For those of you thinking about filing US income taxes for the first time, I suggest you read the following letter that I received from the IRS in the mail today. I sent my zero return for 2009 last week with a letter explaining why it was late (evidently it did not arrive on time to prevent this mail out). I am on the IRS radar, because I was compliant for about the previous ten years. Moreover, they are apparently aware of certain securities I traded in the US. But I didn’t owe anything on my income tax return. So this is the trouble that they will go to harass Canadian residents who are late filing.
Author Archives: Petros
Sweeter than Honey II: The purpose of man according to the law
See the first installment of this series: Sweeter than Honey I: Introduction
Petros continues the series of posts comparing the law code of ancient Israel, the United States Constitution, and the Internal Revenue Code. This post considers what the law implies about the purpose of man.
The 30-yr IRS Vet on the 2012 Overseas Voluntary Disclosure program
30-yr IRS Vet offers his advice about the 2012 27.5% Overseas Voluntary Disclosure program.
Sweeter than honey I: Introduction
Petros offers a new series of posts in which he critiques the Internal Revenue Code. He compares it to two other law codes, (1) the Torah and the Ten Commandments; (2) the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This is the first instalment to introduce the series. (Cross-posted from the Righteous Investor)
The rationale behind FATCA: 30-year IRS vet
30-year IRS vet writes, as a veteran litigator for the IRS who is now in private practice, about the IRS and about the rationale behind FATCA.
Tagline changed: removal of "in Canada and"
Some discussion in a recent thread has caused me to change the tagline of the Isaac Brock Society by removing the words “in Canada and”. I think this gave the wrong impression that, because US persons in Canada started this blog, we see it as a Canada-only fight. But from the beginning we have encouraged our international contingent of writers and participants.
Comment from a 30-year IRS vet
We received the following comment from 30 Year IRS Vet:
This web site is a wonderful opportunity for people to vent about the new IRS initiative to focus on offshore compliance. I would guess that most people fall into one of two categories: those who are “off the grid” and do not file nor do they have any intention of becoming compliant with their US federal tax obligations and those who are sincerely attempting to figure this all out and determine what to do and then make a good faith effort to comply.
Financial Post: Canada-U.S. trade relationship drifting apart
Eric Lam says that while the Canada and the United States have a committed marriage trading relationship, this doesn’t stop them from committing affairs with others.
Scotia Bank: December 31 Letter to Clients from Scotiabank, for review
Sent to me from a friend:
Letter from Scotia Bank (update, I’ve removed the pdf and have included a link to Scotiabank’s nicely formatted Winter newsletter which contains the same text).
Freedom of Emigration in East-West Trade, USC Title 19 § 2432
We have seen that the United States condemns Eritrea’s extra-territorial taxation of its citizens abroad. But did you know that according to Federal Law, the United States would not be eligible for normal trade relations with the United States because of its expatriation exit taxes?