Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 3 of 11 (Year 2016)
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-3-of-3 )
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” of FATCA/CBT articles. [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 aren’t on this list yet.
2016.12.29
Switzerland moves further to end bank secrecy, Financial Times, UK.
2016.12.23
How FATCA Infringes and Trammels our Statehood, Stephen Kangal, Trinidad and Tobago News, Trinidad and Tobago.
Barclay’s chief preparing to take a stand against US regulators over unduly high fines to European banks, James Quinn, The Telegraph, UK.
2016.12.22
Canada refuses to name bank that broke money laundering rules 1225 timtes, Mike De Souze, Robert Cribb & Marco Oved, National Observer.
Financial Intelligence agency gave bankers head up about money laundering disclosure, Mike De Souza, Robert Cribb & Marco Oved, National Observer.
2016.12.21
US citizens may pay double tax on Kahlon’s child savings program, Michael Zeff, Jerusalem Post, Israel.
Applying to be Swiss in the Trump Era, Steve Krump, SwissInfo, Switzerland.
2016.12.20
File That Tax, Boom Chicago, YouTube, Netherlands.
Tijuana City Councilman Faces US Money Laundering Charges, Sandra Dibble and Dana Littlefield, San Diego Union, US.
2016.12.19
Senate Report Finds IRS Agents Living Large on Public’s Dime, Guillermo Jiminez, Tax Revolution Institute, US.
AG to UNC: Come to Parliament first – a Joint Select Committee to deal with FATCA . . ., Ria Taitt, Daily Express, Trinidad.
Rand Paul criticizes framework of tax reform plan, Naomi Jagoda, The Hill, US.
Articles from earlier 2016 are at this link
Articles from 2015 are at this link
Articles from 2014 are at this link
Media and Blog Articles thread, Part 1 of 3, is at this link.
Media and Blog Articles thread, Part 2 of 3 is at this link.
bc doc and animal……both of you guys (or girls) have been around here at IBS for an extremely long time.
you both have made tremendous contributions and we are all in this fight together. we all come from different back grounds however we all have a common enemy from the south.
I can afford the $2,350 fee to renounce (it would take me about a year to reach this amount but it is doable) however the $40-50,000 I have been quoted to be compliant to cleanly exit the system to the south is totally out of my reach. am I angry and pissed off about this …. you bet….and I have changed over the past few years due to this anger and hostility….it really has effected my mental health…..
the animal I sympathize with your plight and you have every right to be pissed off at the bully to the south….however and it is only my opinion….we need to not attack others of us in this fight….we are all in it together…..united we stand…divided we fall and all that……
from what I know of bc doc he was not attempting to rub it in that he can afford the $14,100 for his 6 renucinciations but rather he to while able to afford the fee is unwilling to play their game.
I have lied of a few bank forms already and have NO problem lying on any other bank forms that may come my way
even though you don’t know it your words have lifted me when I have been down about this situation much like bc docs coining the phrase “undocumented relinquisher” has had an effect on me.
we each contribute and take what we can…..your anger is well placed abet perhaps less well directed…..but keep up the fight…….
@ The_Animal
Oh no. I didn’t realize your wife had all those extra hurdles to leap before the citizenship application. I remember the most paper intensive part of my husband’s journey was becoming an official landed immigrant with PR card (renewals weren’t too bad though). It was hard waiting 18 months for the citizenship ceremony because he was so anxious to proceed to the CLN but at least it was just that … waiting. Again, let’s hope for some real solutions real soon because “laying low” is very stressful. Meanwhile, for now, your kiddies are safe and banking here isn’t as dicey as it has become across the Atlantic. That might seem like small consolation but I can think of how it could be worse. I won’t say how though, because those b-turds would swoop up the ideas and implement.
To all the non US citizen spouses, I admire the ones who 100% support their US citizen spouses and stand by their spouses throughout this mess. They are also victims because they don’t even need to be involved in this mess. The Animal is one of these 100% supportive spouses I admire. We are the ones with the US taint bringing the issues to our families and spouses. Was my non US citizen spouse, supportive? Yes to a certain extent but only after I agreed to renounce.
The daughter of a friend of mine is married to a US citizen and she is worried about her status as a resident alien since Trump and will look into acquiring US citizenship. They fear Trump may make rules that make it easier for them to be deported. I would say to them think long and hard before doing this and get all the facts. I basically shouted down the phone at my friend, NO tell her not to do that, she’s young and it could have dire consequences later on.
Then my colleague whose husband won a green card lottery years ago and never turned in his green card and my colleague was bragging about how he still has the green card and travels on it to the US. This people are clueless and have no idea what’s going on even with Fatca. There are perils everywhere if people are not informed. The message needs to get out loud and clear.
We are all in this together no matter where we are in the journey or what journey we are taking and I know this is a place where we know we can come and get support.
Let’s hope 2017 bring positive change for everyone.
@JC, that is a brilliant and funny youtube video you posted the link to earlier – about the absurdity of US extraterrritorial taxes and ‘Accidental Americans’ https://youtu.be/ipt92vvwKiU
I urge anyone here who needs a laugh break from the grimness to watch it. It is very funny – though your laugh might be a rueful one.
And lets not forget this classic ‘FATCA Explained in 4 Minutes… ‘
https://youtu.be/Y-EVF7CZt_w
I said (referring to the IRS note in US passports): “…it must have been inserted during the Clinton administration.”
It appeared in passports issued from 01/01/93, according to the following report which was issued by the Treasury in 1998:
https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Documents/tax598.pdf (p.10)
@iota
Where did you find that?!
What I read out it is that they KNEW back then that:
– No one knows and (though not explicitly said) they can’t know because the US is (defacto) the only ones to do CBT.
– the IRS was doing nothing to inform anyone
– the filing was a burden
– almost no taxes owed (nothing to be gotten)
– accidentals exist who have no benifits from their US citizenship (how if they don’t know they have it)
– holders of expired or abandoned green card have no benifits from their green cards
– they can’t get the information on our assets.
So rather than recommend that the whole useless thing gets dropped, they recommended educating us that we have to file, but did not do so, and planned how to start getting our information and how to punish us even though, as stated above, they KNEW there was no taxes to be gotten.
The have been planning this for decades. They will not stop. Even if FATCA is repealed, the DemonCrats will one day be back in power and the whole cycle starts over. Without (permanent) RBT, there will never be peace of mind for those who retain US citizenship (or even those you do not have it anymore, but have the taint).
” I think @The_Animal would rather eat one of his own than direct his anger we’re it is warranted.”
~sarcasm~. You don’t think I’ve aimed my sights at the US Government and the Canadian Government? My vote went to a party other than the CPC and the Liberals; partly because somewhere in that long-term memory of mine, I remembered that Trudeau had stated to a IBS member that the responsibility of a taxpayer to pay their taxes was their responsibility – in essence telling them that they were a US taxpaying pawn. Needless to say, I was right in giving my vote to someone other than the CPC and Liberals because no sooner than he got into power, he took the same road as Harper. I hope YOU walked the walk and gave YOUR vote to someone other than TruDOPE. Because if you didn’t, then you have some looking in the mirror to do.
I’ve also aimed my tweets at Obama and countless others south of the border which is probably MORE than what you’ve been doing. I’ve put myself up on the damned wall for those IRS assholes to shoot at, which can’t be done because I’m a Canadian. I AM MY WIFE’S SHIELD!!! I’ve objected to compliance condors on Twitter and have lambasted quite a few of them. The only person that the US of A can target is my wife (if THEY can find her), but I WILL NOT remain silent.
You, BC_Doc, chose to pick on my “hiding” comment and you were the one that started the whole shit-slinging, now go be a good little Canadian and FUCK OFF!
In fact, I’ve gone so far as to call Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper traitors to Canada, because what they’ve been doing is undermining Canadian sovereignty. And most people don’t want to go that far. I was born in Edmonton and I call a spade a spade. And most of us Albertans no matter where we migrate to in Canada won’t stop being blunt and outspoken.
Anybody remember McCain talking about how tax cheats need to pay up their fair share?
Yeah, I have a long memory and one that can drag information up from the past. I haven’t forgotten McCain’s taunt against expats and I don’t forgive easy.
The ending word was supposed to be “ass”. Ran out of characters.
As JC said, make a difference by calling out the politicians on Twitter and blowing up their e-mails with targeted e-mailing campaigns and letters. The US politicians won’t come across the border but you can make your politicians lives a living hell. That is something rather than sticking up both invisible hands in a middle finger gesture which no politicians will see. But I’m sure YOU, BC_Doc, won’t even do that.
Heidi: my French passport says I was born in “New York” …
Indeed, had I been born in Paris, Texas, I’d be breathing more easily!!!!!!!
But it’s true that many places could be taken to be in Europe, obviously.
Now all I need to find is a New York in the EU for when I open my next bank account!
@TheAnimal
Your enraged lashing out makes us look incompetent. People who have froth at their mouth dont come across as sane, competent or self-assured, nor thoughtful and level-headed. A therapist taught me this once. I was so exasperated at my family members who all have personality disorders that all I could do was scream. She told me that this just makes me look crazy. Then I am fodder for their attacks against me because I appear like I am flailing my arms in too deep water.
Does that make any sense to you?
And as an aside- I never saw what you read into BCDoc` s words.
@ The Animal
I have had my biggest misunderstandings and arguments with my children through the written word (emails mostly) Meanings can be easily misconstrued and misplaced anger results.
I understand the anger you feel and I often admire your feisty character, but I agree with Polly and can see nothing insulting in BCDocs words. Please try to mend this rift and redirect your anger to where it is more rightly deserved. FATCA is a disaster and I am confident that a solution for you and your family will eventually emerge. Peace.
Individual law abiding Canadians with a US birthplace or dual status get NO notice from the CRA or their financial institution when their legal local assets and accounts are reported automatically to the US IRS – even without any indication of any wrongdoing, and even in complete compliance with CANADIAN laws, and yet the Canadian government extends “courtesy” notice to the CBA and one of the Big Five Banksters:
Yet, FINTRAC gives the CBA and a major (as yet unamed Canadian bank) a “courtesy” heads up about major money laundering charges;
“…Canada’s financial intelligence agency gave the country’s bankers a “heads up” prior to reporting that it was hitting a Canadian bank with an unprecedented $1.1-million penalty last spring, reveal newly released documents obtained by National Observer and the Toronto Star.
The penalty is the first of its kind issued to a Canadian bank for violating Canada’s money laundering rules. The bank in question violated the law 1,225 times, but has not been named. Several corporate governance experts have criticized the agency, FINTRAC, for not being transparent about which bank had broken the rules.
But an internal email, released through access to information legislation, shows that the agency had shared some information in advance with industry.
In the email sent last March to Gérald Cosette, director of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, a media spokesman from the agency explained that he was giving the Canadian Bankers Association, a lobby group for Canadian banks, advance notice about its announcement of the penalty…”….
http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/12/22/news/financial-intelligence-agency-gave-bankers-heads-about-money-laundering-disclosure
‘Canada refuses to name bank that broke money-laundering rules 1,225 times’
http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/12/22/news/canada-refuses-name-bank-broke-money-laundering-rules-1225-times
“…..Canada’s money-laundering agency is refusing to name the bank hit with an unprecedented penalty for failing to report a suspicious transaction and committing hundreds of other violations in its dealings with a controversial client. Details of the failures — including one the agency described as “very serious” — were revealed in documents obtained by National Observer and the Toronto Star.
For nearly two years, the bank failed to report a series of unusual transactions in its client’s account, despite news reports at the time revealing he was under criminal investigation in the U.S. The transactions included dozens of large cash deposits and hundreds of international transfers worth more than $12 million, reveal the newly-released documents.
The records, released by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) through access to information legislation, are heavily censored but provide new details about FINTRAC’s first-ever penalty on a bank — $1.15 million, disclosed last April.
Bank identity still a secret
The documents revealed that the bank broke the rules 1,225 times, but the institution’s identity remains undisclosed…….”
Contrast this courtesy treatment of CBA member and big Bankster with the way that the Canadian government is blithely subverting the Charter and constitutional rights of law abiding taxpaying Canadian individuals and families whose only ‘crime’ was being born in the US or of US parentage, or obtaining some kind of quasi-US status (ex. expired greencard).
The Sunny Libs are content to continue abusing our Canadian tax dollars and the resources of our Canadian Justice Dept. towards defending the persecution of Canadians with mere US ‘indicia’ (now a crime to possess in Canada) in order to satisfy a foreign country, but extends “courtesy” to major money laundering Banksters.
Banksters and actual fraudsters and money launderers are obviously treated differently than law abiding Canadian taxpaying individuals and families with ordinary legal local bank accounts.
What I’ve been reading is that the entire FATCA scheme was pushed through w/o proper, legal
protocol…is that correct, or not?
@Jane, are you asking about the passage of FATCA in the US? Or the IGA in Canada?
USA
I relinquished. Am looking for my kids now.
On a similar note to badger’s post:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/12/23/barclays-chief-preparing-take-stand-against-us-regulators-unduly/
Staley does have a good point, even though this is one of those cases where you hope both sides lose
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/opinion-_applying-to-be-swiss-in-the-trump-era/42781630
“Steven Crump and his family will have the opportunity to apply for Swiss citizenship. In deciding to do this, he wants to be clear that he isn’t abandoning the United States. It is possible to be both Swiss and American, he says.”
@notthatara
Good grief! Did you read some of the comments? Have people become totally insane? Especially those who wrote from within America. The animosity is breathtaking. I guess when one thinks one comes from the BEST nation on earth one has to deny the reality of anybody even wanting to leave (which this guy didn’t even want to- as he explained he just wants to be able to vote where ehe lives). The word “traitor” is being used very loosely now.
@Polly,
I didn’t think the comments that bad. I have seen much worse in other articles.
The article is far worse than the comments. Likely written by somebody who doesn’t fully understand the tax ramifications of being an American or somebody with little money.
How anyone can say that a CEO of a large company is not qualified to be president and yet thinks Obama was in comparison is beyond me.
@ Neil,
I don’t understand how he can not know the full ramifications of being an American in Switzerland. He must have been in Switzerland at least 10yrs to obtain a Swiss passport!
There are only 3 banks that will take you at increased costs and limited services, mortgages are practically impossible to obtain, not to mention investment or pension hurdles. As for using any kind of FOREX company, forget it. Perhaps he is a Democrat abroad stooge.
Best article ever (IMO) re FATCA out of T&T. Sad other nations do not have the courage being shown by opposition in T&T
“The Bankers Association, Amcham, the Chamber of Commerce and others could not care one iota about the territorial integrity, national pride, sovereignty and political independence of T&T once FACTA facilitates the achievement of their super-profiteering, exploitation-prone domestic agenda and business plans”.
“He (finance minister) has no problem with subjecting T&T to the imposition of American coercion, issuance of threats, illegitimate deadlines, grey-listing, black listing, reprisals, undermining the independence and sovereignty of our Parliament and the much-touted shutting down of T&T against all recognized international standards of diplomatic/economic relations.”
http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=9872
@heidi,
There are different levels. He may know about FBAR, tax return etc. Does he understand if his pensions and savings are protected by the tax treaty of if he has PFICs etc? Does he understand he has to track cash flows for his mortgage? Additional levels of pain come as you save money.