Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

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.

 

2,818 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 3 of 11 (Year 2016)”

  2. @calgary 411 – thanks for posting those minutes – very interesting, particularly the paragraph about the FATCA “benefits”:

    We believe the benefits relative to FATCA are several. There is no direct reporting by Canadian financial institutions to the IRS; any exchange of information would be subject to the safeguards protecting the use of that information under the Canada-U.S. treaty; it turns off the U.S. 30 per cent withholding tax; it eliminates the requirement for financial institutions to have to ever close accounts; and it includes a number of important exemptions, both for small financial institutions and for types of accounts, that reduce the compliance burden associated with the agreement.

    The bit about not having to close accounts is also in the UK IGA Annex II. This provision is discussed in a Bloomberg article, “FATCA ‘versus’ IGAs” (http://www.bna.com/fatca-versus-igas-n17179934450/ )

    Personally I don’t think this provision can be relied on, at any rate in the UK. It’s made very clear, in the t&c’s of every bank I’ve checked on, that accounts “may” be closed if self-certification is requested but not received or not judged satisfactory. I suspect in this case “may” is likely to mean “will”.

  10. I find the Economist article rather galling. That is usually such a well-balanced publication. But from the name misspelling, to the loaded remarks about “draft dodgers”, and especially the one at the end about “harvesting donations from China”, I would think the average reader would come away from the piece with a feeling of distaste toward the lawsuit.

  11. From the Bloomberg article Neill linked above:

    The IRS’ argument for why UBS should violate Singapore law to disclose the account of a Chinese-resident US citizen:

    “The interest of the United States in combating tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers outweighs the interest of Singapore in preserving the privacy of its bank customers,”

    The IRS is acting like it’s the center of the universe — and getting away with it. Reminds me of this song about being self-centered:

  12. “Even if Singapore’s bank secrecy laws, as UBS contends, precludes disclosure of the summoned bank records relating or pertaining to Hsiaw’s Singapore account(s), international comity requires that the records be disclosed,” IRS revenue agent James Oertel said in the filing.
    “The interest of the United States in combating tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers outweighs the interest of Singapore in preserving the privacy of its bank customers,” Oertel wrote.

    Translation: We think US law supercedes all other countries laws, even outside of US boundaries.

    Basis: American Exceptionalism

  13. I wonder if the Chinese will kick this guys butt now they know he has a foreign account.
    It’s a nice case because the guy doesn’t live in the US. So what right do they have to ask for anything.

  14. @Neill
    Hsiaw’s money may have been legitimately earned in the U.S.. The only google searches for that name turn up Henry Ching-Ye Hsiaw from Taiwan who was working in the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s, first in engineering and then, bizarrely, in California real estate. It is unclear what he has been doing recently. The U.S. has long had a thing about immigrants who work in the U.S. for a while and send the money back home, which is probably why they went with this case. Still, if it is outflow that worries them, they should adopt an exit tax, not something as faffy and soul-destroying as CBT.
    @Barbara
    I was wrong about AVIpacs second e-mail address. It seems to belong to a London-based former member of Republicans Abroad who works on projects helping developing countries. I wonder what it’s take on Trump is. The Republicans Overseas spokeswoman in London has said that she cannot vote for him because he is too much in favor of big government.

  16. @Publius,
    >The U.S. has long had a thing about immigrants

    He is a US citizen according to the news reports.
    My thinking is that the Chinese have capital controls. You can’t get too much money out of China. News reports say many people cheat to get more out (give to friends to give it back to them).

    >should adopt an exit tax

    Terrible. An exit tax is a capital control. If you can’t compete on the merits then why should you be able to put up barriers to stop capital flow?
    America might need it because it’s capital taxes are some of the highest in the world. Of course the Democrates want to raise them significantly.
    Even when people pay the exit tax American politicians want to attack them. Sickening.

  17. https://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/most-u-s-expats-do-not-file-correct-u-s-tax-returns/

    The writer has most right:

    …most U.S. expats are failing quite miserably in the area of tax compliance.

    …statistics further show that tax returns in general are more often than not filed incorrectly. A recent study by the Government Accountability Office found that preparer-filed returns showed an error rate of 60 percent, while self-prepared returns showed a 50 percent error rate. The high rate of preparer-filed returns was significantly influenced by the study’s inclusion of non-qualified return preparers.

    Expatriate taxpayers are particularly susceptible to errors because of the complex international issues and additional reporting requirements that can significantly affect the tax return of a U.S. citizen living abroad.

    Information needed for those with their heads in the sand, telling us that they file every year and have no problem doing so. Also information needed for those who now want to move to Cape Breton in Canada.

  19. @Neill

    From what someone explained to me… which makes sense but I am not sure if its true or not…. people have a business in China & they also have a business in Hong Kong… can travel back & forth… when they are paid… they are paid in HK & not in China… if u are a non-citizen in China… u have to prove where the money comes from & that all taxes are paid then u can transfer a small amount. If u know a citizen… they can transfer more… not sure if u have to prove anything…

  21. Great to see the comments that correct the statements and the tone of the article itself. Must be one of us, this commenter on The Economist article:

    Comments by guest-nsalmeo

     

    You can help Ginny and Gwen by donating to the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty. Stopfatca is the US lawsuit which is also seeking donations.

    • Recommended
      6

    The US system of citizenship based taxation (CBT) is unique in the world. Historically it was poorly communicated , it was not taught in the US school system and not enforced for years. FATCA is the enforcement arm of US CBT, blindsiding people unaware of their US tax obligations, like Ginny and Gwen. The US even claims Canadians resident and born in Canada to a qualifying US parent as US taxpayers. These people and those who left the US as young babies/children are often referred to as “Accidentals”. If citizenship is to be attached to taxation, then it needs to be an informed choice made as an adult. Instead it is forced on them and they have to buy their way out. Imagine spending thousands of dollars in US tax filing compliance fees and an exorbitant $2,350US renouncement fee to rid yourself of an unwanted citizenship that was given to you without your consent. CBT was started as a punishment during the Civil War, it is still used that way. The punishment is in the cost of US filings, the inability to invest in Government savings accounts and Cdn mutual funds as US taxation renders them useless and being treated as a criminal forced to disclose local private financial account information to the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FBARs). Under threats of bankrupting US penalties starting at multiples of $10,000US many are scared into becoming US tax compliant at great cost and renouncing if they can. It is unfair and immoral, those abroad receive nothing in return, many are choosing to fight, lawsuits against FATCA have been filed in Canada (Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty) and in the US (stopfatca) and there is a funding drive underway to fight CBT, see: Alliance For the Defeat of Citizenship Taxation. Also a complaint against the US has been filed with the United Nations Human Rights Council. Ginny and Gwen are not alone in this fight.

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: