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. Sorry @JC, we must have been posting at the same time. Admins, you can delete my redundant comment
   September 16, 2016 at 5:21 pm

2. Tweet on Guardian article: RT welcome

   https://twitter.com/JCDoubleTaxed/status/776888533604720640

3. ……”In an apparent response to Opposition criticisms of his statements, United States Ambassador John Estrada yesterday tweeted: “I represent President Barack Obama and the American people in Trinidad and Tobago. I will always speak and engage in dialogue about US foreign policy priorities.”

   The tweet which appeared on the US Embassy’s twitter feed, came one day after Opposition MP Bhoe Tewarie made statements to the Parliament that the US Ambassador had to understand and respect the parliamentary process in Trinidad and Tobago and that the US President could not tell their Congress and Senate what to do.”

   ‘Estrada: I can speak’

   Published on Sep 15, 2016, 11:00 pm AST
   By Ria Taitt

   http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20160915/news/estrada-i-can-speak

   See the US Ambassador to T&T asserting his right to tell Trinidadians what to do:
   (See https://twitter.com/USinTT/status/776495030391504896 )

4. Further to the US Ambassador to T & T asserting his right to tell a sovereign nation what to do;
   https://twitter.com/USinTT/status/776495078948925441

5. @ badger and JC
   David Bulger at The Guardian certainly took a couple of good kicks at the FATCA ashcan by writing these two opinion pieces. Thanks for directing us to them.

6. OPINION: Canada complicit in an invasion of its sovereignty
   September 16, 2016

   DAVID BULGER
   http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/2016-09-16/article-4641875/OPINION%3A-Canada-complicit-in-an-invasion-of-its-sovereignty/1

   Comments Open.

7. @ JC
   Comments may be open on The Guardian articles but moderation appears to be slow. Perhaps nobody is around after hours and weekends? Here is/was mine in case it falls behind the moderator’s desk …

   Thank you David Bulger for writing two fine pieces about FATCA and the plight of American-born residents of Canada (many of whom have Canadian citizenship). Are you aware that someone who is Canadian-born but inadvertently acquired a US taxable taint via a long-ago expired greencard is also considered fair game by the IRS for taxation and form filing penalties? I wonder how many Canadian US greencard holders when they returned to Canada, being unaware of the official greencard disposal procedure and the very existence of citizenship-based taxation, simply chucked their greencard into the trash, then stopped filing US taxes as they resumed filing their Canadian taxes. Their Canadian birthplace may keep them off the radar of Canadian banks seeking to rat out their FATCA vulnerable clients but unfortunately these Canadians have American SS numbers and since they were in the US tax system for a period of time they might someday be tracked down and hassled to hand over an enormous chunk of their Canadian savings to the US Treasury as penance for not being aware of the US exit regimen. After all, they were just coming home. One would hope the CRA would not assist the IRS with this witch hunt but then one had hoped the Canadian government would not pass legislation to implement FATCA in Canada. On a not so glorious Canada Day in 2014, US FATCA law became part of Canadian law, despite never having been examined for constitutionality. Thankfully, the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty has undertaken the formidable task of bringing a charter challenge regarding FATCA into the Canadian courts. Good luck to them!

8. @Embee I have one in moderation there.

   Another fiction piece about US persons overseas. Comments go straight in.

   Online activists say this group could swing the presidential election
   Steven Overly September 16 at 7:42 AM

   https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/16/online-activists-say-this-group-could-swing-the-presidential-election/?tid=sm_tw

9. Keep trying different versions and maybe different browsers (try ex. Safari or Chrome not Firefox?) to comment on the Guardian (Charlottetown PEI) pieces by Bulger http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/2016-09-16/article-4641875/OPINION%3A-Canada-complicit-in-an-invasion-of-its-sovereignty/1 . I see only 2. Mine were in moderation but have not appeared. Try advising to Google Isaacbrocksociety, Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty, and maplesandbox, but without making them into links. Not sure what is keeping my comments out. We need to direct people here and to current information on FATCA challenges.

10. See latest from MEP in’t Veld of EU Parliament;
    https://twitter.com/SophieintVeld/status/777080742010650624
    Answer from EU to her latest written questions re FATCA and reciprocity and data security:

    http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2016-005680+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=en
    “EN E-005680/2016
    Answer given by Mr Moscovici on behalf of the Commission (16.9.2016)
    FATCA and the related IGAs are bilateral agreements between the US and other countries, including Member States, and are not directly within the competence of the Commission. However, the automatic exchange of information can only be effective in fighting tax fraud and evasion and preserving the level playing field if implemented on a global scale. The Commission is therefore currently working in international fora – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Global Forum and G20 – to promote its global reach and ensure that the agreements, including the IGAs, on automatic exchange of financial account information meet the highest transparency standards and are fully reciprocal.

    The Payment Account Directive (Directive 2014/92/EU ) obliges Member States to ensure that credit institutions do not discriminate against consumers based on their nationality, or place of residence or by reason of any other ground as referred to in Article 21 of the Charter in the provision of payment accounts under Article 15. Besides, the Directive also establishes a right of access to a payment account with basic features for all consumers legally resident in the Union in its Article 16. In each Member State, payment accounts with basic features shall be offered to consumers by all credit institutions or a sufficient number of credit institutions to guarantee access thereto for all consumers in their territory, and to prevent distortions of competition.

    Following the expiry of the deadline for the transposition of the Directive (September 2016), the Commission will assess how the Directive’s provisions, including the ones mentioned above, have been transposed in all Member States, and will not hesitate to initiate infringement proceedings in case of non- or incorrect transposition. “

11. @ badger
    Okay, I tried again at The Guardian using Safari this time. Shame about the hang up because it sounds like you and JC (maybe others too) have some good comments pending.

12. @Embee, I see that more comments are getting through. Could use more on both articles though!
    I see also that the Guardian (Charlottetown) ran this article earlier in the year;
    http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Canada—World/News/2016-04-07/article-4489700/Offshore-accounts-are-for-more-than-laundering-money/1

    Interesting quote from Mark Matthews (previously IRS attorney);
    “..It is impossible to say how many accounts are for legitimate purposes rather than illicit ones, according to Mark Matthews, an attorney and former IRS deputy commissioner. “My sense is there is a vast majority of people who have legal reasons,” he said..”

    But article doesn’t really make crystal clear the ridiculous injustice that has been foisted on Canadians and all those the US claims as subjects for life, when the IRS claims with a straight face that our local legal Canadian accounts held where we live, work, earn and save – in Canada – where many/most of us are also Canadian citizens, are deemed by the US to be ‘offshore’ ‘foreign’ and ‘hidden’ just because they aren’t in the US and don’t match the entirely fictional imaginary illogical US ‘resident’ status the IRS foists on us solely based on our US birthplace or US parentage – despite all evidence to the contrary.

    I want an article to fully illustrate the absurdity of our local, legal, Canadian accounts being deemed ‘offshore’ by the US, when we have either been Canadian citizens and residents lifelong or for decades, and may never have set foot in the US and in spite of all actual evidence – all of which substantiates our actual physical and robustly real and discernible Canadian residency. How can our accounts be ONshore to the CRA, and ‘offshore’ to a country we don’t even live in? Won’t someone ever make that absurdity crystal clear in the media?

13. Any opportunities to comment/advocate/oppose the FATCA IGA here?
    http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1125559

    ‘Department of Finance Canada Consults on Updates to the Tax System’

    September 16, 2016 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada

    “The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that Canada’s tax system is fair, efficient, and functioning as intended to make sure that our economy is working for the middle class and all Canadians. Providing opportunities for Canadians to have their say on proposed changes to the tax system is an important part of this ongoing process. To that end, the Department of Finance Canada today released draft legislative and regulatory proposals relating to technical amendments to the Income Tax Act and related legislation.”…………..

    I know the last ‘consultation’ – on the notice that the FATCA IGA was in negotiation, and Canada’s intent to sign one was mostly a farce, with Parliament and the Senate not given copies of submissions even while deliberating on the enabling legislation (see Lynn at Maple Sandbox’s FOI obtaining copies of all submissions), but posting this just in case…..

14. @ badger
    Looks like my twice-tried comment on the David Bulger article isn’t going to make it through but it doesn’t matter because you and others provided the directions to Brock, the Sandbox and ADCS. I hope some people, new to all this, will come by and see why we are deadset against FATCA and all the outrageous US acts which proceded it (CBT, FBAR, Reed Amendment). PS — I want that article you want too. It’s beyond absurd how onshore means offshore and non-resident means resident to the IRS. Logos, by definition, is “the rational principle that governs and develops the universe”. For the IRS though, just like Elvis, Logos has left the building.

15. @EmBee, re IRS motto = ‘No Logos’

    Not sure what criteria on the Guardian (Charlottetown) website is blocking comments. We can just keep trying until comments close – good opportunity to maybe connect with others and publicize the fight against FATCA in Canada, and forewarn/support those who haven’t had the OMG moment yet or have but don’t know how to start deciding what road to take, or not ……

16. Sunday, 18 September 2016
    The US is a Hypocrite in Implementing FATCA.

    http://fatcarebel.blogspot.com.au/2016/09/the-us-is-hypocrite-in-implementing.html

17. Bravo to FATCA Rebel;
    “……….And if there is no representation, there should be no tax or there should be open rebellion.

    My family has chosen the latter: We choose to pay taxes to no-one except the leaders of the land in which we reside in and deem to be protected by. As a Canadian born citizen of Canada married to an American Abroad, I should have expected protection for my wife and my accidental American citizen progeny who were born here in Canada. Yet our treasonous leaders in government capitulated and threw one million plus dual citizens of Canada with US ties under the bus. And the United States has exhibited supreme hypocrisy in initiating the same kind of taxation for which they vilified Great Britain for two hundred and thirty five years previous.”
    http://fatcarebel.blogspot.com.au/2016/09/the-us-is-hypocrite-in-implementing.html

18. More Lost Canadian stories.

    http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/it-was-a-complete-shock-arcane-law-strips-unwitting-canadians-of-citizenship-1.3077267

19. http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-fatca-us-israel-tax-data-exchange-begins-sept-30-1001153040
    ‘FATCA US-Israel tax data exchange begins Sept 30′

20. Opportunity to comment at Forbes, and work in plight of those abroad vs. the IRS, though the article makes no mention of those abroad and FATCA (ex. even those who want to/attempt to be ‘compliant’ from abroad get little to no service to help them do so, yet are punished by FBAR, FATCA, etc. when they try to do so, and are denied local bank accounts…….):
    Sep 16, 2016
    Congress To IRS: The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

    ex. “……Constituents endure unbearable wait times to get IRS assistance and receive poor service when they manage to reach a human being…..”
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/taxanalysts/2016/09/16/congress-to-irs-the-beatings-will-continue-until-morale-improves/#26acded67209

21. The truth about FATCA
    Sep 17, 2016 Rose-Marie Belle Antoine
    http://linkis.com/trinidadexpress.com/mepED

22. Retweets welcome. On invasion of sovereignty article. Shows up good in twitter.

    https://twitter.com/JCDoubleTaxed/status/777646585479958528

23. More banks investing in blockchain-based settlement solutions:
    http://www.coindesk.com/ripple-blockchain-55-million-series-b/

    In addition to today’s funding news, Ripple announced its largest batch of banks will formally join its network: Standard Chartered, Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB), Mizuho Financial Group (MHFG), BMO Financial Group, Siam Commercial Bank and Shanghai Huarui Bank

    Each financial institution has successfully transferred actual money on the Ripple network, according to the company, and all are currently building commercial products, though specific use cases vary.

    As an example, Garlinghouse told CoinDesk that one of China’s rare privately-owned banks, Shanghai Huarui Bank, is working with Ripple on a new commercial cross-border payment service so its retail customer base can send money internationally in real-time.

    Initially, Shanghai Huarui Bank is targeting Chinese families that want to give money to students studying abroad in the US.

24. The Bank of England is also getting ready for bitcoin, and wants to make sure the new system it’s designing will be bitcoin-ready:

    blockquoteThe Bank [..] recognises that these new technologies have the potential to reshape the future payment landscape. The new system will therefore be designed to support the level of interoperability and scale that may be required, in order to promote the safe final settlement of obligations arising in new settlement venues. The Bank will also pursue an active research agenda exploring the scalability, security, privacy, interoperability and sustainability of distributed ledger platforms and solutions.

    http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/Documents/paymentsystem/cp160916.pdf

    FATCA could have its teeth pulled by new technology – never the IRS’s strong point. 🙂

25. @ iota
    I believe the true purpose of schemes like bitcoin is to create a cashless world where every transaction can be tracked; where banks and governments can dip into the electronic money pot at will; where financial privacy exists only for a few elites. It is, as it has always been, all about control. The beta testing has been done and now the worldwide banking cartel is getting into position to eventually kill cash and any country which resists this ultimate expression of globalization will be destroyed just like Libya. The globalists could not and did not allow Libya to get its gold dinar money system up and running. It wasn’t just oil that was stolen when Libya was deliberately destroyed … it lost 143 tons of gold too.

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