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.
They are a nasty group of commenters over at MotherJones.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/06/offshore-bank-accounts-fatca-irs#comment-1465538982
Another nail in the coffin for anything “foreign” to the US. Who cares about any Free Trade Agreement? In relation to their neighbor countries, they are acting like the Tea Party – – They are going to bring their house down!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/manufacturers-cry-foul-over-buy-american-bill/article19381399/
@Neill, it’s buying stuff in a Fidelity US account while not a resident of the US.
Fidelity UK already restricts US persons from holding stuff (funds in particular). So now it seems that a US citizen in the UK cannot realistically use Fidelity on either side of the pond.
Heckuva job, congress.
@Watcher,
That’s what I thought it meant but that’s terrible. What are these people going to do. So far foreigners in the US don’t have problems locally. I can imaging if FATCA goes reciprocal we get the same kind of problems.
@Neill
I expect some problems are just around the corner for foreigners working in the US but still holding retirement and other ‘privileged’ investments, but who knows what form they will take. TD Direct Investing T&Cs explicitly state that they will simply close out a SIPP unilaterally if they “have reason to believe that You are a US citizen, US resident or US person.”
Fidelity’s actions seem odd, though. Why freeze fund purchases but make an exception for dividend reinvestment? Why prevent purchases in stock and bond funds but not money market funds? Why are ETFs unaffected (so far)? And why, of all things, are 401k’s and 403b’s exempt from this but IRA’s not? Either Fidelity have received some weird legal advice or they are doing this for other reasons (fear, spite, retaliation, politics, …?).
Here’s an anti-FATCA article from today’s Financial Post.
Canadian financial institutions have woken up today and they aren’t finding FATCA very agreeable at all, please and thank you very much.
Money talks, and as we know here at Isaac Brock, it also walks. Specifically, it walks from the big bad banks to the more friendly local credit union when it is threatened with reporting and confiscation.
http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/02/canadian-institutions-scramble-in-race-to-comply-with-fatca/
@Watcher,
Filling the FinCen 114 and 8938 was such a burden we closed all the accounts we could except a single bank account. We needed that to be able to buy birthday gifts etc and use when we visit.
We were left with a lot of pensions since we have had a lot of jobs. We also have a single life insurance policy that was part of an endowment mortgage. The endowment people cut my wife off refusing all options except waiting till it matures.
It would be great if we could get the pension money into the US but we have to wait till we are 55 to withdraw. It would be a taxable event to try and get them into the US.
I have looked at pooling the pensions but you have to be licensed to deal with an US Person and costs are likely to be high for anyone who is licensed.
We have to just wait, filling in the forms until the IRS rules we get screwed wrt these accounts. Our revenue agent pushed hard to find problems with out pensions so she could steal the money.
I believe that this is the recent James Fitz-Morris article but with a much more sensational headline:
https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2014/06/when-canadas-banks-reopen-for-business-on-july-2-they-will-begin-formally-operating-as-informants-for-the-u-s-irs/
July 2, 2014: Israel, US sign tax information pact
From heartsick and Em:
Here’s the updated direct link to the Global National video clip:
http://globalnews.ca/video/1429153/opposition-to-controversial-new-bank-rule
@Watcher, Neill
I didn’t read the WSJ article but I presume it refers to the letters I received from Fidelity US a little while ago. When I called Fidelity US, the customer service rep made several calls internally and then told me that they are concerned that they would be violating foreign laws since US mutual funds are only ever registered for sale in the US. Incidentally, Charles Schwab said the same thing when I spoke to their UK office (they offer a US domiciled USD trading account for residents of the UK and Switzerland) and cited the same reason. So it’s not just Fidelity. It may also make a difference that mutual fund purchases are always newly issued shares.
All my retirement accounts are affected since I also received the letter for IRA and rollover 401-K accounts I have.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2014/0701/Land-of-the-free-Not-so-much.-Americans-sense-of-freedom-drops-poll-finds
An interesting article from the Christian Science Monitor on a “perceived” drop in the sense of freedom among those living in the US. The land of the free isn’t so free any more. My opinion– the people who hijacked the planes in 2001 won. The US traded freedom for security and given its recent wars and policies has found neither.
An interesting article about a man finally winning a case against CRA. Does anyone know anything about the Canadian Constitution Foundation? This article says “Our mandate is to advance the rights and freedoms of Canadians”.
http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/02/cra-irvin-leroux/
IBD: Banks, Others Start Saying Sayonara To U.S. Expats
http://news.investors.com/business/070214-707231-fatca-regulation-effect-on-banks-american-expats.htm
Only two comments at the moment (both favorable).
The Hill: US turning the screws on tax cheats
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/211113-us-turns-the-screws-on-tax-cheats
“Ahead of Tuesday’s launch, Obama administration officials were hailing the law as a victory, saying it had become the “global standard” for how to deal with tax dodgers.”
“The international support for FATCA is without question,” Robert Stack, Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs, said in a statement on Tuesday.”
“Democrats like Sen. Carl Levin (Mich.) who want the federal government to be more aggressive about offshore tax evasion cheered the law’s arrival on Tuesday.”
No mention of the damages inflicted upon expats, this writer really needs an education.
Bloomberg: Swiss Banks Sometimes Overstep on Tax Compliance, Ombudsman Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-03/swiss-banks-sometimes-overstep-on-tax-compliance-ombudsman-says.html
“Measures banks took ranged from increasing fees to terminating relationships with clients abruptly, Franchetti said at a news conference in Zurich today. Banks often cite instructions by the banking regulator to analyze legal risk as a reason for the steps, he said.”
“Termination of client relationships can be particularly problematic when banks close accounts and then seek early repayment of corresponding fixed-term loans or investments, the ombudsman said.”
@ From the Wilderness & all: The news.Investors.com article says “Georges Ugeux, founder of Galileo Global Advisors, dual citizen of the U.S. and Belgium and an outspoken FATCA critic, said the crackdown has created a “poisonous” atmosphere that has led lenders to become “totally risk averse.”
Anyone want to take a flier and contact Georges Ugeux about supporting our Charter Challenge?
WARNING:
The Times of Israel reports that on June 24, 2014 a US District Court awarded American and Israeli terror victims the .ir domain, along with all of Iran’s IP addresses.
According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Iran could find itself kicked off the Internet by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Addresses (ICANN), a Los Angeles based organization that manages web domains and IP addresses.
This story is much bigger than it may appear and it is generally being kept hidden. Although it is possible to make it more difficult to find a website when its domain name has been confiscated you can always get to that website by using its actual IP address (a long number code).
I think it would be a good thing for everyone to keep a list of the websites they visit regularly as expressed by their actual IP addresses. My husband just showed me how to “PING” these IP addresses on our Mac so I’m compiling a list right now. There are some who think The Powers That Be are testing the waters for an attempt to take down the internet by this devious method. In the case of Iran, they say, this could be a way to “bomb it back to the stone age” while silencing the screams of the victims. So, IMHO, one IP address to have handy should be presstv.ir which is 217.218.67.241.
Nigel Green speaks out on youtube:
http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/03/nota-bene-the-fatca-hammer-blow/
Nigel Green piece at the Financial Post. Lots of good “bad press” being printed in the newspapers that money and power read– WSJ, Globe and Mail, National Post.
The Financial Post article cited by BC Doc appeared in the Business section of today’s paper. As have most of the other news items, it said that FATCA makes banks find their “American account-holders”, who are required to report their world-wide income to the IRS, giving the impression that the only people affected are American citizens who live in Canada but who identify as Americans, (hold U,S. passports, vote in U.S. elections, own U.S. property, expect to return to live in the U.S., collect U.S. benefits,) but who have deliberately avoided meeting their obligations to their country (the U.S., not the country in which they happen to be temporarily residing).
This impression is corrected in the final two paragraphs, but may easily be overlooked by anyone reading the article from the beginning. The section about ACDS and “other FATCA opponents” trying to change the U.S. Citizenship law is confusing. Is ACDS REALLY going to court to change an American law? Is this how donations to ACDS will be spent?
I thought that donations to ACDS would be used to fund a challenge to the Canada-U.S. IGA in the Supreme Court of Canada.
@Queenston – you are right. The donations to ADCS are going to fund the legal challenge to the IGA allowing FATCA in Canada (thereby allowing out banks to rat us out indirectly to the CRA and in turn for the CRA to turn our banking information over to the IRS). We in Canada cannot change the US law, we can only effect change to Canadian law. Obviously FATCA is being fought on all fronts, including the effort to repeal it on the US side. More power to them in that endeavour! We in Canada have our Canadian fight to fund. Hopefully striking down the IGA in Canada will drive a stake through the heart of FATCA indirectly. Let the house of cards fall!
Mr. Woods over a Forbes keeps bringing up…”I wonder if the US will get involved in the Canadian challenge”. What could that possibly mean and is that even remotely possible?
2014.07.03. “Expats Feel Sold Out by Canada: Canadian citizens with US roots plan a court challenge after Ottawa rolled over to Washington’s heavy-handed search for back taxes,” Tim Harper, Toronto Star.
Stephen Kish is interviewed and the article links to the ADCS page!
It’s so great that our plight is finally getting the coverage it deserves…too bad no one believed us before all this!
A recent comment from Jack Townsend. It shows his level of “wilful ignorance” about the injustices of CBT, FBAR, FATCA etc. being inflicted upon expats which is still the default setting for many homelanders, Jack being one of them.
We must keep up with the media campaign and never, never, never give up!
http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/2014/07/irs-letter-to-congressman-defending-its.html
“I don’t know what you mean by “many” will expatriate. I think a lot of them will end up regretting that action because what the U.S. is doing is what the rest of the world — at least the developed and wannabee countries — is doing. They can run but, in a larger sense, the ability to hide from some relevant tax authority is severely constricting.”
“There is more to life and meaning that money.”
Jack Townsend