CANADIAN FATCA LITIGATION UPDATE March 1, 2021:
LITIGATION PROGRESS: The Memorandum of Fact and Law (key arguments) has been filed on December 15, 2020 (see our ADCS website). February 26, 2021 is the deadline date for Canada to respond with their Factum. Then we formally request by March 29, 2021 hearing date. Then, the trial and oral arguments. The slow litigation moves forward. All this likely to go to the Supreme Court. My (SK) personal guess is that the trial itself will take place autumn 2021.
DONATIONS ARE NEEDED TO FUND our lawsuit, now at Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal, attacking the constitutionality, regarding autonomy, privacy, and equality rights, of the Canadian FATCA IGA legislation that was imposed by the United States on Canada. We want our sovereignty back.
You can DONATE by cheque and cash in the mail, PayPal (easiest) and transfers.
Our four ADCS Board members are John Richardson (co-chair and legal counsel), Patricia Moon (Treasurer), Carol Tapanila, and Stephen Kish (Chair).
— The FATCA Canada lawsuit seeks to strike down the FATCA IGA and enabling provisions of Canada’s Income Tax Act in their entirety. The ligitation began in 2014 and is now at the Canada Federal Court of Appeal stage — likely to be resolved at the Supreme Court.
— The Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty and Plaintiffs Gwen and Kazia have met the first installment milestone (C$45,000) for legal costs (Canadians and International Supporters, thank you for your support!) and we now estimate that we will need a further C$50,513 to cover remaining expenses.
ADCS Legal Advisor John Richardson says: “The Government of Canada’s lawyers are openly justifying FATCA and the FATCA IGAs in order to pacify the United States which is (at least at present) a Foreign Government. By funding the FATCA Canada lawsuit, you are sending a clear message to the Government of Canada that you will not allow them to surrender Canada’s sovereignty to the United States.
Justice Mactavish, in ruling against us in Federal Court, said that it is “important” to avoid consequences threatened by the U.S. But we say not at the expense of our Charter rights.Please help end one of the FATCA compliance laws that impact on all of our countries.
CBC says that, for 2018 tax year, information on 900,000 financial records of Canadian residents was turned over by Canada to U.S. IRS because of the Canadian FATCA law. Gwen and Kazia, two Canadian citizens having no meaningful relationship with the U.S., are appealing on your behalf the Federal Court decision to the Canadian Court of Appeal.
The grounds for appeal are focused on the loss of our privacy rights (Charter section 8).
Gwen and Kazia ask for your help in paying for the legal costs of the appeal.
If you feel that the FATCA IGA is not good for Canada or for your country PLEASE DONATE.
Appellants and the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty thank you for your past support. SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS (ADCS-ADSC).
You can SEND DONATIONS by cheque, cash, PayPal (easiest), and transfers.
For more details see: Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty
Although I am COVID weary and cash strapped, I will attempt to send in another donation before Christmas. Also agree with Barbara that Biden will be another wishy washy Obama. Although Trump has been a nightmare for reasons beyond FATCA.
As Barbara has said, “Expats will again resurface as the enemy and the easy target cash cow to pay for this years huge stimulus payments”.
Biden will be making tax policy changes which go beyond taxing the wealthy. I believe he will also raise taxes for ordinary folks. Anyone who may come into a US inheritance down the road beware. Please see the following:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2020/11/02/bidens-tax-increase-on-death-that-no-one-is-talking-about/?sh=675ddbcc376f
If I had US assets or an expectation of a US inheritance, I’d be concerned right now. (I did read somewhere that wealthier Americans are shifting money around like mad trying to make gifts to children and set up trusts etc. before year-end, just in case.)
I would also expect a rise in the number of renunciation requests, which is why I dashed off my own e-mail on the morning the networks called the election for Biden.
But the idea that expats are an “easy target cash cow” is as wrong today as it’s ever been. There’s no ROI in it for the US government, particularly when you take into account the invulnerability of dual citizens. Which isn’t to say that lots of folks won’t be fleeced by expat tax firms, unfortunately.
I doubt that the US will ever end US tax on its expats plus now I am now looking at reports that IRS wants to go after these expats expecting them to cough up some money on false promises. They can’t tax their corporations as they have a team of lawyers behind these corporations. They would rather go after poor citizens.
And what reports might those be? Do tell.
Re;
““Privacy is at the heart of liberty in a modern state…it is worthy of constitutional protection…it has profound significance for the public order” :
And what of the privacy and security of the Canadian owned and sited banking, financial and personal data that Canada agreed to automatically collect and turn over to the US – bending to an extraterritorial foreign nation’s law, as enabled in Canada via the unconstitutional FATCA IGA (pushed through by the Cons in an omnibus bill, and upheld later in a hypocritical and abrupt about face from the Glibs). Now made potentially vulnerable by the US departments that may not be able to protect the Canadian data extracted via extortionate threat?
Can the Canadian federal government defending against the ADCS lawsuit, and the CRA and Privacy Commissioner answer whether any personal and financial information belonging to Canadians was compromised by the hack of US government agencies such as the IRS and Treasury and US FINCEN – who demanded our data via FATCA and FBARs? And what recourse is available? What assistance is the Canadian government offering to Canadians if our data – current, and past (FATCA and FBARs) was breached via the IRS and US Treasury?
https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/121720%20Grassley%20Wyden%20Letter%20to%20IRS%20RE%20SolarWinds%20Hack.pdf
https://www.pcmag.com/news/us-hack-on-government-agencies-goes-beyond-solarwinds-users
I’m sure that though it was years ago now, I will never be able to know whether the Canadian banking and personal data I filed via FBARs in a (in hindsight – misguided) effort to “comply” in good faith, kept by the IRS and FINCEN for an unspecified period of time was and is still secured.
This is why we advise Canadians to not file FBARs, and to not check the little “Are you resident of another country for tax purposes?” box when applying for a bank account.
It’s a simple and effective means of protecting one’s privacy, vis-a-vis the US government.