Media and Blog Articles – Part 1 of 11 (to 26 May 2015)
You can access all years at this link:
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/media-and-blog-articles-links-for-all-years/
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” too. [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.
2015.05.26
New Survey finds US expat voting could impact 2016 Presidential Election, Greenback Expat Tax Services, NASDAQ GlobeNewswire.
This congressional committee wants to hear all your FOIA gripes, Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, US.
The black money recovery skills of IT department are nothing to write home about, Vivek Kaul, The Daily Reckoning.
2015.05.25
The Intersection of US Federal Tax Law with Collection of International Information- – Including Other Federal Agencies, Patrick W. Martin, TaxExpatriaation, US.
2015.05.23
America the not so brave: America has led the global assault on tax dodgers and their enablers. But the reality still lags behind the rhetoric, The Economist, UK.
Cash Banned from Chase Safe Deposit Boxes, Matt Chilliak, Live and Invest News.
2015.05.22
US Steuergesetz hat unerwartete globale Konsequenzen, Colleen Graffy, Geopolitical Information Service. Also at Consequences of US widening net to catch tax dodgers, Colleen Graffy, World Review.
The horse may have bolted … but, Angelo Venardos, Asia Asset Management.
Important Correction: Passports Required to Enter and Leave US — but SSNs May be Optional, Patrick W. Martin, Tax Expatriation, US.
2015.05.21
Americans working abroad face unexpected financial issues, Sarah O’Brien, NBC, US.
Senate tax reform groups get more time, Bernie Becker, The Hill, US.
2015.05.20
Malaysia will defer FATCA reporting, FSI Tax Posts.
America’s Self-Inflicted Wound, Moises Naim, The Atlantic, US.
Janice Mays: The Tax Guru Who Guides House Democrats, Alex Brown, National Journal, US.
Sen. Rand Paul Launches Filibuster in Protest of Patriot Act Renewal, C-SPAN, US.
@GwEvil @Em
I FINALLY got so I could open a digital account, had to do it on my IPAD. Then I couldn’t find the comment box (my mind a a huge black hole) so I must replied to GwEvil under the NotoFatca name. It looks rather dumb but I didn’t know what else to do. Plus I can’t do anything on my laptop, only my IPAD which is a bitch to type on. Plus my standard copy and paste “stuff” isn’t on my IPAD. I am big not happy. Could this be because my Mac laptop is ancient (like its owner)?
I think my Em Face is beginning to develop a GwEvil Grin. Today, after a few days break from winter and much melting, we got snowed in again. Anyway when I came up against the Star block it felt good to find a way around it.
@Charl – glad you did a workaround
@Em -lol!
@Em
I feel better after your rant – thank you.
The Star has already closed commenting on that article — after only one day. Shucks, we were just getting warmed up.
Yes, some people really think like this. TH over at Forbes says:
“Kathleen,
I have stated my reasons for supporting the law clearly. Tax evasion is a huge problem worldwide. Over the weekend, Russia and China agreed to abide by it.
You will of course assign strawman reasons for my support for the law and that is between you and your delusions.
I do understand, though, that you would prefer to live in a Forbes echo chamber where you all can go on patting yourselves on the back about how bad the gov’ment is and how nice it would be if they would just leave you alone to wear your tinfoil hats and feel persecuted when laws are enforced.”
I believe TH covered about every modern cliche there is in that statement.
Isn’t that all it is for TH, him standing on his soap box preaching – because he sure isn’t listening as far as I can tell, unless it’s to defend if his close-minded opinion.
I try and maintain a modicum of maturity with TH and not let him get under my skin but it is just not possible. I become a raving idiot with just seeing his name! All I can say is thank the dear Lord I’m not married to him as I would be in jail right now.
@Charl
I had an ex like him – all smoke screens and deflections, with a spark of intelligence to ignite anyone’s fuse. That’s why he’s my ex, and he’s alone.
TH is a provocateur. In the early 1990s he published a magazine called the “Noggin”:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Noggin_Magazine
For a sample of its contents, see the attached links to a cartoon on a serial killer:
https://sites.google.com/site/nebraskawriter2/NogginMagazine_V2N7_Nov1991_Page14.JPG
https://sites.google.com/site/nebraskawriter2/NogginMagazine_V2N7_Nov1991_Page15.JPG
https://sites.google.com/site/nebraskawriter2/NogginMagazine_V2N7_Nov1991_Page16.JPG
Yuck, makes R Crumb look like a Boy Scout!
Gareth Vaughan in NZ took a very detailed look into FATCA (found this on #fatca twitter site) which includes great comments from John Richardson, Marvin Van Horn (Just Me) and Carrie Fisher plus a long Q&A with IRD:
http://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/69451/here-come-tax-acronyms-fatca-aeoi-specified-us-persons-potential-tax-residenc
@Em
I suspect that Gareth Vaughan finally caved in to pressure from myself and @Just Me on twitter to report on this in more detail. I don’t know how widely read this site is in New Zealand but it would be good to get a few Brockers comments out there in support of John Richardson. The IRD Q&A has the usual spin and mis-representation.
Not directly related to our plight, but at the same time – totally related.
Canadians’ mental-health info routinely shared with FBI, U.S. customs
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/canadians-mental-health-info-routinely-shared-with-fbi-u-s-customs-1.2609159
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/04/14/is-america-about-to-stumble-into-a-credit-
Op/Ed 4/14/2014 @ 12:35PM 432 views
‘Is America About To Stumble Into A Credit Default?’
By James Jatras
That link is missing a bit, Badger.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/04/14/is-america-about-to-stumble-into-a-credit-default/
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-04-15/americans-how-free-you-really-are
“If you are a US taxpayer with foreign financial accounts (such as a bank, brokerage, or potentially even a gold storage account overseas), there’s a fairly new disclosure form that you must file to the IRS today along with your 1040.
It’s called form 8938. And if you’ve never heard about it, I definitely recommed you speak to your tax advisor pronto.
Like all of these other tax forms, they threaten you with all sorts of fees, interest, penalties, and of course, jail time.
(The US is one of the only civilized countries in the world where taxation creates -criminal- liability. Again, totally incongruent.)
What’s interesting about this is that it’s possible there could be certain instances and certain places in the world where the local privacy laws could make it -illegal- to disclose this information to the IRS.
But the US government doesn’t care.
And on page 7 of the instructions for form 8938, they say that even if “a foreign jurisdiction would impose a civil or criminal penalty on you if you disclose the required information,” then they still expect you to file the form.
File the form and go to jail. Don’t file the form and go to jail.
Is this really what a ‘free society’ puts its citizens through?”
Just a heads up if you would like to link to my latest blog post regarding FATCA and the NZ – US IGA:
FATCA: The (NZ) Officials’ Report –A Crime That Deserves a Revolution.
At: http://lifebehindtheirondrape.blogspot.co.nz/2014/04/fatca-nz-officials-report-crime-that.html
@Mark Hubbard
Spectacular work. I hope this gets a wide audience in New Zealand (or anywhere). You are absolutely correct that this Select Committee process was a farce. Despite every individual submission being opposed to FATCA they rejected every single point, suggestion or concern put forward.
This was a pure “check in the box” exercise so that Key, McClay and their cronies could claim that the FATCA legislation had been subject to the parliamentary process. It was an utterly pointless exercise.
It infuriates me that they continue to claim that non-US spouse data will not be reported. It is a false statement. The only thing that will not be reported is the name of the non-US spouse. The account number, full account balance, address, interest etc., will all be reported as being solely owned by the “Specified US person”, subjecting the entire value of those family assets to IRS seizure. Does that make you feel OK about this if you are a “Kiwi only” with a partner born in the US (or who’s parent was American)?
Cheers Osgood. As I said in my piece, the IRD sifting out spouse data is a huge boon for their audit program. One of IRD’s stated compliance focuses this year is to find money in Kiwi overseas bank accounts, so thanks to FATCA every financial institution has to now report US citizens to IRD, who will most likely put them – and spouses – into audit program to check they’re returning their world-wide income in New Zealand (because as bad as the US citizen based tax is, New Zealand has its own vicious international tax system for NZ tax residents).
Thanks @Em, for the correction to the link URL for the Jatras article at Forbes.
@ Mark Hubbard
It must have been dispiriting to put that superb piece together. It will be no consolation but Finance Canada treated our submissions exactly like NZ did — filed them under “Ignore” or possibly even “Discard”. In my second submission I pretty much said I didn’t think there was anything we could say to convince them to reject FATCA because they appeared to be only listening to the banking sector. Well, maybe they will pay attention when our charter challenge begins to roll out. Gotta hope so anyway.
Cheers Em, but I’m an old enough hand at foregone government policy to know it was a waste of time bothering to submit. I just blog and make and stalk the relevant MP’s on Twitter.
@ Mark Hubbard
I meant it must have been dispiriting making that blog entry, describing the NZG’s “justification” for its capitulation to the US FATCA diktat. Just slogging through that IRD document had to have been a downer. I hope you get the occasional good response when you tweet those MPs.