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. I thought FATCA reporting occurs when total reportable accounts >$50,000 and FBARs required if total accounts >$10,000. What is this $200,000 mean? Do you not have to report for tax filings unless >$200,000? I am confused what this $200,000 is.

2. @Cheryl,
   Form 8938 has different account balance triggers depending on if you live in the US or abroad.

3. > $10,000 reportable on FBAR
   > $50,000 reportable by the banks (and on 8938 if resident US?)
   > $200,000 reportable on 8938 if resident abroad

4. But any income overseas i.e. interest on bank acts etc reportable on annual tax filings right?

5. Yes. I assume the report only refers to the additional reporting introduced by FATCA, because that’s a new factor.

6. Thanks iota. This doesn’t affect me so I haven’t kept up on all the tax stuff but does affect someone I know.

7. The Canadian Expat Association makes ACA/AARO look like a bunch of amateurs.

   http://thecanadianexpat.com

   http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/421/CIMM/Brief/BR8221904/br-external/CanadianExpatAssociation-e.pdf

   Some have argued that Canadians abroad pay no taxes and should therefore have fewer citizenship rights, then suggested taxing citizens abroad the same way that the United States does and revoking citizenship if they do not file (Kent). Some go further, and suggest that Canadians abroad are not really citizens in the first place, but instead are “citizens of convenience” (Griffiths).
   At different times of our lives, we all pay no taxes: as young children, students, stay at home parents, job seekers, or retirees. We think all Canadians would agree that we are no less Canadian during these intervals.

   But on this point, each time a Canadian moves outside of Canada, they must pay a deemed disposition of property tax (Canada Revenue Agency). Many Canadians are familiar with the more common deemed disposition of property that occurs at death, commonly known as the inheritance tax.

   In contrast, the United States requires US citizens abroad to file taxes every year. But the United States, like Canada, and indeed all countries that embrace foreign trade and investment, operates first on the principle that income is taxed where it is earned. Thus, while US citizens must file tax returns after they leave the United States, they pay tax where they earn income first, and most owe no US taxes because of offsetting foreign tax credits; in fact, taxes on US citizens abroad account for “as little as 0.2 percent of [US] federal tax revenue” (Bloomberg Editorial Board).

   For Canada to tax Canadians abroad like the Unites States taxes US citizens abroad, Canada would lose deemed disposition of property tax revenue, and would incur a heavy cost to process very complex, but mostly zero liability returns. These costs would be weighed against a reasonable expectation of 0.2% increase in revenue. On balance, switching to a US styled tax of Canadians abroad might very well result in lower net financial gain to the Canadian government.

8. It Takes Expats 13 Days To Complete All Required US Tax Forms!

   https://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/it-takes-expats-13-days-to-complete-all-required-us-tax-forms/

9. @Bubblebustin
   Beat me to it! The crazy thing is that it doesn’t dawn on him that maybe this indicates a desperate need for reform.

10. Guys like him hear cash registers, Publius. The IRS looks at is as job security. There’s no one other than the toothless Tax Advocate to look after the taxpayer.

11. A quibble with the Canadian Expat Association: the tax on the gains resulting from the deemed disposition of property that occurs at death is not an inheritance tax AFAIK. To be an inheritance tax it would have to be a tax on the net worth of the estate, as happens in the US for estates above the threshold (and which are not inherited by the spouse). Every now and then someone calls for an inheritance tax in Canada, but so far rationality seems to win.

12. An FBAR decision overturned;
    http://blogs.angloinfo.com/us-tax/2016/07/27/yesterdays-taxpayer-fbar-victory/

    Author explains why the decision has potential repercussions for the IRS outside the specifics of the case.

13. This might have already been posted, but it highlights US FATCA hypocrisy:

    ‘OECD to present criteria for yet another (empty) list’
    22 July 2016 by Vincent Huck

    “……….The obvious comment is that the OECD is tip-toeing around the elephant in the room, the USA,” BEPS Monitoring Group coordinator at the Tax Justice Network Sol Picciotto commented. “They obviously want to avoid the possibility of the USA being designated non-compliant, while keeping up some pressure to try to get some movement from Congress.”

    At present, the USA does not strictly comply with Criterion 2, since they have not adopted the CRS, he continued. “They claim that FATCA is equivalent, but there are material differences, including between variants of the FATCA bilateral. Similarly, on Criterion 3, the USA has joined the MCMATM, but not its Competent Authority Agreements, so can’t be said to be providing information under it……….”
    http://www.theaccountant-online.com/news/oecd-to-present-criteria-for-yet-another-empty-list-4957781/

14. https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4610640/fbarfatca-reform-amendment

15. Hilary would be the best for FATCA because she is proposing amendments to it. So she must be the best. The republicans in contrast want to blahblahblah did quite get that out.

    http://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/general/trump-rhetoric-is-driving-americans-abroad-to-vote

16. @Neill

    LOL! Yes, stopped just short of saying FATCA repeal is part of the GOP’s platform.

17. Sounds so wishy washy to me. Once in office, FATCA will not be a priority unless the wells run dry. Would they ever?
    Besides- if CBT was scrapped, then what would the treasury do about all the people who could just leave with their money?

18. Nice flaming action on Twitter in regards to challenging and calling @taxjusticewonk to debate injustices of FATCA and CBT. Keith Redmond, Charl, U.S. Citizen Abroad plus others all in action today.

    https://twitter.com/kred65/status/758255871747121152

    Keith calls out @taxjusticewonk on FATCA analysis. Then @taxjusticewonk blocks Keith on Twitter while Keith throws down the gauntlet and asks to debate FATCA with @taxjusticewonk.

    https://twitter.com/kred65/status/758361004136890368

    https://twitter.com/USCitizenAbroad/status/758323945783324672

19. https://twitter.com/ExpatriationLaw/status/758447544670101504

20. “One can possibly glean from… [court ruling reversing previous ruling on whether gambling accounts are financial accounts] that not everything the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says is a “financial account” will be upheld as such by the courts.”

    http://blogs.angloinfo.com/us-tax/2016/07/27/yesterdays-taxpayer-fbar-victory/

21. A Swiss tabloid interviewed ex-Senator Carl Levin at the DNC in Philadelphia. An excerpt:

    Blick: So you’re satisifed (with the results of the campaign against Swiss banks)?
    Levin: To rein in the Swiss banks is certainly one of my most important achievements as a US senator. But not only in Switzerland was I able to dry out tax havens, but also in the Caribbean. There it is at its worst.

    Blick: Worse than in Switzerland?
    Levin: There were some Swiss banks that were really bad. But for corporations, the Caribbean and Ireland are the preferred regions to avoid taxes.

    Blick: Europe is resolutely against it. The US government, however, protects US corporations.
    Levin: Yes, we could do much more.

    Blick: Your government allows tax havens to Delaware and Montana.
    Levin: I know. America is very hypocritical. But believe me, I will not let loose. My legislation has been submitted. It requires that in the US the owner of a company be disclosed.

    Blick: The law is still pending for years, you are no longer a senator.
    Levin: Others carry on with my work. President Obama supports it, but the Republicans are blocking it in Congress. It’s totally hypocritical that we are attacking tax havens abroad, but tolerate them in the US.

    Of course, Levin didn’t mention the thousands of Americans in Switzerland who are denied jobs and cannot get ordinary banking services due to his poorly thought-out crusade against Switzerland. Possibly just collateral damage from his perspective.

    http://www.blick.ch/news/ausland/schweizer-banken-schreck-carl-levin-82-ueber-clinton-trump-und-steueroasen-amerika-ist-sehr-heuchlerisch-id5314927.html

22. I caught a little of CBC Power and Politics yesterday. Rosie Barton interviewed a Canadian Democrat Abroad at the convention. He spoke briefly about the impact of FATCA on Canadians. Barton just blew past him. I don’t even think it registered. He seemed to think the dems were on the trail.

23. @Badger
    A big thank you to Mr. Hom. It’s a shame that the case hasn’t sent a broader precedent, since if it were more widely applicable, it could prevent people from being told to do fiddly things like list the highest balance of their London public transport system card (better known as the Oyster Card). I thought that was loopy but then it seemed like Guya, who Neill considers to be knowledgeable, was having his clients do it.

24. I for one have done what Guya warned me not to do, and have not done what Guya said must be done, and have lived to tell the tale.

25. Back during my troubles in 2011, I actually had an appointment at ‘Guya’s’ office, and they were going to charge me something like £80,000 to do my PFIC forms. 😛

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