From the archives of Phil Hodgen’s blog, John Nolan, August 27, 2011 | 3:19 am, wrote:
Yearly Archives: 2012
BBC Panorama – Poor America
How Charles Dickens viewed the US when he visited in 1842
More Swiss News
Discussion of the “arm wrestling” between Switzerland and the US, interview with US Ambassador to Switzerland. The video is in French, and you can use the links on the right under “Les séquences de l’émission” (they all start with “Wegelin”) to jump to the parts you want: Mise au Point
U.S. Passport as Enforcement Tool
Credit here goes to an unnamed (by request) source who set me on the trail of this topic. A full version of the following report, with documentation, can be viewed at USxCanada InfoShop. [To avoid hassles of reformatting this complex item for a different WordPress theme.]
As the United States attempts to enforce tax and reporting compliance on millions of its extraterritorial citizens, a great majority of them presently noncompliant, what tools can it exercise?
Canadian citizens still protected from IRS tax collection and penalties, in Canada
Schubert receives an important clarification from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty regarding the affect that the recently-signed OECD treaty will have on the Canada-United States tax treaty, specifically regarding the protections afforded to Canadian citizens.
U.S. cranks up the pressure on banks in Switerland
Interesting article in the Globe and Mail today. Amazing how the 2009 investigation into Swiss banks has destroyed the lives of law abiding U.S. citizens living outside the United States.
Interesting comment about the implementation of FATCA:
But the burden they’re putting on the world’s financial institutions dwarfs the amount of income tax the US will recover. Case in point, I work for a mutual fund company and we’ll have to disclose all US clients to the IRS. Even if we don’t have any clients we still have to report it. It’s a huge undertaking that will recover very little in the end.
This article is well written and worth a read.
Lessons for the U.S. Government: “The Space Shuttle and the Horse’s Rear End”
Cross posted from RenounceUScitizenship
The U.S. has been a leader in the exploration of space. For that it is to be congratulated. Of course, the U.S. can no longer afford the program. It is in clear economic decline. Curious minds ask why? There is not any one reason, but there are some specific contributors to the problem. It may have to do with the size of the “Horse’s Rear End”.
I came across this interesting read:
Feb 13, 2012 FATCA article
It seems Flaherty and Carney are raising more objections both with FATCA and the Volcker rule.
Germany has its own Fatca
The morning newspaper in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada has a front page article about a German couple who immigrated to Canada in 1963. They have lived here ever since that time and now have received a tax bill from Germany going back to 2005. They have been sent documents saying that there will be penalties unless they pay $2331 retroactive income tax.
The article goes on to say thousands of German-Canadians have been getting these notices recently.
Inquiries seem to indicate a change of the law in 2005 in Germany making German pensions paid abroad subject to taxes.
I can’t post a link as the newspaper has moved behind a paywall but it really is starting to look like people should be citizens only of the country where they live.