Another good reason 4 #FATCA data collection. HMRC is considering selling its UK taxpayer info to interested parties http://t.co/rVxIRC340S
— Marvin Van Horn (@FATCA_Fallout) April 19, 2014
Just_Me tweeted this today and it brings to mind some of the concerns arising out of the beginning of the end of any kind of privacy as we know it whether it be financial, medical or just plain personal. This article also reminded me of some of Abby Deshman’s points at the Pathways2Privacy Symposium which some Brockers attended on March 20-21 in Toronto. I was shocked to find out that the police keep a file on each and every type of contact made with the public. Examples are making 911 calls, criminal convictions, acquittals, stay-of-proceedings, not-criminally responsible verdicts, suspects never charged and even casual police contact. I was even more shocked to hear that there is almost no privay protection for this information and that the police routinely release such information on demand for servicing or on demand by the community. (!) In addition, there is a growing industry in Canada and the US (and possibly now, the UK) of selling this information to 3rd party providers. This amounts to the police making a profit from releasing records that most of the public believes and expects to be private.
Consider these statements from the BBC article:
(my emphases)
“If given the go-ahead it would allow HMRC to release anonymous tax data to third parties including companies, researchers and public bodies.”
“But concern has been raised over the plans in the wake of the Care.data initiative – a proposed anonymous sharing of NHS medical records – which is currently suspended after fears were raised as to exactly what information would remain anonymous.”
“Mr Davis told the Guardian: “The officials who drew this up clearly have no idea of the risks to data in an electronic age.”
“Our forefathers put these checks and balances in place when the information was kept in cardboard files, and data was therefore difficult to appropriate and misuse.”
“It defies logic that we would remove those restraints at a time when data can be collected by the gigabyte, processed in milliseconds and transported around the world almost instantaneously.”
A HMRC spokesman said: “HMRC would only share data where this would generate clear public benefits, and where there are robust safeguards in place.”
As if there are not enough threats to our personal privacy already in place (local police, FATCA-IGA on the horizon and the NSA), should we expect to hear soon that THE CRA will be selling “anonymous” tax data to third parties?
So…let me ask, is Ann our resident US “compliancy troll?”
@Don, on another thread I saw that you wrote that DVLA changed your place of birth on your drivers license from USA to I assume the town where you were born.
Can you provide detail of your request?
@Don
I too would like to have mine changed to city of birth, as it is in my passport. I can’t see why this isn’t possible. The is principally from the standpoint that I am a UK citizen and have always been uncomfortable with something that may mark me as anything other than a UK citizen living in the UK.
Here’s more confirmation what Cameron has signed the UK up for with the IGA.
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-treasury-department-sharing-bank-data-intelligence-agencies-limits-1596256
The US Treasury will share banking data with other US agencies.
So UK FFI sends data (probably via a 3rd party vendor and only God knows about the security) to the HMRC, HMRC sends it off to the IRS, and then the US Treasury (IRS’s boss) does what it likes around the US Government.
This is why FATCA must be challenged in UK courts.
What’s more if a UK FFI sends someone’s data in error, there is no mechanism to grab the data back off the US once its sent. Isn’t that fantastic! The US keeps it forever. Data goes on a one way journey only.