The Canadian investment firm Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management claims it is an “IRS withholding agent”.
What does this mean?
Anyone?
The Canadian investment firm Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management claims it is an “IRS withholding agent”.
What does this mean?
Anyone?
This explains it in more detail:
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Withholding-Agent
Ok so…I still don’t understand…Is this is actually something allowed under Canadian law?
They are planning to make everyone tax collectors. It’s that simple
Hey more hacking in Canada
http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=29366809
There is already a regime called Qualified Intermediary (QI for short) where foreign banks receive US source income gross and then collect applicable taxes and pay them to the IRS These are Primary QIs and withholding agents. In some cases the FI who is QI is secondary, which means that they do not withhold anything, but classify their client holders and inform the US paying agent how much tax must be withheld from groups of accounts according to their US tax liability (calculated in conjunction with any claim to a tax treaty relief given on the W8 form). The FFIs that are withholding agents already will be the first group. I suspect that this firm falls into one of these two groups, depending on how accurate the claim to be a withholding agent is.
At this point, any company jumping the gun on this should be kicked out of Canada for breaking current laws that protect CANADIANS.
If Jim Flaherty claims Canada is not going to collect taxes or penalties for the IRS how can a bank or financial institution here in Canada be permitted to withhold anything at all to a Canadian citizen ? I thought this was covered in the Supreme court case of Vandemark vs the T.D. bank. The T.D. bank was not permitted to withhold funds from a Canadian citizen.
Someone needs to start lawsuits against these agencies, this is getting out of hand…
What p33t said. Right now an FFI can become a QI. This means they enter into a voluntary agreement with the IRS and as a result get automatic treaty benefits on their US holdings. That’s okay as far as it goes, since FFIs have a choice. But QI is open to abuse (UBS was a QI!). FATCA changes the definition of ‘voluntary’, replacing carrot with stick. Any FFI that is a QI will already be complying with US rules to some degree. After FATCA though they have more of them to comply with, and less choice about whether or not to remain in the QI programme. And non-QI FFIs have little choice but to now become de-facto QIs.
QI program has been in place for a few years in Canada. It sounds like any Canadian (US or non-US person) is forced to identify themselves to the IRS IF they wish to invest in US securities.
What it means is that no Canadian citizen or resident should be investing their hard earned Canadian dollars with that particular traitorous outfit!
@maz57
Yes, I think keeping your investments limited to your country of residence is probably the best way to go.
We should publically list the investment firms who are capitulating to the IRS and post them on IBS and MS so we can collectively shun them!
Any American, even accidental Americans, who has an account and has not done all the paper work the IRS requires, must by FATCA and FBAR with hold 30% of the account earnings and transmit them to the IRS. We, here in America, hate the citizenship based taxation as mush as you do. Only our politicians like these laws.
You know what’s going to hit the fan soon…
@Wilton Tidwell but if you live in the US it doesn’t matter if it’s citizenship based taxation because you are a resident there, so the taxation is the same as if it was resident based taxation. But why should a Canadian who is an accidental American by virtue of being born in the US but having no ties or money or ever having worked in the US, have to face a 30% withholding extortion on their Canadian accounts when they live and work in Canada? Now that’s when citizenship based taxation is shown for the bullshit it really is!
The Department of Foreign Affairs is weighing how to respond to the apparent defiance, and the TD Bank, which is being used to wire the money to Eritrea’s central bank, said Monday it was investigating.
So……the TD Bank is accused of money laundering for terrorists?
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/27/we-dont-force-them-at-all-eritrean-diplomat-insists-consulate-is-not-extorting-money-from-citizens-in-canada/
Reminds me of George Bushes grandfather Prescott who send money through Brown Harriman to Hitler
Asked about forms the consulate had sent to Eritrean-Canadians in November and January, demanding 2% of their wages and a $300 “donation for national defence against Ethiopian invasion,” he said that was “information,” not solicitation.
In addition, the RCMP and UN have reported that those who refused to pay have been subjected to threats, intimidation and coercion. Eritrean-Canadian refugees also complain they should not have to pay taxes to a regime they fled.
‘It is our right’: Eritrea vows to continue taxing citizens in Canada despite warning from Ottawa
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/09/21/it-is-our-right-eritrea-vows-to-continue-taxing-citizens-in-canada-despite-warning-from-ottawa/
“TORONTO — The diplomat who represents one of Africa’s most authoritarian regimes said Friday his government would continue collecting what some call an “extortion tax” in Canada even though the Department of Foreign Affairs has demanded that it stop.
“We have to tax our people, it is our right,” Semere O. Micael, the Eritrean consul in Toronto, said after the National Post reported that Ottawa had sent a diplomatic note to his government making it clear he would be sent home if he continued to run the tax scheme.
Asked to respond to the consul’s comments, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s press secretary Rick Roth said: “We have made our position on this matter to the Eritreans clear, and we expect that to be respected. The government of Eritrea should not test our resolve on this matter.”
“Thousands of Eritreans have sought refuge in Canada. But even in cities like Winnipeg and Toronto, they complain, the cash-strapped government they fled has tried to tap them for money. Refusal can mean reprisals against family members still in Eritrea and stonewalling by the consulate.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution last year condemning Eritrea for resorting to “extortion, threats of violence, fraud and other illicit means to collect taxes outside of Eritrea” and for using the “diaspora tax” to procure arms for rebel groups.”
Can the Canadian government spell the word irony? How many Eritrean Canadians are there in comparison to US Canadians? And yet our government is going to bat for them (as it should) but will allow the US to extort penalies (not even actual tax!) from us, millions of us, without so much as a whimper of protest?
Just shows that the Canadian government will trade people’s lives for money. John Baird would never make a statement against the US government or stand firm on anything because of money.