It looks like the IRS set up a FAQ category for Canadian and U.S. Tax Issues back in February 2012!
Monthly Archives: April 2012
"Professional" Misinformation
Check out Wayne Bewick on 18 April 2012 as he trolls for business and purveys misinformation via a Globe and Mail video.
Video: Tax tips for Americans living in Canada
Bewick says that FBAR reporting to the United States is all about the compliance —
if you have an aggregate of more than $10,000 in
accounts outside of Canada.
Radio Interview with Pete the Planner
UPDATE: Click here for the audio of this interview.
Hi everyone, I’ve done the 10 minute spot with Pete the Planner, and I think it went pretty well; I was able to touch on many of the important issues that affect all of us.
What: The Pete the Planner Show on 93 WIBC
When: Friday nights from 7-9pm and then podcast online anytime
Once the podcast is available, we will make a link.
IRS OVDI: Holding the IRS to Proper Payment Application
To those reading here who are in the OVDI, I draw your attention to this Jack Townsend guest post by Asher Rubinstein, Esq.
It has been said that the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) corrected many of the hiccups of the 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP)…… However, as more OVDI cases now head toward resolution, it appears that the IRS is again wavering in certain policy decisions, again to the detriment of taxpayers.
Why am I not surprised by this?
Missing Comments
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/americans-the-tax-man-cometh-wherever-you-are/
I was just at the above link, where Steven Mopsick’s comment was, and I could not find any of the comments that had been left. Thinking that maybe there was an error with the page loading I refreshed my screen several times but they never appeared. Does anyone know what could be the reason? Does anyone possibly know whether the comments were still up yesterday? Is there a policy on the length of time that comments are displayed?
“Peaceful resistance” to FATCA will result in an alternative financial system
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship
https://twitter.com/#!/renounceus/status/193337841584046080
Ever since the FATCA discussion started, I have always wondered:
Why would the rest of the world comply with FATCA? I read about compliance costs. I read about trying to cut deals with the IRS. What I don’t understand is why countries don’t take a much longer term view of this. Remember:
People always overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.
Continue reading
Taxpayer Advocate – @YourvoiceATIRS retweeted the following!
A couple of days ago, I posted that former IRS lawyer Steven Mospick has publicly acknowledged the insanity of citizenship-based taxation – a fantastic step in the right direction.
Today, I want to call your attention to the fact that the Taxpayer Advocate Twitter account – @YourVoiceATIRS retweeted the following:
https://twitter.com/#!/YourVoiceAtIRS/status/193325200010510337
The link in the tweet is to the Atossa article. Click on the link – you will be astounded at how viral her article has become. In fact, her article has even caused us to ask the question: Who is the real Peter Dunn.
Again, this is fantastic news and will continue to raise the profile of this issue. Thank you Nina Olson!
Senate Bill 1813 Passport Confiscation and “Stop Taxhaven Abuse”
About Senate Bill 1813 (passport confiscation), I’m not sure if anybody brought this up before on Isaac:
Perhaps most important, though, is Title II of the bill – “Stop Taxhaven Abuse.”
Long story short, if the U.S. government decides in its sole discretion that a foreign jurisdiction is impeding tax enforcement, Uncle Sam can shut them out of the U.S. financial system, no questions asked.
It’s just another measure to turn foreign banks into unpaid spies of the federal government … and limit financial freedom for U.S. citizens.
This is a bully move, plain and simple. Most of the global financial system depends on U.S. banks for correspondent accounts. When you wire money from Cambodia to Brazil, for example, the funds pass through New York.
Source:http://www.businessinsider.com/something-is-wrong-with-this-picture-2012-4
Canada-US Travel Imbalance
Start by recalling that the Canada-US population ratio is roughly 1:10, while the Canada-US travel ratio is (more) roughly 1:1.
Clear trends are discernible for figures in each of the columns in the table below.
Continue reading
Remaining a dual citizen (1) : passport renewal
Hello Isaac? It’s me, Ladyhawk. Is there anyone here who still has US citizenship? Well, anyway, in case anyone is interested in how things are going for people like me who are still trying to make the dual thing work, I thought I’d tell you what happened when I went to the US Consulate in Toronto to renew my US Passport.