I just saw this on Yahoo News. I wonder if Ms. Rice and her husband have disclosed all of their offshore Canadian assets?
Monthly Archives: November 2012
FATCA: Obama’s New Year surprise against American expats
“In Ernest Hemingway’s reminiscence A Movable Feast, one gets a glimpse of life among American expatriate artists and writers living and having adventures in Paris during the Roaring 20s. Today, American expats live all over the world – having adventures in Africa, creating art in Berlin, helping children in Cambodia, discovering ancient spirituality in India, and starting businesses in Tianjin. But all this may soon come to an end.”
Will FATCA mark the end of American global migration?
http://www.examiner.com/article/fatca-obama-s-new-year-surprise-against-american-expats
#FATCA is no longer about the US, It’s about other countries
#FATCA is impossible to achieve unless foreign governments preemptively surrender their sovereignty. freedomandprosperity.org/2012/testimony… – Take note!
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) November 30, 2012
Travelling to the US while renunciation is in progress
If you have a non-U.S. travel document with a U.S. birthplace, you may face trouble entering U.S. territory unless you can demonstrate that you’re no longer a U.S. citizen. But the State Department might take more than a year from the time of your final visit to the consulate to give you a CLN. Worse yet, there’s always the possibility that they’ll find some legally dubious reason to “reject” your renunciation. So would-be former U.S. Persons could be stuck for a long period as “Schrödinger citizens” — neither citizens nor non-citizens, with no proof whatsoever of your status.
Which leads to the question: what if you need to go to the U.S. while you’re stuck in this limbo? Eido Inoue, who comments here on occasion, just wrote a post about this very topic:
For Americans, there is a time when you apply for relinquishment of your U.S. citizenship and you send your U.S. passport to the State Department for processing. However, as you as still technically a U.S. citizen until the U.S. State Department has issued you a CLN (Certificate of Loss of Nationality), you are issued a letter from the embassy explaining that you are in the process and your U.S. passport is in possession of the State Department. This letter is solely for travel to the United States, and America requires those who are U.S. nationals to use their U.S. passport when travelling to/from the United States, regardless of what other passports or nationalities you may possess.
India and FATCA
The government [of India] has asked the Reserve Bank of India to draft an agreement that Delhi can sign with Washington to shield Indian financial institutions from a controversial US legislation,which seeks to penalise entities that fail to report dealings of American residents to the US revenue authority
Full article:
Times of India
FATCA FEAR
RBI to Work on Pact to Counter US Law Impact
Central bank to draft agreement that Delhi can sign with Washington
DEEPSHIKHA SIKARWAR NEW DELHI
The government has asked the Reserve Bank of India to draft an agreement that Delhi can sign with Washington to shield Indian financial institutions from a controversial US legislation,which seeks to penalise entities that fail to report dealings of American residents to the US revenue authority.The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act,due to come into force from January 1,proposes a 30% withholding tax on any payment made to a foreign financial institution by a US firm if it does not comply with the regulation.We are examining as to how we need to deal with it… RBI will prepare a draft of an enabling domestic legislation, a finance ministry official told ET.The FATCA,enacted in 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act,aims to combat tax evasion by US nationals holding investments in offshore accounts.It is seen as advancement over the antimoney laundering framework put in place by the Financial Action Task Force,a global body tasked with curbing money laundering.Under the provisions of the new law,US taxpayers holding financial assets outside the country must report those assets to the revenue authorities.The law also requires foreign financial institutions to report directly to the US Internal Revenue Service details of accounts held by US taxpayers or foreign entities in which US taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest.Any entity failing to register will face a higher witholding tax rate from all US firms that they deal with.The law will pose a similar challenge to Indian financial institutions.Indian entities may need to intensify the know your customer (KYC) requirements and also register with American tax authorities individually if there is no bilateral agreement among the two countries.They will need to undertake prescribed identification exercise for US taxpayers and report annually to the US revenue authorities.Experts say the Indian governments move is in the right direction.Any Indian financial institutions dealing with a US resident directly or indirectly will have to ensure compliance with FATCA … Entering into agreement with US authorities on individual basis may prove cumbersome for institutions, said Anish Thacker,partner (tax and regulatory services) at Ernst & Young.However,experts point out that norms under the Foreign Exchange Management Act also mandate stringent KYC norms.The existing restrictions under FEMA significantly reduce exposure of Indian financial institutions to FATCA, said Shinjini Kumar,director at PwC.She,however,said lack of clarity in the law makes it difficult to ascertain the exact impact on Indian financial institutions.
China central bank official slams FATCA
I believe Eric may have already touched upon this but it appears as if it has now been picked up by Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/us-asia-regulation-china-idUSBRE8AR0N720121128
It may be worthwhile for those of you in touche with Kevin Shoom to forward this article to him.
“China’s banking and tax laws and regulations do not allow Chinese financial institutions to comply with FATCA directly.” Liu said. He emphasized those were his views and not necessarily the opinions of the central bank or the Chinese government.
The law will only slightly increase U.S. tax revenues, Liu said. “One estimate says FATCA covers less than 2 percent of U.S. tax payers and would bring extra revenue of only $8bln over 10 years, he said.”
Liu was giving a speech on the foreign impact of financial regulation. He also noted the challenges posed to foreign banks by some of the regulation contained in the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act, such as the Volcker Rule. The rule bans banks from engaging in proprietary trading and will apply to many foreign banks if they have a branch in the U.S.
“The Volcker Rule seems to be intentionally designed to apply to a broad range of foreign institutions in order to level the playing field for U.S. entities subject to the rule.”
Canadian banks wary of U.S. tax disclosure law
Canadian banks wary of U.S. tax disclosure law
The final thrust of Canada-U.S.. tax treaty negotiations is triggering fears among bankers on this side of the border that they will be dragged into helping out on an American hunt for tax cheats — and passing along information about Canadians to U.S. tax authorities
Miscellany: Fact Finding Forum in Toronto and American Citizens Abroad on Goldstein on Gelt
A Fact Findg Forum on FATCA will be held in Toronto. Everyone nearby should consider attending this rally. Here is the announcement:
The Federal PC Party (Progressive Canadian) of Canada is calling ALL CANADIANS (Liberals, NDP, Conservatives, ordinary citizens, et al) to stand on guard for Canada and Canadian sovereignty!Plan to attend a Fact Finding Forum to preserve Canadian sovereignty and keep Canada a free and independent nation!Who: The Honourable Sinclair Stevens, Federal PC Party leader, Party President Dorian Baxter and othersWhere: University of Toronto – Room TBA (click for updates)When: Saturday December 15, 2012 – 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Another Victim of FATCA, retired Swiss/American woman living in (ex-Soviet) Georgia
A Swiss-American woman who has had an account at the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) for decades is being forced to close the account before end of December. Aged 65, she receives her Swiss social security and disability payments in the account, and uses the account to pay her Swiss health insurance premiums.
Article (in French): http://www.lematin.ch/suisse/bcv-supprime/story/16464128
The article says that she is being forced to close because she does not live in Switzerland. But how can she draw her pension to which she has the right?!
Chinese central bank legal expert speaks out against FATCA
Hong Kong-based financial news group Finet reports on remarks by Liu Xiangmin of the People’s Bank of China on FATCA; I’ve translated their article below. Risk.net and Reuters have similar reports in English: “US should show more respect over Fatca” and “China central bank official slams U.S. tax dodging law”.
人行:美國FATCA法案違反中國法律,並增不必要開支 | People’s Bank: U.S. FATCA legislation violates Chinese law, unnecessarily increases expenses |
http://finance.sina.com.hk/news/-39-5439199/1.html | |
人行條法司副司長劉向民表示,美國即將實施的「海外帳戶稅收遵循法案」(FATCA)法案對於中國的銀行會產生不必要的開支,亦令相關銀行因為向美國政府泄露客戶資料,而違反中國法律,他指出,兩國法律之間的相抵觸並非新事物,但因中國的公司近年才於海外設立辦事處或分行,有關的問題才浮現。 | People’s Bank of China Department of Treaty and Law Deputy Director-General Liu Xiangmin stated, the United States’ soon-to-be-implemented Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) will result in unnecessary expenditures for China’s banks, and those banks which disclose customer data to the United States government will be in violation of Chinese law. He pointed out, conflict between the two countries’ laws is not a new phenomenon, but as Chinese companies have only recently begun to establish overseas representative offices and branches, the problem did not manifest itself until now. |