Innocente beat me to the punch and pointed out in a comment that the FBI released their latest report on Active Records in the NICS Index last Friday. NICS now contains the records of 21,823 persons who renounced U.S. citizenship under INA § 349(5) (or, theoretically, the wartime provisions of INA § 349(6)) and are thus barred from purchasing firearms in the United States. This is an increase of 319 records as compared to March 2013, and 1,169 records since December 2012.
Monthly Archives: May 2013
Bahrain: US Persons prohibited outdoors between 1am and 5am
Dangerous FBAR’s and FATCA’s are known to slurk around in the wee hours of the morning outside of US jurisdiction. To combat self-responsibility, all US persons and only US persons have now been prohibited from working late-night shifts or consuming local beverages which might encourage them to act independently.
MANAMA, Bahrain — A 1 a.m. curfew is now in force for all U.S. personnel, civilians and dependents in Bahrain, Navy officials announced Thursday.
Previously, curfew times varied depending on a servicemember’s rank. Dependents, civilians and contractors could stay out all night as long as they were with at least one other person.
The new policy retains a prohibition on public consumption of alcohol between midnight and 5 a.m.
Lt. Marissa Myatt, a U.S. Navy 5th Fleet spokeswoman, said the new policy simplifies and clarifies the previous regulations.
“It’s smart to get people off the streets,” she said. “Nothing good happens after 1 a.m.”
Renouncing US Citizenship, for tax and political reasons
“RT segment from April 15, 2013 in ‘honor’ of US income tax day. Features noted figures Jet Li and Eduardo Saverin, who recently quit their American citizenship for tax reasons. Freddi M. Weintraub, a tax attorney, provides insight into the law surrounding expatriation. Segment concludes with an interview with Mike Gogulski (me), who renounced his US citizenship in 2008 for political reasons and has lived without any nationality since — a stateless person.”
Aren’t those Canadian Snowbirds lucky to be able to extend their stay … or are they?
CARP: Canadian Snowbirds Might Be Able to Extend Their Stay
Toronto Sun: Canadian snowbirds might get to extend their stay south of the border
WASHINGTON – HIDDEN in a sweeping new American immigration reform bill is one small provision aimed at Canadians — making it easier for grey-haired snowbirds to spend more time in the sun.
The short section — buried in 844 pages of legislation — would boost the consecutive amount of time Canadian retirees can spend south of the border from six months to eight.
Canadian Snowbirds might be able to extend their stay
Canadian retirees may soon be able to stay in the United States for an extra two months, up to a total of eight months per year. The US legislation called Jobs Originated through Launching Travel (JOLT) Act, known to many Canadian snowbirds as the “Canadian Retiree Visa” is currently under review by the US Senate. In addition to the extended stay in the US, legislation would expand access to visa services, improve out-dated visa processing systems, speed up visa processing, and expedite entry for priority visitors as well as establish a visa video conferencing pilot program, if the legislation is passed.
The eligibility requirements for the Canadian Retiree Visa are the following:
Have Canadian citizenship;
Be 55 years of age or older;
Maintain a residence in Canada;
Own a residence in the U.S. or have a rental agreement for the duration of stay;
Will not engage in employment while in the United States; and
Will not seek assistance or benefit.The Act is part of the United States’ efforts to boost their economy via tourism, and it is attempting to capitalize on the increasing number of Canadian visitors and the business they bring when travelling.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadian residents took 20 million overnight trips to the U.S in 2010, an 11.1% jump from the previous year, and spent $18.2 billion. It is no surprise that the US sees this as an opportunity, but at what costs to Canada and Canadian residents is unknown yet.
While many are happy about this news, Canadians should keep in mind that this Act may affect them, especially with respect to provincial health plans and residency issues for income tax purposes. CARP will seek more information from provincial and federal government, but at the moment it is uncertain whether Canadians will be able to keep their provincial health coverage if they are out of the country for the additional time provided by the JOLT Act. CARP will continue to monitor and report on the JOLT Act and its potential effects on Canadians travellers.
Blocked at U.S. border, expatriate lives out of his car in South Surrey
Another individual made the mistake of wanting to work in America. Bad idea.
By Nick Greenizan – Peace Arch News
Published: May 03, 2013 8:00 AMGeorge wants to go home.
Home to his fiancée and her 14-year-old son in Blaine, Wash.; and home to all his possessions, currently packed and awaiting transfer to Ohio, where he and his new family were planning to move last month to start a new life.
Instead, for the better part of three weeks, home for the 45-year-old Ontario native – who asked to be identified only by his first name – has been the backseat of his Acura TL, which he’s been living in with his dog since being denied re-entry into the United States on April 16, a day after the Boston Marathon bombings.
My favorite part of the article is the talk about the job title:
and told me they were not approving my TN visa, and that he didn’t really think I was a computer-systems analyst,” George explained. “He’d looked at my resumé and nowhere was that job title listed – it was always something similar, like application developer or software developer. But it’s all the same thing.”
It’s all the same. Depending upon the situation or who I talk to, my job title could be computer-systems analyst, software analyst, application developer, software developer, software engineer, computer specialist, information technology, database administer, solutions architect, programmer, technical supporter, web developer, business information developer, etc. The line between what one does and how it is called is not very clear and the more experience that one has working in other areas, the better.
By the way, last week on a week vacation, I drove 5 times into France, 5 times into Italy, once to Monaco and once to Switzerland with nothing but an expired Swiss id card which I used to check into the hotel and for a few other things. Yet, nobody cared. It’s not America.
Fugitive Fortunes Tracked in Canada
Fugitive Fortunes Tracked in Canada is the big cover page headline in the May 2-8 print issue of Asian Pacific Post. Read the story online here:
http://www.asianpacificpost.com/article/5518-fugitive-fortunes-tracked-canada.html
Now Beijing in addition to signing an agreement to get at the fugitives, is working on plan with Ottawa to share the assets that Chinese fugitives illegally transferred to Canada.
Negotiations are in advanced stages and an agreement should be reached in the next few months, Canadian Ambassador Guy Saint-Jacques told China Daily.
If Canada gets a good cut from that asset pool, maybe it will feel better about writing off what the U.S. extracts from “US persons” who happen to reside in Canada? Or. Is next step to provide the U.S. access to its Canadian “fugitives” if the U.S. will go halvies?
China does not allow dual citizenship, so did Deng Xiaoping’s grandson Deng Zhuodi renounce his U.S. citizenship?
Deng Zhuodi (邓卓棣), the 28-year-old grandson of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, has just taken up a new position as Vice-Governor of Pingguo County in Baise City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. English-language reports from Bloomberg and the South China Morning Post give a little more detail, but leave out a crucial fact mentioned widely in Chinese-language reports from outside the mainland (such as those from the BBC’s Chinese service and from Taiwan’s NOW News) — Deng Zhuodi was born in the U.S. while his father Deng Zhifang was studying at the University of Rochester.
“Tax Evasion and the Use of Tax Havens” Report of the Standing Committee on Finance Released
The report has been released as of May, 2013. I didn’t read most of it but scanned through until it came to the section on FATCA (Chapter 4, Tax Collection Agencies and the Exchange of Tax Information).
I am reproducing the entire section; emphases are mine:
U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
In their appearance before the Committee, some witnesses discussed the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which came into force on March 18, 2010. The FATCA requires foreign banks to disclose annually, to the IRS, the names of all American account holders, or a 30% withholding tax will be applied on all U.S. income earned by the institution or by an account holder. The Canadian Bankers Association stated that, with the FATCA, the United States is trying to bypass the exchange of information between the IRS and foreign tax authorities and, instead, to get information directly from foreign financial institutions. In its view, this approach could create problems because of conflicts between Canadian privacy legislation and the FATCA.
As well, a number of witnesses said that the size of the U.S. economy and the amount of money invested in the United States by non-resident individuals has allowed the United States to have some success with reporting requirements in respect of foreign accounts. While Arthur Cockfield suggested that Canada should pursue mandatory bank account reporting requirements for foreign financial institutions operating in Canada, David Sohmer thought that this measure would be much more difficult for the Canadian government to pursue due to the relatively small size of the Canadian economy and the importance of foreign investment in Canada. Robert Kepes advocated an examination of the implementation of a FATCA-like regime for foreign financial institutions that operate in Canada, while Global Financial Integrity indicated that Canada should implement its own version of FATCA in order to prevent cross-border tax evasion by individuals. The Tax Justice Network requested a FATCA-like regime that would apply to foreign branches of Canadian banks and would require such branches to submit financial information in relation to Canadian account holders to the CRA or risk losing the right to operate in Canada. Finally, in order to promote the exchange of taxpayer information, Arthur Cockfield advocated incentives that would induce tax havens and offshore financial centres.
While I am not surprised, I did hope there might be some mention of how badly FATCA will affect certain Canadian citizens and perhaps a hint of whether or not Canada would actually sign on to FATCA/IGA. There is nothing in the recommendations to indicate any approach to FATCA. The focus seems to be totally on the ineffectiveness of bilateral agreements/TIEA’s and that the move should be toward automatic information exchange.
Considering all the grief Brockers have to deal with when trying to come into compliance, Scot Michael outlined some key points that the Voluntary Disclosure Program of CRA should include. Imagine how much better we would all feel if the US approach were more like this.
*amnesty from criminal prosecution,
*penalties proportional to the offence
* no penalties for non-resident individuals who pay foreign income tax
* timely resolution of cases
* random checks of amended returns in order to ensure compliance
* aggressive enforcement of tax law
Both the NDP and the Liberals added sections with recommendations of their own; none would seem to directly affect our situation. Perhaps Tim could outline what happens with these reports and whether or not they have much influence on future government decisions.
Accounting Today reports on growing Rand Paul FATCA controversy
Thanks to Tim for mentioning this news on the Elizabeth May thread:
Rand Paul Blamed for Blocking FATCA
Washington, D.C. (May 2, 2013)
By Michael Cohn
The research and advocacy organization Global Financial Integrity is urging Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to allow the Senate to vote on agreements negotiated by the Treasury Department with Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hungary and other countries to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, in an effort to ferret out tax evaders.
Senate rules allow any Senator to place a “hold” on legislation removing it from consideration, and Paul has placed holds on bills to implement every tax treaty negotiated since his election in 2010, according to GFI.
Here are links to some other related articles and previous posts:
US senator, lobby group in tax info disclosure pushback
Senator Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties (Businesses eager for treaties to win Senate approval)
FATCA Response from Elizabeth May
Dear Mr. xxx,
Thank you for contacting me about the ongoing situation regarding the potential for Canadian citizens born in the United States to be pursued for US income tax by the IRS.
As you know, the situation is complicated and the legal status of Canadians born in the US, the threat of IRS action, and the possibility of real punitive action is still unclear. As a Canadian citizen born in the US, I can assure you that I share your concerns and am dedicated to defending the equality rights of all affected citizens.
I am dedicated to taking action on your behalf. I have sent correspondence to the Prime Minister on the issue. The government has taken the position I urged and is forcefully advocating that the US stop targeting law-abiding Canadians in pursuit of those US citizens hiding in the Cayman Islands.
In addition, I recently met with the US Ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson. He is also very much absorbed by the controversy. His main message to me was that I should share with my constituents his wish that we “stay calm.” He indicated to me that he understands the issues and is working closely with officials at all levels of government in the US and Canada to find a pragmatic solution to this problem.
You are not alone in this situation. Many are seeking a solution to the problem. I will keep you posted as I work to find a sensible approach. In the meantime, please keep me posted through my constituency office of any changes in your situation.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth May, O.C., M.P.
Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands
Leader of the Green Party of Canada