Author Archives: Deckard1138

A fascinating article from Russia’s KM.RU by Valentin Katasonov. It goes a long way towards explaining the contradictory signals emanating from Russia regarding support for FATCA.  Mr. Katasonov outlines the relationships between some rather strange bedfellows – or perhaps they’re not so strange at all.

Here is the original Russian-language version:

FATCA: о чьих интересах хлопочут российские власти?

And here is the imperfect, yet reasonably intelligible Google Translation version:

FATCA: whose interests are fussing about the Russian authorities?

IRS wants to make agents out of banks and other financial institutions of the world

Abbreviation FATCA increasingly common in the Russian media. So short is called American law, the full name of which – «Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act». Translated – “On the Foreign Account Tax Compliance.”

FATCA as a tool for the construction of Pax Americana

The law was signed by U.S. President more March 18, 2010. Then began its gradual enactment. The next year, he should enter into force in its entirety. It belongs to a new generation of American laws, which can be called extraterritorial. These are the laws that apply to a number of other countries, and sometimes even the whole world. These are laws that help build Washington Pax Americana.

FATCA law was passed under the pretext that the U.S. Treasury regularly loses a large amount of taxes to withhold individuals and legal entities the U.S., bringing their income and assets outside of U.S. jurisdiction. The American tax system is set up so that individuals and legal entities must pay U.S. taxes regardless of where the income and asset allocation. Only on departure of U.S. citizens and companies in the offshore, according to some estimates, the U.S. federal budget annually loses about $ 100 billion. And how much he loses by U.S. citizens and companies in other jurisdictions, no one believed. For many years, even decades, Washington tried to fight tax deviators located outside the country, but the effect was short.

Act FATCA, according to its initiators, should put an end to such deviators once and for all.How? And just doing some banks and other financial institutions all over the world by the American Tax Service (IRS – Internal Revenue Service). Financial and banking organizations must transmit to IRS information about their customers with U.S. origin or having a business (commercial) due to natural and legal persons U.S.. In the list of customers, among others, and included persons who are holders of U.S. green card. If necessary, such agents should engage even the recovery of taxes from such customers in favor of the United States.

We are witnessing a unique alignment of the global system, “head” which is the U.S. agency, and all financial and banking organizations formally sovereign states coming under the administrative control of this department. Those who refuse to Uncle Sam’s invitation to become part of this system, are automatically “outcasts.” Against such financial and banking institutions, Washington will impose sanctions in the form of withholding 30% of the funds that such organizations will conduct through the U.S. banking system. And since the modern world financial and banking system is based on the dollar, it’s hard to imagine a bank that would not exercised dollar transaction. All such transactions pass through the correspondent accounts of non-US banks in U.S. banks. One gets the impression that the fight against tax deviators Washington – just an excuse to enactment. Home, unpublicized goal FATCA – build a global financial system, the individual “cells” which is not only economically, but also administratively subordinated to official Washington and of the financial oligarchy, whose service is formal authority USA.

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Another great article by Alex Newman at The New American:

Globalists Exploit New U.S. Tax Law for World Taxation Regime

Mr. Newman masterfully eviscerates the OECD, the G-20 and other useful idiots of the FATCA club.

Ok, so now that everyone has consumed the last of the holiday egg nog, booze and fattening treats, time to face reality: 2014 is not likely to be a celebratory year for US Persons. Robert W. Wood, frequent contributor to Forbes, has wasted no time in reminding us just how few and terrible are the choices facing most Americans abroad as the torturous countdown to FATCA approaches its final half-year:

Americans Are Unwanted Worldwide (At Least By Banks)

A well-researched article by Alex Newman today in The New American:

New U.S. Tax Regime is “Devastating,” Experts Say

Mr. Newman quotes from many familiar sources, including Andrew Quinlan, ACA, Rand Paul and James Jatras.  He also interviewed Roger Conklin, who again provides excellent historic context by linking today’s FATCA campaign with the Tax Reform Act of 1976. That earlier disastrous initiative forced thousands of US expats to return to the homeland, ceding fragile foreign markets to overseas competitors and ushering-in America’s monumental, decades-long trade deficit, which persists to this day.  To say that cause and effect is not well understood in Washington is a major understatement.

A crying shame that such a good article comes from a publication which includes The John Birch Society at the top of its list of Affiliates and Friends.  That is where we part ways.

As previously reported here, the Caymanian Compass recently conducted an online poll which asked the question: Should Cayman agree to the US’s tax-collection “FATCA” program?  Nearly 58% of respondents declared “No”.

Responding to such a clear rejection of FATCA, Gonzales Jalles of Cayman Finance subsequently published an article which neatly sums-up the conflicting feelings within lucid members of the legal and finance communities worldwide – and just how little it takes to soothe their tortured souls.  Mr. Jalles begins his tale thusly:

Almost 58% of voters in a recent poll suggested Cayman should reject FATCA.  Don’t get me wrong, my stomach says the same, but I’m going to try to explain why we cannot.

***

If the Cayman Islands Government and the banks wanted to escape FATCA, they would need to stop using the US dollar all together, and we would need to create a new currency system where our currency is not pegged to the dollar.  Given the UK and Europe are going the same way, we could not peg it to those currencies either.  Therefore, we would need a floating currency, which will automatically mean the complete disappearance of our international financial industry that represents over 50% of our GDP and government revenue.

***

If you still think the Cayman Islands Government and local institutions should have said “no”, I give up.   You should move to Cuba, probably the only country in the world that might remain completely out of it.

Lucky Cuba. Driving Detroit museum-pieces forever seems like a small price to pay for avoiding FATCA.

Jalles then goes on to deliver the most misleading and pointless FATCA analogy I’ve heard this year:

Let’s say the police catch you speeding and driving under the influence.  You are going to pay a fine and be riding a bike for a while.  Do you accept it or do you refuse to pay the fine and keep driving, making things worse for yourself?

Apparently refusing to bow to FATCA is the equivalent of both speeding AND driving under the influence – who knew?

Finally, Mr. Jalles concludes with this passionate confession:

Maybe a few lawyers and accountants like FATCA as they will see more business, but most of us don’t.  It’s like a hurricane heading straight at us — ignoring it is not an option, we need to accept it and get ready.

In other words, what’s left of my soul says this is bad, but not bad enough to try to fight it so might as well make some money out of it like everyone else and forget about all that collateral damage stuff.  Those people are screwed anyway so why even bother?

And that is today’s lesson in how FATCA capitulation works – think locally, act globally.

Expect numerous bravura repeat performances in Canada any day now as the equally tortured souls at Finance and the CBA peddle their toxic IGA to Mansbridge while crocodile tears flow for the cameras.

The CayCompass in the Cayman Islands has already shown remarkable interest in FATCA with their recent article referencing Canada’s grassroots challenge to FATCA. Their interest and understanding continues with a new article detailing the results of their recent online poll regarding FATCA compliance.

I applaud the CayCompass for conducting this very revealing poll and would urge other media outlets to do the same thing in their own countries, repeatedly, so we may better gauge and track the public’s understanding of this vital issue.

Here’s the article.

According to TD Canada Trust’s Customer Service web page on FATCA:

“TD is committed to providing impacted customers with support and information to ensure they receive a comfortable experience once the law comes into effect.”

Let the full-page ads begin:

An impressive new article by Jason van Steenwyk for NerdWallet Investing.  Jason, a freelance writer living in Fort Lauderdale, provides a well-informed and sympathetic portrayal of FATCA’s looming threat to US Persons worldwide.  No comments yet, so I might suggest that we offer our feedback and encouragement.  Nice to see another homelander get it right.

FATCA Hassles: Feds Cracking Down on Overseas Tax Evasion

In a new article for International Advisor, David Howell, Director, Guardian Wealth Management, explains in plain language how the untold human suffering to follow in FATCA’s wake will provide boundless opportunities for FATCA-ready wealth advisors. Every cloud indeed has a silver lining, perhaps millions of them…

International Advisor: Filling the FATCA void

Trusty Robert W. Wood at Forbes covers-off the new “how-to” video collection the IRS has released to help Foreign Financial Institutions navigate their way through the terrifying new FATCA Portal of Mordor. As it turns out, the greatest immediate danger to FFI drones might be falling asleep and hitting their heads on their mahogany desks as they attempt to watch these stultifying videos in their entirety.

As Mr. Wood concludes:

The videos may make registration a little easier. They may even give foreign financial institutions a warmer feeling about the process. Individual viewers, particularly Americans abroad who may feel caught in FATCA’s net, are less likely to give these films a thumbs up.