I actually found an interesting columnist at ipolitics.ca named Peter Clark if anyone needs reading material. Nothing he talks about is related to FATCA or FBAR but as a former high level official in the Department of Finance he gives a good idea in many of his columns as to how the US negotiates with many of its trading partners. As he puts it a steel fist in a velvet glove. Much of what he talks about is the US’ “hardline” take it or leave it negotiating stance in something currently known as the Trans Pacific Partnership. Clark is not at all against free trade he is just very much against the US’s hardline negotiating tactics.
Monthly Archives: February 2012
Chinese workers front line soldiers in China's new commercial empire
Interesting article in the Globe:
From the jungles of Papua New Guinea to the deserts of Libya, some of the wildest and most dangerous corners of the world have one thing in common these days: Chinese workers.
They are the front-line soldiers in China’s new commercial empire. But as Beijing’s global investment rises dramatically, reaching about $60-billion today, its foreign workers …
Although this is not a direct analogy, it is clear that China treats its foreign citizens much better than the U.S. treats its foreign citizens. Every country except the U.S. views its citizens abroad as ambassadors. This is one more reason why the U.S. is on the decline.
Fifth Amendment II: Two court cases of offshore account subpoenas
An excellent summary of two recent court cases related to FBAR appeared in Novemeber issue of the New York Law Journal and is available online at the web page of the author, Jeremy H. Temkin.
Fifth Amendment and Government’s War on Offshore Accounts (PDF)
The US is Morphing Into East Berlin, by Monty Pelerin
The following is a guest post from Monty Pelerin (used with permission).
I have always considered myself a peaceful, law-abiding citizen. I have never been arrested, obtained a Top-Secret clearance for my duties in military intelligence, have always paid my taxes, never demonstrated for or against any causes, etc. etc. Apparently, my evaluation was incorrect.
Poll: What if you could sell or exchange US citizenship?
I just stumbled across a fascinating article in which a professor at the University of Chicago proposes that US citizenship could be sold for between 50,000-100,000 dollars. The article estimates that around a million people received permanent residency in the US and that that could have produced 55 billion dollars in revenue.
Citizenship and Hard Decisions
I have not written much in the past week or so and that was deliberate on my part. I decided to spend more time listening and reading and less on talking and writing. When I first came to Isaac Brock I was hopping mad and ready to fight. I’m still not particularly happy about the situation we all find ourselves in right now but, with a little distance, my thoughts are becoming much clearer. Just for the hell of it and because I know there are people out there thinking this through as well, I thought I’d share how my thoughts have evolved over the last month or so.
I’ve never hidden the fact that I wanted to stay a U.S. citizen and when I came in here renouncing or relinquishing was not at all an option I was ready to consider. So, why am I considering it now? There are two dimensions to this decision – let’s call them “push” and “pull.” Let’s start with the “pull”.
How Many U.S. Citizens in Canada?
Cross posted from USxCanada InfoShop
Newspaper stories tend to say something like “up to a million.” Or half a million to a million. Nobody really knows.
There seem to be only two publicly available and relatively recent sources that offer anything more than pure guesstimate — one from the United States, one from Canada, tables appended. Both offer numbers that are half a dozen to a dozen years old.
And now, for something completely different!
I came across this while doing yet another search regarding renounciation of US citizenship. At first, it seemed beyond ridiculous but it does give food for thought. I very much like the idea of subtracting the amount of tax one owes that is used for war and directing it toward something more constructive, useful. And I like the emphasis on on “whole” (i.e., world) vs nationalities. There are some fees for joining, for the documents (which seem to be optional) and so on but they are not exhorbitant. Maybe this isn’t realistic at this point in time, but if it could work, it would definitely be better than what is going on in the world right now.
Flaherty's original Sep 16 2011 Letter
I though it would good as I am not sure everyone has seen it to repost Flaherty’s original letter on September 16th 2011 sent but unpublished, to several major American newspaper (i.e. NY Times, Washington Post, WSJ):
Fifth Amendment: Belated FBAR filings are a substantial hazard
Michael Sardar, “The FBAR and the Fifth Amendment” Journal of Taxation 111 (2009) 180-182.
The article argues that a substantial hazard of criminal charges exists if a person files a late FBAR. Therefore, on Fifth Amendment grounds, an argument can be made for not filing the FBAR at all. The first time filer says with the FBAR filing,
“I have a foreign bank account and have not reported it previously,” with the inevitable question arising whether the account existed in prior years.