Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Bravo MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault for keeping the pressure up on FATCA!

Posted on by Posted in Issues regarding US persons abroad 10 Comments

With thanks to badger, who found this and passed it on.

The NDP now pressures the Liberals on FATCA IGA information turnover.
Here is some info on MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault, Critic for National Revenue (this guy is doing his job!). Perhaps we should thank him, communicate with him on an ongoing basis, etc. Contact info at bottom of post.
 

 

Q-352 – January 21, 2016 – Mr. Dusseault (Sherbrooke) –
 
 
With respect to the September 2015 announcement of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that it would effectuate a transfer of information to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS):
 

  • (a) how many records has the CRA transferred to the IRS to date;

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  • (b) on what dates did information transfer occur and how many records were transferred on each date;

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  • (c) how many records of individuals have been transferred in total;

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  • (d) by what means were the records transferred;

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  • (e) how much did it cost the CRA to compile the records for transfer;

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  • (f) how much did it cost the CRA to complete the transfer;

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  • (g) how were the costs in

      (e) and (f) calculated and what is the breakdown of those costs;

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  • (h) who made the decision to transfer the records;

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  • (i) when was the decision made to transfer records;

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  • (j) when did the CRA become aware that the U.S. Treasury had extended the deadline for such transfer

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  • (k) how was the CRA made aware that the U.S. Treasury had extended the deadline;

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  • (l) what steps were taken to assess and respond to the notice of deadline extension in (j)

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  • (m) what was the policy reason for transferring records despite the deadline extension;

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  • (n) when is the next transfer of records scheduled to take place;

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  • (o) what analysis was conducted to assess whether the transfer of records during the   writ period for the 42nd General Election complied with the “Guidelines on the Conduct of   Ministers, Ministers of State, Exempt Staff and Public Servants During an Election”;

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  • (p) what records exist with respect to any analysis conducted in relation to (o);

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  • (q) was information concerning the transfer of records from the CRA to the IRS included in any  transition materials prepared for a potential change in government or the Ministers responsible for CRA and Foreign Affairs;

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  • (r) what documents exist in relation to (q) and what are their file numbers;

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  • (s) has the new Minister responsible for CRA been informed of information transfers to the IRS and, if so,

    (i) when,
    (ii) how,
    (iii) by whom,
    (iv) with what documents produced or prepared for this purpose;

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  • (t) has the new Minister of Justice been informed of the information transfer and been provided with any analysis of its legal implications and, if so,

    (i) when,
    (ii) how,
    (iii) by whom,
    (iv) with what documents produced or prepared for this purpose;

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  • (u) have Canadians who will be affected by the transfer been informed of the transfer of their  records;

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  • (v) what plans exist with regard to informing Canadians about the transfer of their records;

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  • (w) has any proposal to inform Canadians of the transfer of their information to the IRS been evaluated by the government and, if so, with what conclusions;

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  • (x) what documents exist in relation to (w) and what are their file numbers;

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  • (y) what legal challenges does the government anticipate with respect to information transfer,and how is it preparing to respond;

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  • (z) what measures are in place to ensure the security of record transfers to the IRS; and

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  • (aa) has the Privacy Commissioner been consulted or involved in any way in the preparation or planning of record transfer to ensure conformity with applicable laws regarding the exchange of Canadians’ personal information and, if so, to what extent?

 
 

NDP page

Twitter: @PLDusseault

FB page

Contact via webpage

Pierre-Luc.Dusseault@parl.gc.ca

Ottawa:
Telephone: 613-943-7896
Fax: 613-943-7902

100 Belvédère Street South (Main Office)
Suite 130
Sherbrooke, Quebec
J1H 4B5
 
 

10 thoughts on “Bravo MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault for keeping the pressure up on FATCA!”

  1. It’s a damn shame that the effort to vote strategically in getting Harper out of office has resulted in the Conservatives replacing the NDP as Canada’s official opposition. That’s enough to make Harper snigger even with the trouncing he got.

    Who are you going to side with on the FATCA IGA, Mr Trudeau, the NDP or the Conservatives?

  2. To debunk the myth of reciprocity, perhaps, questions surrounding how many records has the CRA received back from the IRS and other pertinent questions surrounding this issue.

    The Government has claimed this is a reason for entering into the IGA.

  3. Bravo! Great questions which we hope to get answers to if not now, then when our lawyers examine the government’s witnesses in Discovery. In the House, they may give their typical talking point non responses but they may be less artful and comfortable, under oath, during our legal examinations.
    Great catch, Badger.

  4. Sent today to M. Dusseault

    Merci infiniment pour votre intérêt au sujet de FATCA.
    3 points. I believe there is less knowledge of the harm done to so called ‘accidental Americans’ in Québec than in other parts of Canada. Because of the situation in Stanstead- Derby Line, there is probably a concentration of affected individuals in your riding

    You will learn of the many problems with FATCA. One that gets less attention is the issue of reciprocity. C’est une imposture. The US has no intention of transferring files on anyone let alone US residents.

    There are no IRS documents in French for those of your constituents who may wish to try and file.

  6. And if the Canadian government wants to look further, at what Quebec and Canada can expect with OECD CRS (GATCA) as the US will exceptionally differ from other countries, using FATCA as their basis even for that. From the article…

    The U.S. failure to sign onto the OECD information-sharing standard is “proving to be a strong driver of growth for our business,” wrote Bolton’s chief executive officer, Ray Grenier, in a marketing e-mail to bankers. His firm is seeing a spike in accounts moved out of European banks—“Switzerland in particular”—and into the U.S. The new OECD standard “was the beginning of the exodus,” he said in an interview.

    The U.S. Treasury is proposing standards similar to the OECD’s for foreign-held accounts in the U.S. But similar proposals in the past have stalled in the face of opposition from the Republican-controlled Congress and the banking industry.

  7. @Duke of Devon

    I brought up the reciprocity issue with Mr Dusseault too. I haven’t heard back from him yet. I’d like to put him in touch with Prof Christians for more info on just what Canada isn’t getting.

  8. M. Dusseault returns e-mails promptly. Better than most MPs. His immediate response.

    Merci de m’avoir écrit.
    Nous allons vous faire parvenir la réponse du gouvernement concernant les échanges d’information sous la FATCA lorsque celle-ci sera disponible. Soyez assuré que nous continuerons de questionner le gouvernement quant à la protection de la vie privée de tous les Canadiens.
    Merci de m’avoir écrit, n’hésitez pas à m’écrire à nouveau.

    Rough translation from my high school french- ‘ We will send you the government’s response when available. Rest assured we will continue to press the government concerning the privacy of all Canadians.

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