Media and Blog Articles Open for Comments – Part 3 of 11 (Year 2016)

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

1. Yet another country, this time Barbados, has begun to realize that FATCA reciprocity is a sham and that they’re screwed since they’ve already signed an IGA:

   http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/78644/-lopsided-fatca

2. On March 31, there’s opportunity for people in the Vancouver area to have breakfast with Pam Goldsmith-Jones, MP for West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky country, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

   Includes Q & A period.

   http://westvanchamber.com/event/breakfast-with-mp-pam-goldsmith-jones/

3. @ Bubblebustin
   Will there be flip-flop-flapjacks served at the breakfast? Can you stomach that possibility and go to talk to Pam again anyway? BTW, thanks for all you have done and continue to do. You are a formidible force.

4. Thank you, EmBee. If obsessive pig-headed determination makes me a formidable force, then I’m guilty as charged 🙂

   I might be persuaded to go if I was part a team. Any joiners here?

5. As some of us will be finalizing, this has come up often — Is Social Secuity an asset for final form 8854?

   From Phil Hodgen’s blog: March 15, 2016: Why Social Security does not go on the Form 8854 balance sheet

   …
   Social Security is an Income Stream For Life

   The question then becomes a simple one: what do you include as an asset that you own, when completing Form 8854’s balance sheet and reporting your net worth?

   And specifically, what about Social Security benefits? You will receive an income stream from the Social Security Administration for the rest of your life. The right to receive an income stream for life looks like an asset, doesn’t it?

   If you have an annuity, you have a right to receive an income stream for life. That is an asset to be reported on the Form 8854 and counted toward your net worth.

   If you have a pension, you have the right to receive a lump sum or an income stream for the rest of your life. That counts as an asset on the Form 8854 balance sheet, too.

   If you own a bond, you have the right to receive an income stream

   Yet you do not list Social Security as an asset on Form 8854 – as one of your assets. Why is Social Security different? You own a right to receive a predictable amount of retirement benefits at a certain age. How is that not an asset?

   You Have No Right To Receive Social Security

   The child’s game, “One thing is not like the others”, is what we are playing here.

   With your pension, you have a contractual right enforceable in court to receive the specified benefits from the pension plan.
   With your annuity, you have a contractual right enforceable in court to receive the annuity income stream that was promised to you.
   A bond is a contractual right to be paid a specified amount of interest, along with the principal. You can go to court to collect your money if you are not paid on time.
   But with Social Security, you have no enforceable rights. You have a unilateral promise by the U.S. government to pay you money. And the U.S. government can change its mind at any time, and alter the bargain with you.

   Hope is Not An Asset
   …

6. Last night I posted the following on the March 9, 2016 “Canadian Government Response to NDP Revenue Critic FATCA IGA Questions….” blog page (by Stephen Kish, March 10) but thought that since the topic was reflecting on “media”, perhaps I could also place it here for further Brocker comments. It is in reference to the idea of maybe placing an “ad” / a page about FATCA (and the reality of the FATCA IGA in Canada) in the Globe and Mail.

   @Cheryl
   A G&M ad may be lots of money, but given our perenial frustration with the lack of media coverage (or at least accurate coverage), and the government ignoring us, might Brockers (who have now raised sufficient funds for the court case) not be interested/willing to continue fund raising for some good – – and accurate – – coverage of this issue, especially given the number of “US Persons” (and their spouses, etc) affected and the possibility of getting more people aware of the situation and aware of/involved with IBS and the court challenge and letting them know that they are not alone in this? If we could raise the funds, wouldn’t it be useful to place a well-worded and “visualed” ad in a major newspaper to tell all Canadians the truth about FATCA and the cost of the IGA to everyone, and maybe get more supporters? (Sorry this has such long sentences but it is just past midnight and the brain is not working as well as it normally does)…..

   If it’s an ad, we get to stipulate/control what is presented – – we don’t have to count on a journalist (or editor) easing over some unpleasant realities or failing to mention nit-picky details that make a significant painful difference or merely prop up the reasonableness of the IRS position. Is it time to have a bit more “in-your-face” call-out to the country?

7. A growth of 17% each year for FBAR. That is a lot of potential penalties.

   IR-2016-42

   Foreign Account Filings Top 1 Million; Taxpayers Need to Know Their Filing Requirements

   WASHINGTON – Strong and sustained growth of taxpayers complying with foreign financial account reporting reflects improving awareness and compliance of this important part of offshore tax rules, the Internal Revenue Service said today.

   “Taxpayers here and abroad need to take their offshore tax and filing obligations seriously,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “Improving offshore compliance has been a top priority of the IRS for several years, and we are seeing very positive results.”

   By law, many U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts exceeding certain thresholds must file Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, known as the “FBAR.” It is filed electronically with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen).

   In 2015, FinCen received a record high 1,163,229 FBARs, up more than 8 percent from the prior year. In fact, FBAR filings have grown on average by 17 percent per year during the last five years, according to FinCen data.

   Filings of IRS Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, are another sign of growing awareness of foreign reporting requirements. Taxpayers filed more than 300,000 Forms 8938 with their tax returns for tax year 2014, roughly the same as the prior year and up from about 200,000 for tax year 2011, the first year of the form.

   Form 8938 resulted from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as “FATCA.” The filing thresholds are much higher for this form than for the FBAR.

   Filing Requirements

   Taxpayers with an interest in, or signature or other authority over, foreign financial accounts whose aggregate value exceeded $10,000 at any time during 2015 must file FBARs. It is due by June 30 and must be filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System website.

   Generally, U.S. citizens, resident aliens and certain non-resident aliens must report specified foreign financial assets on Form 8938 if the aggregate value of those assets exceeds certain thresholds. Reporting thresholds vary based on whether a taxpayer files a joint income tax return or lives abroad. The lowest reporting threshold for Form 8938 is $50,000 but varies by taxpayer. See the form’s instructions for more information.

   IRS.gov provides the best starting place for international taxpayers to get answers to their important tax questions. The International Taxpayers page on IRS.gov is packed with information. The web site also features a directory that includes overseas tax preparers.

   International taxpayers will find the online IRS Tax Map and the International Tax Topic Index to be valuable sources of answers. The IRS also has videos to assist international taxpayers. See IR-2016-03 for more.

   By law, Americans living abroad, as well as many non-U.S. citizens, must file a U.S. income tax return. In addition, key tax benefits, such as the foreign earned income exclusion, are only available to those who file U.S. returns.

   The law requires U.S. citizens and resident aliens to report worldwide income, including income from foreign trusts and foreign bank and securities accounts. In most cases, affected taxpayers need to complete and attach Schedule B to their tax return. Part III of Schedule B asks about the existence of foreign accounts, such as bank and securities accounts, and usually requires U.S. citizens to report the country in which each account is located.

   More information on the tax rules that apply to U.S. citizens and resident aliens living abroad can be found in, Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.

8. Wow! A thesis in sociology.

   Taxing Away Citizenship:
   Do American-Canadian dual citizens consider their status to be an inconvenience?

   https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/29e8d89c-cbc8-4232-a5aa-8f9a555f546d/etd_pdf/9edce542d49bc0d7af5762bb359d70d6/eastmantimmons-taxingawaycitizenshipdoamericancanadiandual.pdf

9. That will be an interesting read Neill, as many of us I recall were interviewed by James Timmons – including myself.

   http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2015/02/13/volunteers-required-for-research-project-on-canada-usa-dual-citizens/

10. Mods, The Timmons paper really deserves it’s own thread. Great find Neill.

11. Payback time:

    London’s mayor tells Obama to butt out of E.U. debate

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/14/londons-mayor-tells-obama-to-butt-out-of-e-u-debate/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_wv

12. As well he should, TomAlciere. US putting their nose (to say nothing of the huge # of military bases) into other sovereign countries’ businesses and *foreign financial institutions* has to one day stop.

13. @calgary411

    US thinks it knows what is best for the world… they really stand there clueless why they are hated…. many people resent the fact they stick their noses into their gov’t… US has no understanding of the history & customs of foreign nations… they push the american standards which is totally different to the world

    @Neill

    Growth is probably related to the fact… people are getting their tax issues settled before they get rid of their citizenship or gc… I am guessing but it kind of make sense to make sure they make a clean break….

14. It is now its separate post where all comments should go: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2016/03/15/master-of-arts-thesis-in-sociology-by-james-eastman-timmons-taxing-away-citizenship-do-american-canadian-dual-citizens-consider-their-status-an-inconvenience/. Thanks, bubblebustin — and Neill for finding this.

15. @US_Foreign_Person,
    >tax issues settled before they get rid of their citizenship or gc

    I think that’s a great point. If you don’t live in the US or if you do and you don’t think you will stay in the US then your going to be so pissed off with this crap. It’s so bad your going to want to kick the US to the curb as quickly as you can.
    For me we expected to stay in the US forever we like it hear and my kids are 400% American (and some negative % British if you ask them!) so I just viewed this foreign crap as Obama doing what he said he would (screw me). I need a bumper sticker:
    Why does the land of the free need an exit tax?

16. Surprised nobody mentioned this. IRS wants to go with the CRS:

    http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/2016/03/commissioner-koskinen-calls-on-congress.html

    Republicans won’t go for this. Obama of course wants to live in a world with tax rates set high for the rich everywhere and CRS is a stepping stone to that. When your a rich parasite on the productive you don’t think you should be subject to it for some reason.

17. @Neill

    The older kids in my family & extended family are no longer putting the US on the table… its not worth it… they have decided to stay in Canada or already have jobs in other countries. If it wasn’t for this nonsense with the US… we would have pushed for the US because its closer to home… we prefer to have the kids close… that is how we got screwed… elders wanted to stay close to Canada… they had one foot in the US and one foot in Canada… never an issue before… they did it until it was time to go to another country… my family enjoys the adventure of living in different places… No one understands moving 3 or 4 times a yr… but that is what my family did… hence the screwed up situation this creates…

18. TaxConnections, March 15, 2016: “CRA Forms T1134 and T1135 Often Missed by Canadian U.S. Real Estate Investors”

19. @Tom
    Boris has just gone up a point in my estimation.
    Obama as Deus ex machina. I love it!!
    It may have the opposite effect than Mr O intended in the upcoming referendum.

20. We know just how much of a windbag Boris is after he so defiantly said he wouldn’t pay any tax to the US.

21. Has he paid, did he get a free pass to keep queit, has he renounced, do we really know any of these things? He may be keeping quiet to protect himself as many have done.
    Anyone who wants to keep Mr Obugger out of the politics of their country deserves some kudos. I am an EU inner but if the US wants the UK to stay in, I could be persuaded to be an outer!

22. Koskinen wants Congress to replace FATCA with CRS? Wouldn’t they first have to repeal FATCA?

23. This was posted on the “About Isaac Brock Society” thread. CBC-tv, would like to interview you for “The Exchange” at CBC studio, Toronto, TODAY!

    I noticed that Mr. Bains didn’t include his e-mail address in his comment. I googled him, he is indeed a CBC producer. I suspect his e-mail address would be jessy.bains@cbc.ca

    http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2011/12/14/about-the-isaac-brock-society/comment-page-15/#comment-7317330

    “CBC’s The Exchange Interview Request

    “Hello, My name is Jessy Bains and I’m a producer with the CBC’s Exchange.

    We’re hoping a member of your group is available today. We would like to chat about the following at around 4:20 this afternoon at our Toronto studio if possible…

    ‘Revenue Canada quietly handed 155,000 Canadian banking records to IRS

    ‘THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

    ‘The Canada Revenue Agency quietly turned 155,000 banking records over to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service during last fall’s election, without waiting for an assessment from Canada’s Privacy Commissioner or the outcome of a court challenge to the controversial move.

    ‘According to documents tabled in the House of Commons, roughly 150,000 of the Canadian bank records transferred to the IRS on Sept. 30, 2015 related to individuals who are U.S. residents or people with U.S citizenship living in Canada ……..'”

    [I just excerpted this, full text is in the original comment at the above link]

24. @Bubbles.
    CRS is based on the RBT model. How would that work with CBT?.Wouldn’t Congress have to agree ? Curiouser and curiuoser…..

25. @ Heidi
    The cynic may be tempted to read between the lines on this,…with good reason. The Commissioners’ statement may be a sign that the IGA’s may be under threat due to (the lack of) reciprocity. For CRS, it doesn’t matter whether a country has CBT or RBT, the exchange of information still takes place as ‘normal’. The US definitely would lose reporting on those resident in the same country as the ‘foreign’ account (back door ‘Same Country Exclusion’). The US could keep CBT, but this may be an attempt to salvage ‘face’ by ‘forcing’ Congress to accept reciprocity. The US Treasury could claim FATCA has led to CRS, and in order to simplify information exchange the US is helping by going to a common reporting system. Congress would then be forced to accept reciprocity, and FATCA could exit stage left as a highly successful example of how the US leads the world in achieving a reduction in tax evasion, instead of being thrown off stage in a shower of rotten tomatoes from other countries for lack of reciprocity.

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