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. @Calgary411

   In the letter here,

   http://www.aicpa.org/Advocacy/Tax/DownloadableDocuments/AICPA-Comments-on-Simplification-of-Tax-Filing-Obligations-for-Americans-Living-Abroad-08-15-16.pdf

   It is stated:

   “The AICPA believes that the passage and implementation of FATCA together with the relevant IGAs, has rendered a portion of the compliance burden for Americans residing abroad duplicative and unnecessary. Since the advent of FATCA and IGAs, the information necessary to combat tax evasion and discover abusive actions by taxpayers holding these accounts is already received by the IRS. The reporting required by taxpayers is duplicative and imposes an unnecessarily harsh burden in terms of time, effort and expense with no significant benefit to Treasury or the IRS.”

   The justification for these changes promoted by AICPA are based on how effective FATCA is at disclosing these accounts, but how can that be when RDSPs, RESPs and TFSAs aren’t reported in Canada?

2. Right, it wouldn’t be FATCA and the IGAs that make the information for RDSPs, RESPs and TFSAs, registered accounts among those exempt for the banks to report to the CRA and the CRA to then in turn report to the IRS.

   If it were to be the same as the new procedure for RRSPs and RRIFs, they no longer need to be reported by the taxpayer on Form 8891 but they do still have to be reported …

   https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/irs-simplifies-procedures-for-favorable-tax-treatment-on-canadian-retirement-plans-and-annual-reporting-requirements

   The IRS is eliminating Form 8891, and taxpayers are no longer required to file this form for any year, past or present.
   The revenue procedure does not modify any other U.S. reporting requirements that may apply under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and section 6038D. See FinCEN Form 114 due by June 30 of each year, and Form 8938 attached to a U.S. income tax return for more information about the reporting requirements under the BSA and section 6038D. Different reporting thresholds and special rules apply to each of these forms.

   … as would, similarly, other Canadian registered accounts — like RDSPs, RESPs. TFSAs — have to be reported somewhere by the taxpayer, just not duplicitly?

3. There is a perfectly reasonable way to deal with TFSAs, RESPs and RDSPs. Don’t mention them.

4. Curtis Poe spoke on Douglas Goldstein’s podcast
   http://www.goldsteinongelt.com/podcasts/what-is-the-high-cost-of-keeping-your-u-s-citizenship/

5. U.S. woman may be Montreal baby who went missing in 1978

   http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/08/17/us-woman-may-montreal-baby-who-went-missing-1978/88890290/

   Even being KIDNAPPED into the U.S.A. and escaping back to Canada won’t help a Canadian-born person.

   https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1401
   8 U.S. Code § 1401 – Nationals and citizens of United States at birth

   The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth:
   (f) a person of unknown parentage found in the United States while under the age of five years, until shown, prior to his attaining the age of twenty-one years, not to have been born in the United States;

6. I am moving this comment for Cheryl

   Cheryl says
   August 17, 2016 at 12:42 pm (Edit

   All they have to do with all these citizenship laws is leave citizenship as an option under whatever circumstances they wish. If she wants to remain an American citizen she could claim it. If she doesn’t want to be an American citizen she doesn’t have to go through any other steps. I’m not sure how Canada’s new citizenship rules since 2009 apply either. Is citizenship automatic or does it need to be claimed? This retroactive ENFORCED citizenship is ridiculous and against basic human rights!

7. The US could make a massive amount of money this way. They write the tax laws so vague that people don’t really know whats legal. They can make a packet when the course put clarity into the tax code for them.

   http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/banks-to-be-fined-100-if-they-help-tax-avoiders-36wdrfzg6

8. What does this herald for crossborder travel for Canadians of US descent, when the US demands that they use a US passport to exit the US, and Canada demands a Canadian one to fly – and use the Canadian one only?

   https://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2016/08/18/ottawas-new-air-travel-rule-catches-dual-citizens-by-surprise.html

   Note, commentary by people in article identify this as discrimination based on dual status.
   Also, article notes that the majority affected “…According to the 2011 Census, at least 2.9 per cent of Canadians — 944,700 people — had multiple citizenships; the most frequently reported other citizenships were the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Poland….”

9. @Badger

   One commenter said his problems happened upon booking. This would be problematic for Canadian/USC’s since US requires its citizens exit on a US passport.

10. This is truly scary. The reason is that it appears to go further than the US does. The US is supposed to enforce a similar rule ( Dual US citizens are supposed to enter the US on aUS passport. ) However it is rarely enforced.
    If Canada enforces this rigorously it may encourage the US to do the same . Bad news.

11. Your thoughts: http://kluwertaxblog.com/2016/08/17/white-grey-and-black-hat-tax-administrations-a-proposal-for-a-u-s-carrot-stick-approach-part-i-followed-by-a-critical-fatca-update/

12. Stopping Mistreatment Of Americans Abroad Should Be Part Of Tax Reform
    Patrick M. Gleason
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/08/18/stopping-mistreatment-of-americans-abroad-should-be-part-of-tax-reform/#7c52835d555e

13. Liberals suggest it might just be terrible if ‘extreme vetting’ included financial account disclosure without realizing we already have that cutesy of them.

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/17/1561333/-Does-extreme-vetting-of-immigrants-include-finacial-records-Tax-returns#

14. @Charl

    Re: White, Grey and Black Hat…

    So, the US (in its infinite wisdom) is going to decide which other tax administrators are able to protect the confidentiality of data shared under FATCA? Do they even know how to protect data themselves? (http://fortune.com/2016/02/10/irs-hack-refunds/)

    Then there’s the question of reciprocity. While it is clear that the IRS has sent individual account information (http://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-begins-sending-individual-account-information-to-foreign-countries-1443810584), it is not clear whether all of the required information on individual accounts has been shared (the Australian IGA, for example, requires the IRS to send the birthdate of individual account holders in addition to the information listed in the WSJ article). And it is not clear whether any information has been exchanged on entity accounts.

15. RepublicansAbroad NL ‏@republicansnl 49m49 minutes ago
    Must watch with Michael DeSombre @GOPOverseasHK : U.S. voters abroad unite over a painful tax http://reut.rs/2bCghaN via @Reuters #FATCA

    http://www.reuters.com/video/2016/08/19/us-voters-abroad-unite-over-a-painful-ta?videoId=369613712&videoChannel=2602

16. To be honest if I was subject to the 3.8% (I was but won’t be now I am retired) and I lived abroad I would either be taking a tax credit based on it or not paying the tax:

    https://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/does-article-22-of-the-u-s-australia-tax-treaty-require-the-united-states-to-allow-u-s-citizens-a-foreign-tax-credit-against-the-3-8-obamacare-surtax/?#.V7dSepgrKUk

17. Come on, America, here’s your excuse to start slapping those 30 percent sanctions on foreign financial institutions.

    High Inaccuracy Rate Seen in FATCA Filings

    http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/tax-practice/high-inaccuracy-rate-seen-in-fatca-filings-79001-1.html

18. @Barbara most African and relatively poor countries do not have a FATCA IGA. Will the US shut these companies out of the global banking system?

19. Thanks to John Richardson for shining much needed light on the issues by writing articles like these;
    https://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/the-interpretation-of-us-tax-treaties/
    https://www.taxconnections.com/taxblog/does-article-22-of-the-u-s-australia-tax-treaty-require-the-united-states-to-allow-u-s-citizens-a-foreign-tax-credit-against-the-3-8-obamacare-surtax/?#.V7dSepgrKUk

20. @Barbara: If the bank filing inaccurate reports is located in a country with a IGA, even “in substance” IGA, then the bank is “deemed compliant” and not subject to the tax.

    I was just thinking: Rand Paul should sue based on the opposite argument: How DARE the U.S. Treasury give away this free tax break that Congress never authorized, i.e. exempting the bank from this 30% tax Congress enacted, by “deeming” the bank to be compliant when it is not. That is another reason the IGA’s are illegal.

21. Just saw this (don’t think it was posted before), blog post includes a photo of the Brocker protest on Parliament Hill. Don’t know anything about the source or author.
    https://epochmagonline.com/they-said-fatca-would-work-cbf9bed90cbf#.snic0dpc1

    There is also an inaccurate and defensive response from a FATCAnatic:
    https://medium.com/@AdmiralAli/i-find-it-really-quite-odd-that-you-would-call-declaration-of-american-clientele-somehow-acting-as-e52cbc61374f#.seftl8ceh

22. OH badger, I promised myself I would only focus on working today but reading that horrible second article, I could not NOT respond………what a dreadful piece…..

    https://medium.com/@CBTLawsuit/there-are-a-number-of-inaccuracies-in-your-piece-3b069c3c7471#.1ly6fkr10

23. @ Tricia
    Well done! You KO’d the Mohamed Ali who is foolishly championing FATCA.

24. Thanks for your response to the piece, Tricia. Needed to be done — and you did it well. May this person do some thinking about your words to his.

25. @EmBee & Calgary

    Thanks! I begin to get more and more frustrated/angry to continually see so much wrong information. And accompanied by such an attitude.Geez, who is that guy?

    I just looked and you ought to see this guy’s response? I am shocked by the reaction…….very strange dude….has absolutely NO ideaa about our end of things and lecturing me to death on all of it……..sorry I even bothered……

    https://medium.com/@AdmiralAli/sorry-but-some-of-your-assertions-are-entirely-untrue-21c077584ffe#.2yt1ciox3

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