Yearly Archives: 2012

Check this article out:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/04/homeland-securitys-pre-crime-screening-will-never-work/255971/

The US Department of Homeland Security wants to implement scanning technology at airports which will attempt to determine if you pose a security risk by analysing “behavourial and physiological cues” .  The author of the article above argues that it won’t be likely to work, but I’m more concerned with the fact that the US government thinks that it can work and is likely to implement it anyways, warts and all.

By the way, following the best of cheesy US Government acronyms, this one is called FAST (“Future Attribute Screening Technology”)

Is the US trying to everything that it possibly can to make it the least desirable country to visit possible…?

Thanks to Deckard1138 for recording and uploading this segment.  Used with permission.

Thanks also to Pacifica for the transcript of the interview.

Monty Pelerin kindly sent me a link toMark Nestmann’s article, Growing Numbers of Tax Refugees Exit USA – Permanently.  Nestmann tells the story of man from Northern Mexico, whose mother gave birth to him in a border hospital on the United States side of the border.  In his retirement, he bought a condo in San Diego to have a cooler place in the summer (I am going to quote a little too much for fair usage and yet I hope that Mr. Nestmann won’t mind–this story is too important for Isaac Brock): Continue reading →

Comments on my post about  Remaining a Dual Citizen   have led me to think I should post about the Institute for Justice.

They are a group of lawyers who spend their time fighting against laws that unnecessarily restrict individual private economic activity and defending people caught up in these laws. They have recently  launched a lawsuit   against the IRS for a new policy that forces tax preparers to be licensed before they are given IRS permission to help people fill out their tax returns. (JustMe commented on this and linked to another story  on a previous IBS post)

This has affected thousands of independent tax preparers who help many more thousands of taxpayers file correctly and remain compliant with US tax law.
As the IJ says,

“Congress never gave the IRS the authority to license tax preparers, and the IRS cannot give itself that power. That is why the Institute for Justice has joined with three independent tax preparers to bring a lawsuit in federal court challenging the IRS’s statutory authority to impose these regulations on them and other entrepreneurial tax preparers across the nation.”

We have often talked here on the Isaac Brock Society about filing legal action against the IRS to challenge its treatment of expats, citing the violation of numerous Constitutional amendments and clauses in IRS regulations, actions and penalties.   The IJ takes on more than economic freedom cases. They have “ four core mission areas:  economic liberty, property rights, political and commercial speech, and school choice” but they also work on other legislation cases. And they are a 501(c)(3) organization, so it is non-profit. I’d think that unconstitutional taxation would be a property rights issue.   Perhaps this is a resource that would be worth pursuing.

 
It looks like the IRS set up a FAQ category for Canadian and U.S. Tax Issues back in February 2012!

http://www.irs.gov/faqs/content/0,,id=199920,00.html

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

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

WIBC Livefeed

Pete’s Podcast Page

Once the podcast is available, we will make a link.

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?