Monthly Archives: March 2014

ACA Urges Congress To Adopt Residence-Based Taxation
by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

07 March 2014

American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has provided testimony to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Investigations Subcommittee following its recent hearing on offshore tax evasion, and has recommended that the United States should implement a residence-based tax (RBT) system to avoid penalizing American expatriates.

The ACA, as the principal organization representing Americans overseas, has limited its comments to tax issues which impact US citizens and green card holders resident overseas.

Under the current citizenship-based tax (CBT) system, Americans abroad remain subject to US taxation as though they were still US residents. Under RBT, only US residents, whether Americans or foreigners, would be subject to US income, estate and gift taxation, while Americans resident abroad would be taxed under essentially the same rules applicable to non-resident aliens.

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http://massrealestatelawblog.com/2014/01/26/asking-where-are-you-from-results-in-60000-discrimination-penalty/

Asking “Where Are You From?” Results In $60,000 Rental Discrimination Penalty

Innocent Small Talk Apparently Illegal, According to Boston Fair Housing Commission

The seemingly innocent question posed by a Boston rental agent to Gladys Linder when they were searching for an apartment was “Where are you from?”

“Venezuela,” she answered.

Gladys and her husband went on to find an apartment a month later without further incident. But she found the question about her national origin insulting and upsetting.

This is Massachusetts, and you know what came next.

Stokel filed a complaint with the Boston Fair Housing Commission, claiming that rental agent’s question was discriminatory and caused her to suffer fear, anxiety and sleeplessness over a three-year period.

Seriously?

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B and the Boston Fair Housing Commission Regulations make it illegal for any licensed real estate broker “to cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concerning . . . national origin.”

DONORS: We Did It!!

We just made our target of $18,500 

PLEASE STOP FURTHER DONATIONS  

The Donation button is now closed, only six days after the launch of the Canadian Charter Challenge Fund ~ and well AHEAD of our three week schedule.

Thank you all so much for being part of this important first in fighting the FATCA invasion into our honest, productive lives as Canadian citizens and residents. Together, we can make a difference.

NEXT STEPS:

• We will sign today a contract between Lynne Swanson and Stephen Kish, on behalf of all of the donors, and the Vancouver law firm of Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy, which will provide a legal opinion on the constitutionality of the proposed IGA legislation.  We are issuing a bank draft to pay most of the legal fee with the remainder provided once the cheques and donations still in the mail have cleared the bank.
• We are hoping that there will be little if any money received beyond the requested $18,500.  Should there be extra monies, these will be distributed per the details provided in the CCCF website.
• Approximately 30 days from today we will conduct a final accounting of all monies received, expended, and all fees paid and publish this information on the CCCF website.

Remember, this is just the first step, and we all know that the next step will be much more difficult.  

“Take the first step in faith.  You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step” ~Martin Luther King Jr.~

Stephen Kish and Lynne Swanson thank you for having the faith to take that first step with us.  

We are so very happy to announce that we have reached the amount we need to engage Joe Arvay for a legal opinion as to whether we have a case for the Charter Challenge.

PLEASE – DO NOT SEND ANY FUTHER DONATIONS REGARDING THE CANADIAN CHARTER CHALLENGE FUND!

We are extremely grateful to all who were able to give to this cause. We are sure some of you had to dig deeper than might be comfortable to donate. We appreciate that more than you will ever know.

A more formal announcement will follow but had to get this up immediately.

With thanks,

Stephen, Lynne, GwEvil & Tricia

Elizabeth May and the Green Party of Canada have spoken out against the recently announced FATCA IGA between Canada and the US.  On Monday, Ms. May raised the issue of Charter rights in Question Period.  From Open Parliament, here is her exchange with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty:

Elizabeth May Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise to ask a question today of the Minister of Finance relating to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, FATCA.

On the U.S. side of the border, there are concerns raised that because the treaties have not been ratified through the U.S. Senate, these may not be legally binding treaties in any case; and on the Canadian side of the border, no less a legal expert than Peter Hogg, former dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, has written the advice that this very likely will violate section 15 of the Charter by treating some Canadians differently from others.

More than 30 years ago, I learned constitutional law in a textbook he wrote.

What will the minister say to its constitutionality?

 

Jim Flaherty Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I was taught by Peter Hogg as well. I got an A in the tax course.

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UPDATE: Sorry folks, the interview wasn’t yesterday, but will air today (March 5) at 4:15 pm Pacific; 7:15 Eastern.

Thanks to the persistence of one read at Isaac Brock, I spoke with Jon McComb of Vancouver’s CKNW, and the interview will play on the live stream at 20:35 Eastern / 17:35 Pacific Time.  Subject: FATCA and its impact on so-called US persons in Canada.

Afterwards, the show is available here: http://www.cknw.com/the-world-today/