This story has been all over the news this morning in Canada and there is even a Facebook page now up.
Here is the Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/CondemnTDoniranians
This might be an opportunity for Brockers make allies among “other” groups of Canadians.
Unfortionately I don’t know if there will be any way to see the event afterwards but here are the details:
Event in Geneva:
http://www.aca.ch/SCFAS_Fatca_2012_Invite_GE_Final.pdf
Event in Zurich
Debate: FATCA- The worldwide end of Bank Secrecy?
Anyone in Switzerland planning to attend and report back to IBS?
I found some rather interesting industry comment letters on the US Department of Treasury FINCEN website related to one of the rulemakings they have outstanding regarding their intent to impose sometype of FATCA recipriciocity on Domestic US Banks. (Note: There idea of recipriciocity is still nothing compared to what they are demanding of foreign banks under FATCA). I find it remarkable the extent to which the US Banking industry is opposed to even these limited new regulations(They aren’t even being asked yet to collect citizenship information from their domestic US customers. I can’t wait to see their response when that is proposed).
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;dct=PS;rpp=25;po=0;D=FINCEN-2012-0001
I came across an interesting article on IPolitics.ca about a deepening mystery about Canadian’s holding bank accounts in Liechtenstein. I linked to article below but its behind a registration wall so I copied and pasted the most intriguing passage [Editor’s note: I’ve rerouted the link through google and so the entire article should be available]:
The mystery surrounding Canadian owners of offshore accounts in a secretive bank in Liechtenstein has deepened with the discovery by the Canada Revenue Agency that nearly half the names it was given are not the real owners of the accounts, iPolitics has learned.
CRA’s probe has determined that 51 of the 106 names it received of account holders in the LGT Bank in the tax haven of Liechtenstein “were not the true beneficial owners for the account.”
“With regards to the 51 cases that were not the true beneficial owners for the accounts, the CRA has determined, through audit actions, that they do not have any tax obligation in relation to the information obtained,” explained Philippe Brideau, spokesman for the Canada Revenue Agency. “However, the CRA has taken actions to determine the true beneficiaries and has taken audit actions to ensure compliance with the Income Tax Act.”
Brideau said further details are protected under confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act.
I am going to put out the supposition that whoever the “real” owners of these accounts are they aren’t Canadian and furthermore the real owners of these account are residents of a certain other country to the south and the premise of FATCA just got blown out of the water. (The information CRA got was stolen by a disgruntled bank employee so even the bank didn’t know who the real owners are). What is interesting is these “51” people appear to be free and clear as a matter of Canadian law so if a certain other’s countries Justice Department wants to do what it normally wants to do its going to have to pick the same type of fight with Canada that is currently ongoing with Switzerland over club “51”. I am going to post this over at Jack Townsend’s blog to see what he thinks of it.
Mystery deepens around Canadian accounts in secretive offshore tax haven
Interestingly there were four account holders outside of the 51 that were fully compliant and 22 that were partially compliant.
I have been looking for this for a long time but there was a series of meeting back in 2000 between official in then Canadian Finance Minister’s Paul Martin’s Office and US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers over US Canada cross border migration. I was led to believe there was a joint statement by both the US and Canada at the time but most of the statement is quoted from Paul Martin. (The press release is rather interesting fodder as to whether the current government of Canada is any better on these issues than the previous).
Interesting Passage:
For individuals, the changes will ensure the appropriate tax treatment of an emigrant’s gains. Specifically, where one country’s tax rules treat an individual as having disposed of a property immediately before the individual emigrates to the other country, the individual will be able to choose to be treated under the other country’s rules as also having disposed of and reacquired the property at its fair market value.
In most cases, this will mean that no tax is payable in the destination country on any pre-emigration gain. Where tax is payable in the destination country – for example, where the property in question is real estate situated in that country – the new rule will ensure appropriate tax crediting.
What I understand this to be is there is no negative effects as a matter a Canadian tax policy for a someone resident in Canada who renounces there US citizenship and has to pay exit tax.(The US Treasury going all the way back to 1995 had been pushing the “HEART” style exit tax as a preferred policy). My biggest disappointment is there seems to be no remarks or specific commitments from anyone in the US government at the time.
We have the smoking gun right here. I believe the fact that TD is now publishing this document is enough to now start making formal complaints to the Privacy Commissioner’s Office both in Ottawa and her provincial counterparts. If the Privacy Commisioners office won’t do anything then I believe the courts are now an available avenue. Lawyer up as they say. It might also be worthwhile to forward this form to the lawyer I recommended several months ago for his take.
http://www.tdwaterhouse.ca/products-services/investing/documentation-index.jsp
http://www.tdwaterhouse.ca/document/PDF/apply/forms/tdw-apply-forms-591856-di.pdf
I believe that by publishing the above linked form TD is now in VIOLATION of Canadian law and is now subject to whatever legal action IBS members want to throw at them. (Note: there is no definition at this point of who exactly even is a US citizen and I suspect many of us don’t even consider ourselves to be ones in our own minds).
A very good question and we have photographic proof. (This piece is very satirical and I am not good at writing satire so I apologize upfront)
To those on Capital Hill who think this site is just extremist they are wrong we just play hardball. In fact this meeting was covered by Toledo Blade and a article was published about it to which I linked to below. The reporter who wrote the piece now works for another newspaper in Connecticut.
So here are some questions I have for Congresswoman Kaptur, Senators Schumer and Casey, and Prof. Ackermann about this meeting:
More from Bruce Ackermann:
Both the Ontario Provincial Conservatives and the Ontario NDP are objecting to the contract signed by the governing Liberals.
I found an interesting blog post on Warren Kinsella’s website (Warren Kinsella is the former top political strategist to Canadian PM Jean Chretien) about an MSNBC print ad which Kinsella views as Maddow “dissing” Canada. I will note under current law but not necessarily at all points in the past Maddow is entitled to a Canadian passport and is a citizen of Canada although she might not have a Canadian passport(It seems as in all likelihood she doesn’t). Perhaps some IBS members would like to go over to Warren Kinsella’s blog and leave some comments.
