Media and Blog Articles – Part 1 of 11 (to 26 May 2015)

3,971 thoughts on “Media and Blog Articles – Part 1 of 11 (to 26 May 2015)”

1. @heartsick – FATCA and CBT are immoral, so what if we all just said “NO”? How would they really be able to do anything about 7 million people around the world sitting on the sidewalk refusing to comply? Let’s try that. Screw their “programs”!

2. @ GwEvil – Agreed, very immoral and incomprehensible. Many are complying as seen in the increase in renouncements, not sure how many of us are fighters like you. This whole situation just makes me sick.

3. Re Streamlined vs QD:

   In the renunciation thread, Just Me reprinted Phil Hodgen’s latest expatriation email. It talks about the need for a SSN to renounce. However, it also discusses the 3 options available for getting compliant: Voluntary Disclosure Program, QD (which he calls “just file”), and Streamlined. Definitely worth a read for anyone wondering what to do.

   At any rate, here is the take-away IMO:

   For people who have minimal exposure to penalties, there is no reason to do anything more exotic than merely file a bunch of forms with the IRS.

   For people who have done sufficiently bad things that the IRS might want to make a poster child of you (see Admiral John Byng, for example) the Voluntary Disclosure Program might be the plausible solution. There is a lot to be said for being able to get on a plane and go anywhere you want to, anytime, without worrying.

   For almost everyone, however, you will be in the vast middle. The penalty risk is high enough to matter. But you’re a normal person. Now the decision is between “just file” and the Streamlined Procedures. My experience is that the Streamlined Procedure is a puddle of confusion moving toward bureaucratic calcification and procedural complexity (IRS entropy points in that direction), but at the moment it is a worthwhile choice for many people.

   So he seems to be saying that QD is perfectly fine for people who have “minimal exposure to penalties”, but if that’s not you (and you’re also not a criminal), then Streamlined is worthwhile. Since Canadians have a number of ways that they may be liable for penalties (3520/3520A filings for RESP, RDSP, TFSA; 8891 filings for RRSP [not strictly a penalty, but close enough]), it points to Streamlined to being appropriate for many (most?) of us.

4. South China Morning Post, October 20: Fatca seen as threat for some Hong Kong banks, opportunity for others Tax advisers say compliance with new US law is creating headaches for the city’s wealthy

5. That South China Morning Post article accept comments under Facebook. Let’s try to recruit for IBS and encourage contributions to ADCS.

6. A revolution among long-term overseas residents is now underway.

   The semblance of “A Declaration of Grievances and Resolves.” :

   http://adcsovereignty.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/from-the-desk-of-john-richardson-co-chair-adcs-adsc-ca-a-trip-to-algonquin-park-and-thoughts-of-berlin/

7. Title of article on Swedish Television (SVT) website today (translated): “Swedish banks will help US identify bank customers”:

   http://www.svt.se/nyheter/regionalt/vastnytt/svenska-banker-hjalper-usa-att-kartlagga-bankkunder

   These are some of the Fatca questions that the Swedish bank, Nordea, is asking its customers:

   “Are you a politically exposed person, have you or have you ever had a high political post, high government office or close family member of such a person?”

   “What is the origin of the capital that is currently on your Nordea account?”

   “What is the purpose of your current banking relationship with Nordea?” “

8. In time for the annual migration of Canadian snowbirds and for contemplation when they celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving: From: “Moodys Gartner Tax Law Blog” — Updated IRS streamlined filing program: snowbirds beware. This refers to the “Dual” US-Canadian Snowbird, including those “Accidental Americans”.

   …
   Adding insult to injury, the IRS has two different non-residency requirements: one for U.S. citizens or green card holders, and the other for non-U.S. citizens, non-green card holders. The non-residency requirement applicable to U.S. citizens or green card holders is relevant to the streamlined procedures for snowbirds, while the non-residency requirement for non-U.S. citizens, non-green card holders is much more humane and does not exacerbate the dilemma created by the other version of the non-residing requirement.
   …

   After briefly summarizing some relevant general rules regarding streamlined, this blog will address the consequences of that FAQ for snowbirds who have not filed during the three-year period for which tax returns must be submitted under streamlined and, according to the IRS, spend too much time in the United States. Ultimately, these snowbirds are ineligible for streamlined and must find an alternative way to catch-up with their U.S. tax filing obligations.

   …

   Conclusion

   As the example above illustrates, the IRS’s position on a snowbird’s eligibility for streamlined is rather ominous. Does physical presence exceeding 35 days every year justify the disqualification of noncompliant taxpayers who have spent relatively small amounts of time in the United States every year from streamlined—both the resident and nonresident flavors of the program—and the imposition of a 27.5% (or 50%) penalty under OVDP? That seems to be a draconian result, especially for taxpayers who spend two months or less in the United States every year.

   This result certainly will not encourage compliance and is inconsistent with IRS Commissioner Koskinen’s rationale for expanding the streamlined program and the significant tightening of OVDP.

9. So basically, snowbirds get screwed for enriching the US economy. The IRS certainly has an “interesting” sense of humour.

10. http://www.bna.com/insurance-industry-seeks-n17179897250/

    “The industry is asking the Internal Revenue Service to lighten that burden, asserting that the layers of reporting now being imposed could hurt the ability of U.S. companies to compete in foreign markets and create privacy concerns for overseas customers.”

    Does not mention FATCA hurting US citizen’s ability to live a normal live if living and paying taxes in a country other than the US.

11. Human Rights Violation: UN speaks out against Detroit water shut-offs.
    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/10/21/detroit-disappointed-in-uns-non-fact-finding-visits-about-water-shut-offs/ Can those advancing the Maple Sandbox/IBS claim use any of this?

12. @JC,

    As a former creditor of Detroit I would have done a lot more than cut their water off. Don’t pay your bills then you lose any service. Their concerned citizens got together and put money to save the art museum. They used the money to fund the pensions without regard to the secured creditors like me. Nice things (well I think art is rubbish) are for people with jobs who pay their bills.
    My bond got repurchased by the insurance company.

13. People should probably be warned to check if they can get a bank account before leaving 🙂
    http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/worlds-happiest-expats-live-here/ar-BBawOwD?ocid=HPCDHP

14. I’m not sure where to put this, so will put it here. A soldier standing on guard at the ‘war of 1812’ memorial monument soon to be unveiled at parliament hill was shot and killed today.

15. Here is a link to live updates re what is happening at parliament hill:
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-parliament-hill-shooting-live-updates-1.2808737

16. You can be certain the Parliament HIll shooting will result in a further loss of our freedoms and privacy — all in the name of increased security of course. How curious that “radicalized” has risen to the top of the Canadian lexicon recently, at a time when the PM wants to justify the Canadian military in Iraq, Syria and then anywhere else the USA wants. Having one less member of my extended Canadian family because of Canada’s Afghanistan involvement this is very worrisome to me indeed. I don’t expect sanity to prevail here, anymore than it has in the USA. Sad, very sad.

17. Here is a new one:

    http://www.politico.com/morningtax/1014/morningtax15781.html

18. Great article quoting comments I guess brokers made to other articles:

    http://www.twincities.com/columnists/ci_26779353/bob-mcintosh-facta-worst-law-you-never-heard

19. Don’t Expect U.S. FATCA Reciprocation Any Time Soon

    http://freedomandprosperity.org/2014/featured/dont-expect-u-s-fatca-reciprocation-any-time-soon/

20. @ Neill – Yes, a good artlcle and excellent comments by yourself and PastBeyond60! Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

21. Another web page you can post comments on:

    http://www.tax-news.com/news/Switzerland_To_Add_Info_Exchange_Provisions_To_All_DTAs____66202.html

22. An interesting comment under the “you just can’t make this up” category appeared at the Bob McIntosh article:
    http://www.twincities.com/columnists/ci_26779353/bob-mcintosh-facta-worst-law-you-never-heard\
    Bob wrote:

    I trace my roots back to the U.S. Revolution and recently renounced my citizenship exactly for the reasons cited in this story. I am an average-income retiree and have never owed U.S. taxes in 42 years of living in Canada because I have always been below the IRS income thresholds. Yet the costs of filing and the complexity of it are too much to bear. To cite but one example, the IRS website estimates that the paperwork for the Canadian mutual fund that I depend on for my retirement income (viewed by the IRS as a Passive Foreign Investment Company) will take up to 50 hours. My cross-border tax expert charges $250 an hour. That’s $12,500 — per mutual fund! This is madness. I can’t afford to pay $10,000 + per year to be told I don’t owe any taxes. I am not eligible for social security or any other U.S. benefits, and as a retiree I don’t need access to the U.S. job market. A lifelong Democrat, I recently informed Democrats Abroad of my decision to renounce, pointing out that this all took place under Obama’s watch. Intended to snare billionaires stashing money in Swiss bank accounts, FATCA is causing misery for ordinary, hard-working expatriates simply trying to make their way in life. How sad that the nation of my birth has forced me to reject it and walk away.

23. Preventing Taxpaying Milk Cows from Seeking Greener Pastures.

    “50 years ago, nobody would want to give up American citizenship. They would cherish it. The fact that so many people are paying tremendous amounts of money to get this albatross off their neck shows you how much times have changed, that an American passport is not an asset to be cherished but a liability that people are willing to pay to get rid of.”

    http://www.internationalman.com/articles/preventing-taxpaying-milk-cows-from-seeking-greener-pastures

24. A new article:

    http://thecostaricanews.com/5-expat-tax-topics-you-probably-havent-heard-about

25. Stumbled across this article yesterday and just couldn’t get over the craziness of the US. It talks about how the US should stop giving citizenship to those born in the US but their parents aren’t US citizens. I’m sure there are lots of us here that would agree to that!

    It seems if we’re working and living outside of the US and not using any services they don’t want to let us go and if we’re living inside the US and using services they’re desperate to get rid of us!

    http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-gop-must-stop-legal-birthright-11503

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