Twenty ways the IRS can locate US expatriates, some of them no doubt new to you!
Monthly Archives: November 2012
Ann Hollingshead doesn’t admire our “opprobrium”
I am temporarily suspending wall of shame inductions but I think the following blog post is rather interesting. Ann Hollingshead and the Task Force for Financial Integrity & Economic Development have been big FATCA supporters for many years whom I sparred with back in the early days of Brock. At one time she was also critic of Jim Flaherty for as she put it interferring with the soveriegn right of the US to make its own tax policies. Clearly she knows about our criticism and has been stung by it(She in fact singles out American Citizens Abroad for as she puts it hyperbole). I think this might be a wonderful opportunity to bring our criticism back home to her and let her know about our latest activities. (The actually point of the blog post is to say how great the IGA’s are).
A Strong, Sustainable, Future for FATCA and Tax Compliance.
Russia and US to share information on bank accounts
Note: as in other cases, so far this is only talk…
“Russia and the US are reportedly going to sign an account information sharing agreement by 2013. The step is expected to improve international tax compliance under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)…
“The authorities have to agree on the mechanism of information sharing and there are several options on the table, including banks signing individual agreements with the IRS or reporting through the national regulator. Russia supports the scenario where banks report to the Federal Tax Service, the Russian tax authority, and it provides information to the IRS, Izvestia daily reported. A similar mechanism is implemented in France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland…
“Deputy PM Igor Shuvalov reportedly plans to discuss the issue with the US authorities during his upcoming visit to Washington, according to the newspaper.”
Full article: http://rt.com/business/news/russia-us-account-share-749/
The Wolf and the Lamb revised for our times
Here is the original fable according to Aesop:
Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. “There’s my supper,” thought he, “if only I can find some excuse to seize it.” Then he called out to the Lamb, “How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?”
“Nay, master, nay,” said Lambikin; “if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me.”
“Well, then,” said the Wolf, “why did you call me bad names this time last year?”
“That cannot be,” said the Lamb; “I am only six months old.”
“I don’t care,” snarled the Wolf; “if it was not you it was your father;” and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out:
“Any excuse will serve a tyrant.”
Now, the contemporary version:
STOP an Impending Massive Handover of Canadian Sovereignty to the United States!
UPDATE 2: This post has been upgraded to a press release at newswire.ca and digitjournal.com. Thanks go to Jim Jatras.
UPDATE: Jim Jatras has provided an revised Word Version of the text below for mass distribution.
The following is a message from Jim Jatras:
Friends
Please review that following and submit comments. I hope it’s more or less self-explanatory.
As indicated in a previous comment, it’s in effect a kind of ad or statement inviting people to contact Harper, Flaherty, MPs and oppose FATCA/IGA. Ideally, it’s the kind of thing that would be posted online or even in print publications as an ad, if there were money for that. (If Canadian industry weren’t spending money trying to get the “best deal possible” from the Americans under an IGA instead of fighting.) Certainly individual comment letters to the Finance Department should be sent, but let’s not kid ourselves they will pay much attention them. What we need is a groundswell of outraged Canadians to contact Harper, Flaherty, and MPs as soon as possible with a simple message: NO!
I realize that it’s always risky to hang a draft out where anyone can take a whack at it, but feel free. Also, any ideas on where and how it can be posted and distributed are welcome.
BTW, this is the kind of thing that routinely gets placed in DC in publications like Politico, The Hill, Roll Call, and other pubs aimed at Congress. Picture a similar message aimed at Congress but making an American argument against FATCA, as this makes a Canadian one. That’s how we get things done – if we had someone with money and willing to fight.
Best
Jim
Call or email Stephen Harper, Jim Flaherty, and Your MP Today!
Call or email Stephen Harper, Jim Flaherty, and Your MP Today!
STOP an Impending Massive Handover of Canadian Sovereignty to the United States!
Tell the Government: Canada Must Say NO
to the United States on ‘FATCA’
Recently the Department of Finance invited comments on what was characterized as “an agreement to improve cross-border tax compliance through . . . the provisions enacted by the United States commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).” This eleventh-hour invitation came as sources in both Ottawa and Washington announced that they were close to finalizing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would, in effect, deputize the Canadian government to enforce this American law in Canada.
Townsend Article about burden of proof in FBAR cases
I just became aware of this: McBride #1 – Court Holds Government Must Prove FBAR Willful Penalty by a Preponderance (11/11/12). I thought it might be interesting for all of you.
What I found most interesting was Townsend’s commentary:
Based on the detailed findings of fact, the Court first determined that the Government need prove willfulness only by a preponderance of the evidence rather than by clear and convincing evidence. Since the Court’s recitation of facts was so damning, it is not clear that the Court would have reached a different conclusion even if the burden were clear and convincing. Nevertheless, here is what the Court said about its holding on the preponderance of the evidence burden…
Consequences of seceding from the US
There have been tremors and blips for years, from Texas to Alaska and all the way back to Vermont we have heard of possible seccession movements building up in the US. In the aftermath of the US election some 20 different states’ residents have even submitted official petitions to the White House with this very goal in mind, and the Texas petition has garnered enough signatures that the White House must officially respond to it.
US election: Unhappy Americans ask to secede from US
Whether or not this will come to anything is anyone’s guess. Coming from the EU, where seccession is a real issue (especially in Flanders, Scotland, Catalonia and now even Venice), I find it difficult to compare public mood in the US to that in Europe – I personally believe that there will be at least one new European state within the next five years.
When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat
When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat. – Ronald Reagan
The Canadian “firewall” is important to prevent or mitigate the effects of FATCA around the world. If the “FATCA decision” is left solely in the hands of the banks and politicians I fear that FATCA (in some form) will be implemented in Canada.
Public opinion is important in influencing politicians. After all, no party (especially on the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812) wants to be seen as doing he bidding of the Americans.
Ronald Reagan used to say that if you couldn’t make the politicians see the light, you would take the case to their constituents, who would then make the politicians feel the heat. In other words, “Everyday Canadians” need to understand how FATCA will affect them. How it will affect them regardless of their citizenship. The politicians need to be reminded that Canada is a democracy and handing the country over to the IRS will have implications for their political futures.
People have short attention span. How would you explain the effects of FATCA to an “Everyday Canadian”? How would you explain now it is bad for Canada? How would you explain why citizenship-based taxation hurts ALL Canadians and NOT just “US persons”?
Comments …
Not a US person? Prove it!
Woofy pulled this off the Canadian Banker’s Association website:
I am not a U.S. person. What does FATCA mean for me?
The majority of Canadians are not U.S. persons and, in most cases, FATCA will have little impact. If you have an existing account and there is an indication that you may be a U.S. person, or if you are opening a new account, your financial institution may ask you to provide additional information or documentation to demonstrate that you are not a U.S. person.
If you choose not to provide this additional documentation upon request, at a minimum, your financial institution may be required to withhold a tax of 30% on U.S. source payments that you receive and send this money to the IRS.
This is really just a game. The CBA should just tell the IRS to take their regulations and shove it. How can people prove that they are not US persons for tax purposes? Imagine the following scenarios:
Huff Post: American Expat Taxpayers Would Rather Ditch Citizenship Than Face New IRS Rules
Another Huffington Post article out last night on Expats and renouncing. This is the 3rd in a very short period of time. I only had time for couple short comments late last night in reply to someone else. I am off this tomorrow for an across state trip, and won’t be back to Seattle until late last night for more responses. I am re-posting this from a comment I made earlier for better visibility. Hope others can weigh in. I see Eric has made 3 comments before I went to bed, and I see some others in a quick peruse this AM. Got to run.
American Expat Taxpayers Would Rather Ditch Citizenship Than Face New IRS Rules