Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Posted on by Posted in Issues regarding US persons abroad 2,208 Comments

March 8, 2016 UPDATE: Legal fees paid — on to Federal Court for Charter trial contesting Canadian FATCA IGA legislation.

Canadians and International Supporters:

You came through once again: $594,970 for legal costs have now been donated and our outstanding legal bill is finally paid off.

Thanks especially to those who donated even though they never had any “spare” money to give, and despite this gave over and over and over again.

This last round of fundraising also shows that our Canadian lawsuit remains dependent on the kindness of our International Friends: There would be no lawsuit without their financial help.

Know that a very generous donation (today) from a supporter in the United States made it possible to pay off the remaining legal debt. Also please appreciate that there would be no lawsuit without the help of the Isaac Brock Society which has kindly let us use its website to solicit funds.

Our next step is the Constitutional-Charter trial in Federal Court.

For this we need more Canadian Witnesses, and my next post will be devoted only to a request for Witnesses willing to go public, like our Plaintiffs Ginny and Gwen.

For the future: I want a win in Federal Court — and I want the new Liberal Government not to appeal that win.

Thank you all for your support,

Stephen Kish,
for the Directors,
Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty

2,208 thoughts on “CANADIANS AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTERS: Thank you for $594,970 donated and overdue legal bill paid off — Next step is Federal Court Constitutional-Charter trial”

  1. @Tim, re;
    “…..Chrystia Freeland who has been discussed here frequently is now the Minister of International Trade….”
    What are her credentials for such an important post? Particularly when it comes to the TPP – which to me is an incredibly important and potentially debilitating agreement – kept secret from Canadians. Freeland is a journalist with education in Russian history and literature, Slavonic studies. She speaks several languages – which I agree is an asset. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrystia_Freeland . But writing about trade and business isn’t the same thing as understanding trade agreements like the TPP – with wily opponents. I am concerned.

    I would have preferred someone like Scott Brison.

  2. @calgary411

    Thanks. I was more asking about what the role of the Finance Minister is in all of this–not so much about Bill Morneau himself. The Finance Minister was key to the negotiations but isn’t a defendant–I’m trying to get a handle on his/her role. It is too soon to know what Bill Morneau will personally to bring to the table but it isn’t IMHO too soon to know what we might expect from a Finance Minister in this regard.

  4. I was still looking.

    Here is early work from Finance Minister James Flaherty:
    https://isaacbrocksociety.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/post-re-flaherty4.pdf
    https://isaacbrocksociety.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/hon_jim_flaherty_new1.pdf
    https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Information-for-U.S.-Citizens-or-Dual-Citizens-Residing-Outside-the-U.S. (updated from original)
    https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/01/26/my-further-correspondence-with-one-of-our-canadian-ndp-members-of-parliament/
    https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/03/21/new-letter-from-flaherty-about-fatca/
    https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/02/20/response-from-leader-of-liberal-party-of-canada/
    https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/05/23/canadas-registered-disability-savings-plan-rdsp-canadas-finance-minister-flaherty-responds-regarding-this-as-well-as-the-resp-and-tfsa/
    …and when I completely lost hope in his efforts: https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2014/02/24/finance-minister-jim-flaherty-is-already-effectively-stripping-canadians-of-us-origin-of-their-canadian-citizenship/

    PS: I don’t include the last Finance Minister, Joe Oliver, as he appeared (to me) to be without a mind of his own and walked in lockstep with the rest of the Harper government.

  7. “https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Information-for-U.S.-Citizens-or-Dual-Citizens-Residing-Outside-the-U.S. (updated from original)”

    The link needs editing to include the trailing period. If someone edits it, please check the result before leaving it alone. I’ll try here, though without a preview functionality I can’t test whether it will be posted correctly here.

    https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Information-for-U.S.-Citizens-or-Dual-Citizens-Residing-Outside-the-U.S.

  9. OK, my latest attempt succeeded as shown, and I’ll try to duplicate it here before asking a question.

    https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Information-for-U.S.-Citizens-or-Dual-Citizens-Residing-Outside-the-U.S%2E (updated from original)

    That is very interesting reading. But I can’t find where Mr. Flaherty made a contribution. I suppose he might have contributed wording in negotiations with the IRS but it’s not obvious in that page.

    Now, reading that page, it seems to me that they would not have penalized Marcio V. Pinheiro.

    “Example 4: Taxpayer is a United States citizen who lives and works in Country B as a computer programmer. Taxpayer has checking and savings accounts with a bank that is located in the city where he lives. The aggregate balance of the checking and savings accounts is $50,000 during the tax year. Taxpayer complied with Country B’s tax laws and properly reported all his income on Country B tax returns. Taxpayer failed to file federal income tax returns and failed to file FBARs to report his financial interest in the checking and savings accounts. After reading recent press and thus learning of his federal income tax return and FBAR reporting obligations, Taxpayer filed delinquent FBARs, reporting both foreign accounts, and attached statements to the FBARs explaining that he was previously unaware of his obligation to report the accounts on an FBAR. Taxpayer also filed federal income tax returns properly reporting all income and no tax was due. The IRS will determine whether the FBAR violation was due to reasonable cause based on all the facts and circumstances. Taxpayer had a legitimate purpose for maintaining the foreign accounts, there were no indications of efforts taken to intentionally conceal the reporting of income or assets, and no tax was due. Taxpayer’s explanation for why he failed to timely file an FBAR appears reasonable in view of the facts and circumstances of the case. Since the IRS determined that the FBAR violation was due to reasonable cause, no FBAR penalty will be asserted.”

    They do say “Country B” not “Country C” ^_^
    Though Dr. Pinheiro was a doctor not a computer programmer, right?

    Hmm, same city exemption instead of same country exemption. And oh no, a trust company might not be a bank (until they’re taken over by a bank). When I was a computer programmer in Country C sometimes I had an account at a trust company in a city adjacent to the city where I lived.

    So what did they attack him for? Did he unknowingly actually owe a few cents, or a few nonsense, of US tax?

    Other parts of that page talk about accuracy of filings. Does anyone know why?

    The IRS penalized me for being accurate. The Tax Court judge agreed, saying that IRS employees are poorly trained and they get confused by accurate declarations, that’s why the law requires me to sign the preprinted jurat without alteration. Later the USDOJ and two other courts agreed. The IRS never pointed me to IRB 2005-14 but recently I found it by accident, and it agrees.

    On the other hand, the Tax Crimes Handbook was published by the IRS in 2009 and says that a court punished someone for signing a jurat that he didn’t believe. Also Donna L. Todd lost a case for damages because of the reason that the IRS did not hold it frivolous when she wrote an accurate statement.

    So, does anyone have a history of the IRS pendulum? In which years was it illegal to be accurate, and in which years was it illegal to be inaccurate?

  10. Re: *But I can’t find where Mr. Flaherty made a contribution.*

    Canadian Finance Minister James Flaherty would not have made a contribution. He would have referred to it in correspondence to *US Person* Canadians in the beginning for many of us here at Brock.

  11. Having thought some more about Stephen’s comment I believe Liberal MP’s Hedy Fry and Joyce Murray(Both from BC) also made anti FATCA anti IGA comments at various points. When I get some time I will try to look them up.

    I believe these comments go all the way back to the early OVDI era.

  12. Letter now in the mail (snail mail) to my new MP and Minister of Finance Bill Morneau!

    Thanks for the material again @calgary411. I used some of it and will follow up with an email to Mr. Morneau in a few days (once I know the email is working for new MPs) and use more material.

  15. Thanks from me as well, Dash, for taking the time to compose a relevant letter to the new Finance Minister / who would also be your Canadian MP, Bill Morneau.

  16. I have written my letter to my newly elected liberal mp but want to cc the appropriate ministers. I can only find their mp addresses. Do they have ministerial email addresses? Does anyone know what they are?

    Jody Wilson-Raybould (minister of justice)
    Scott Brison
    John McCollum
    Stephane soon
    Diane lebouthillier

    Thanks

  17. @ Cheryl
    Did you mean Stéphane Dion? MP addresses will do. I’m not sure if there are “ministerial” addresses. None of my e-mails (new or re-elected MPs) bounced back (so far). For Justin Trudeau I used pm@pm.gc.ca since the pm.gc.ca page has been updated to expunge Stephen Harper. I rather like the sound of that so I’ll say it again … to expunge Stephen Harper.

  19. I predict Jody Wilson-Reybould will quickly bring an end to several of the lawsuits the Justice Department defended under Harperman. However, I have no idea what it will mean for us.

    But in 1983, her father told Pierre Trudeau she wanted to become Prime Minister. Maybe this is her first step.

    Watch this fabulous exchange between Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Wilson at a constitutional conference on native issues (and note all the men sitting on both sides of the table and contrast that to our new Cabinet.)

  21. Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland(the new International Trade Minister) are pledging a full and open consulation of TPP. Also claim to not have been given copies of the TPP treaty by Harper until yesterday.

    Will Trudeau and Freeland also pledge a full consultation of the FATCA IGA?

    http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2678423737

  22. They don’t have the email address for JodyWilson-Raybould. Do I just use her name with the hyphen? Anyone had success?

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