-and-publications/378-fatca-making-hong-kong-a-costly-route-to-mainland-china
Here’s the full document from which the above article is excerpted. It again makes the claim that China has implemented CBT, inspired by FATCA. I do not believe that this is true.
FATCA: High-Cost Initiative To Curb Tax Evasion
@JC: thanks for posting that. Not sure if you saw my comment on the other thread about the last Aranca link you posted (“China joins the FATCA ride; introduces own version”), but that one left me thoroughly unimpressed with Aranca’s grasp on reality.
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2015/01/09/china-daily-responds-to-new-york-times-on-alleged-chinese-citizenship-based-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-6661958
So I’d take this one with a grain of salt too. The $7,000/account monitoring cost may be accurate, but their conclusion that “FATCA could tilt the scales toward Singapore as the preferred entry route to the mainland” strikes me as nonsense, given that SG has to deal with the same FATCA crap as everyone else.
@JC & Barbara: One other thing happening in Hong Kong that’s probably attributable to FATCA and other US regulatory nonsense: folks with any foreign connections are having all sorts of trouble opening accounts. Two recent cases documented in the media (one from a Briton, the other from a Pakistani, both HK permanent residents)
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/10/05/hsbc-runaround-ninety-minutes-of-madness-with-the-worlds-local-money-laundry/
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1813049/hong-kongs-equalities-watchdog-first-time-tackles
Some background on the man mentioned in the second article (he’s been trying to naturalise for years & get an HKSAR passport precisely because of problems like this, but he’s been unsuccessful):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Khan
Anecdotally I’ve heard of similar cases of account denials not just from non-Chinese people, but also ethnic Chinese who speak Cantonese with a foreign accent. Maybe it’s cuz the banks suspect them of being Americans.
Agree with Eric, re: FATCA could tilt the scales from Hong Kong to Singapore. More likely it is tilting the scales toward thousands of HK Chinese, who rushed to get green cards right before the 1997 handover, toward renunciation. Wouldn’t surprise me if the US consulate in Hong Kong is the busiest in the world in processing renunciations.
As I stated in my comments to the Aranca article, no one (not even ACA) seems to have figured in, among the other costs of FATCA, the cost of hundreds of thousands of opportunistic dual citizens and green card holders in Asia and the Middle East who may have, until now, grudgingly been filing US tax forms and paying something, now being driven by FATCA toward renunciation, resulting in lost revenue to measure against any new fines and taxes resulting from FATCA.
@Barbara @Eric
“Aranca is a leading provider of high quality, customized and cost effective research and analytics to global clients. Founded in UK in 2003, Aranca has a global presence including in the US, Europe and Middle East, and a state-of-the-art delivery center in Mumbai, India.”
I almost lost my coffee when I read this:
“Citing high compliance and operational implementation costs, Canadian banks were among the most vocal opponents of FATCA.”
@Bubblebustin
“Citing high compliance and operational implementation costs, Canadian banks were among the most vocal opponents of FATCA.”
Now that is truly funny.
@Bubblebustin
*Canadian banks were among the most vocal opponents of FATCA*
Yeah… this is funny…. what did Canada do… say no once then say…. where do we sign to toss our people under the bus? Rights… what is that…. Privacy… they won’t know… we will stay on the down low… no one will notice we gave out the data….
This is interesting. SSA wants to update WEP (windfall elimination provision) because it more often than not over compensates for work outside of social security taxes. They now have data to do a more accurate adjustment.
http://ssab.gov/Portals/0/Reports/WEP_Position_Paper_2015.pdf?ver=2015-10-02-104201-183
Now as well all know WEP applies to those working in other countries but the doc makes no mention of this. I don’t see how they could do the adjustment unless they can get the data,
The whole area is a minefield because you can get WEPed based on your foreign pension amount but they aren’t taxed the same. How much your social security is taxed depends on your income. SS only counts 50% while a foreign pension would count dollar for dollar. Different income types have different affects to your taxes.
Anyway clearly anything foreign takes a back seat.
The proposed bill backing this says you can submit your own evidence of work:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/711/text
In making determinations under this clause, the Commissioner shall also take into account any documentary evidence of earnings derived from noncovered service by an individual which is provided by the individual to the Commissioner and which the Commissioner considers appropriate as a reasonable basis for treatment of such earnings as recorded noncovered earnings
Seems incredibly complex to find out my UK earnings and submit to them.
Jim Jatras Tweets:
https://twitter.com/JimJatras/status/652113906543034368
The Real Victims of Endless Financial Regulations
By Richard W. Rahn
This article appeared on The Washington Times on October 5, 2015.
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/real-victims-endless-financial-regulations
@Deckard1138 @USFP
We definitely have the Canadian banks to thank for our government’s choice to be early FATCA adopters. One also has to wonder if KPMG and the CPA’s coziness with the PMO played a part too, when both stand to profit from FATCA – and for allegedly shielding Canadian offshore tax evasion from the CRA.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/harper-government-partnered-with-industry-group-fighting-cra-over-kpmg-case-1.3257994
One for the home team!!!!
“The best solution is for the U.S. to join the rest of the world in taxing based on residency rather than citizenship. Congress could address both the need for global banking transparency and the negative effects of Fatca by including this in the comprehensive tax reforms likely to take place under the next administration. Doing so would advance American fairness, mobility and economic competitiveness, in addition to protecting the country’s most valuable global asset: its people.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-law-that-makes-u-s-expats-toxic-1444330827
Comments open
Video from Foxnews on the exchange of data between the irs and other countries…and they actually question how safe the sensitive data is… http://video.foxnews.com/v/4540256121001/irs-sharing-taxpayer-info-with-other-government-agencies/?#sp=show-clips
WHOA, compliance condor on steroids here, AND they’re trying to lure people in with the now defunct Obama accidental American budget proposal. I’ve never seen anything like what Collins Barrow is doing here.
http://www.collinsbarrow.com/en/cbn/publications/info2-clarify-your-cross-border-tax-obligations?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=inter-article-link
@Charl
“One for the home team!!!!”
Gee, I thought the US Government considers us to be the AWAY team.
😉
@Bubblebustin
That’s one shiny looking infographic those Collins Barrow folks have put up there. I presume that all roads lead to their abattoir.
@Deckard
Well from my prospective, my birth nation wants to destroy me, my home nation doesn’t care, my family doesn’t care, my friends don’t care so I consider Brock Nation my only home these days and Brockers my extended family. We are the home team of Brockland! (And to my delight I am slowly getting to turn my virtual family into a real one between lunches, visits, phone calls and emails).
Bopp in HK on 12th to talk lawsuit and 2016 election.
https://twitter.com/RepubAbroadHK/status/652306062498926592
@Charl I care. You are doing a great job in the comment sections. Bravo!
@Charl
Oh, I know what you meant. Something along the lines of “home is where the heart is” I believe.
That was indeed a good article, and the kind that only an expat could have written. You can usually tell from the very first paragraph that it wasn’t written by a homelander.
wsj
Great article. Breath of fresh air among the stink. Voice of reason among those who are panicked who dont care where the money comes from and/or those just plain greedy who want to wield their power and crush others. Why aren’t there more articles like this – because they are TRUE.
http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/10/apple-google-microsoft-hold-more-than-336b-overseas-via-legal-tax-loopholes/
comments open!
American exceptionalism.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33155-the-deadly-fraud-of-american-exceptionalism
Of course FATCA is eliminating thoughtful and decent Americans living abroad who could serve as counter-examples to the nation’s poor reputation.
Charl: It’s wonderful to see a call for RBT in the pages of the Wall Street Journal! Yes, definitely one for the “Home Team”!
FT article: “Banks give up US expats’ data in tax evasion crackdown”
It is paywalled but should be possible to view it using Google.