@PeggyNashNDP Calls for debate in the Parliament regarding #FATCA https://t.co/cRGUYrMsz3 …
— USExpatCanada (@USExpatCanada) April 3, 2014
With thanks to Blaze!
Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad
Consensus is: “This guy gets it!”
An Open Letter to Canadians from TDV legal correspondent, Jim Karger
What he is talking about, or wants me to talk about, are the Canadians who are about to be given a swirly by the 900-pound gorilla to the south because they had the misfortune of being born to one American parent in Canada, or were born in the US for no good or apparent reason before returning to Canada as children. They are, to their extreme disadvantage, American citizens, whether they know it or not. And, American citizens, voluntary, knowing, or otherwise, are required by the most dangerous criminal enterprise in the world to report and pay taxes on every thin dime they earn their entire miserable lifetimes regardless where in the world they earned them or where they live.
So what?
Read on.
Updated Petition — Is it time to assist MPs in their efforts for Question Period in Canada’s Parliament with Updated Petition?
I’m passing on a comment that came from Kathy this morning to get feedback / help on getting the Canadian petition below updated and sent to a specific MP for use in Question Period regarding the implementation of Canada’s FATCA IGA.
@calgary411
Just talked to my MP and he suggested to keep the petitions coming as the issue needs floor time discussion and petitions are a way of getting that time. Do we need a new version now that the Conservatives have already agreed to the IGA? How quickly can we do this?
FBI did not add any renunciant records to NICS in March 2014
The latest Report on Active Records in the NICS Index, released a couple of days earlier than normal, shows 24,220 records in the “Renounced U.S. Citizenship” category, down by two from the February 2014 report. (On the other hand, the number of people who were caught trying to use an ex-citizen’s identity to buy firearms has reached 61, according to the Federal Denials Report).
Months in which zero records get added to the renunciations category are hardly a rare occurrence; the most recent such case before this was in December 2012. That was also the same quarter for which the IRS reported a laughably implausible total of 45 people giving up U.S. citizenship or long-held green cards. This suggests that the problem was at the State Department, rather than any of the downstream agencies: after the CLN overseers in the Bureau of Consular Affairs handed more than three thousand ex-citizens’ records over to the FBI in October to clear up their backlog, they apparently decided to go into hibernation and put off all their work until the warmer seasons when acorns resumed their traditional abundance and they could feast to their hearts’ delight.
Latest from New Zealand Privacy Commissioner on FATCA
What would happen if New Zealand didn’t pass a law to allow FATCA reporting?
If there was no change to New Zealand law, financial institutions in this country would, unless certain exceptions applied, have to pay a 30 percent withholding tax on certain US income. This financial cost would undoubtedly be passed on to a broad range of New Zealand consumers.
Most New Zealand banks receive some US income. For instance, US Treasury bonds play an important role in setting global interest rates, and are often used by banks to reduce their exposure to interest rate risk.
If New Zealand did not pass a law to allow FATCA reporting, banks and other financial institutions in this country may be unable to comply with FATCA without breaching the privacy principles relating to the collection and disclosure of client information.
If New Zealand did not negotiate an IGA with the US, the effect on American citizens and green card holders resident in New Zealand would be that it would be easier for them to avoid meeting their obligations to pay tax in the United States. [Why should New Zealand care about this?]
However, a significant portion of these tax obligations can be discounted by tax paid in New Zealand under the US-New Zealand double taxation agreement.
For these reasons, the Privacy Commissioner has not opposed the negotiation of the FATCA IGA with the US, and the amending tax law to implement the IGA.
Will information about New Zealanders with no US connection be sent to the US?
No. Only those accounts covered by the terms of the IGA can be sent to the IRS. Financial institutions have to collect information on accounts that look like they might belong to a US person, in accordance with a set of criteria.
In the 2013 New Zealand Census, 21,462 people indicated they were born in the US. This is an indication of the number of people potentially affected, as birthplace is one of the IRS criteria.
Solving Problems of U.S. Citizenship – Info Session – EDMONTON Confirmed!
EDMONTON: SUNDAY, APRIL 20
TIME: 9:30am-12:30pm
VENUE: Don Wheaton Family YMCA at 10211 102 Ave., Edmonton, AB T5J 0A5
(underground parking available at facility)
Don Wheaton Family YMCA (Central)
I will be flying out to Edmonton to attend, and to assist John with this meeting. I look forward to meeting my fellow Edmontonians who have been accused of being American. Come listen, get the pertinent information about these issues, and then make your decisions proactively rather than reactively.
~ GwEvil ~
Synopsis: Solving U.S. Citizenship Problems with John Richardson (London, Ontario)
By Blaze
Finally, I’m posting a synopsis of Solving the Problem of US Citizenship information session presented by John Richardson of citizenshipsolutions.ca that was held in London, Ontario on February 8, 2014.
I apologize for the delay. Other FATCA projects have consumed my life.
You can read the synopsis in the link, but here are a few highlights:
CITIZENSHIP:
John first gave an overview of US citizenship laws, tax laws, renunciation and relinquishment and many changes that have taken place over decades.
People have many differing circumstances and each one is unique. Because of the complexities, John stressed:
“The bottom line is you have to check the law at the time the act took place.”
What should Jake do?
Here is a scenario, not unrealistic, which should explain to reigning Canadian government how they have failed in their duty to stand on guard for Canada by betraying Canadian citizens to the IRS.
Jake is a businessman in Canada who employs 50 people at his workshop in the Toronto area. He is nearing retirement age. He has made a decent living but has put so much of his company’s profits back into his business that he has basically lived a frugal, middle class lifestyle. He paid for his kids’ educations, but they went to Canadian universities not elite US Ivy League schools. His wife died a couple years ago, and he inherited her half of the house and her RRSP. Continue reading
Parliamentary Finance Committee Chair and Conservative MP James Rajotte on #FATCA
http://www.jamesrajottemp.ca/issues/finance-and-taxation/offshore-voluntary-disclosure-initiative
Some constituents have expressed concern regarding the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative. This is exclusively a U.S. program, with the federal Canadian Government playing no part in its creation or execution.
I appreciate that many individuals are frustrated to learn that they can face penalties for previously undisclosed foreign accounts and assets. The U.S. government requires its citizens, even those living abroad, to file income tax returns and associated tax forms – even if those U.S. citizens do not have to pay any U.S. income tax because they already pay Canadian income tax, and even if they have dual citizenship with Canada. This requirement has been in place since 1913.
It is unfortunate that the U.S. maintains this requirement as most other industrialized nations have moved away from this specific measure. However, it is entirely within the purview of the U.S. government to impose such a requirement.
While it is within the U.S. government’s authority to do this, it is not good policy in my view. That is why I have directly raised the concerns of many constituents of Edmonton-Leduc like you regarding the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative with the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance.
Minister Flaherty has been in constant contact with his U.S. counterparts, pressuring them to understand fully their actions against Canadian residents. Below is a letter from Minister Flaherty submitted to several American papers expressing concerns on FATCA/FBAR.
– See more at: http://www.jamesrajottemp.ca/issues/finance-and-taxation/offshore-voluntary-disclosure-initiative#sthash.saRd7CJc.dpuf
More on “Feds bury FATCA law in Budget bill” (w/ no mention in press release)
Something I think we need to better understand (or at least I do),
Roy Berg, director of U.S. Tax Law at Moodys Gartner Tax Law LLP, discusses concerns that Canada’s approach to FATCA may spark a dispute with the U.S. over personal trusts:
Advisor.ca, Dean DiSpalatro, March 31, 2014: “Feds bury FATCA law in Budget bill”
On Friday the Conservative government tabled legislation to implement key elements of this year’s Budget. But it contains more than tax credits.
Buried within is a revised version of draft legislation implementing the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the U.S. on FATCA. A Department of Finance press release makes no mention of this part of the bill.
…
If the trust has a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN), the firm will consider it a fully compliant Foreign Financial Institution (FFI). As a result, the trust will receive the dividends in full.
If the trust doesn’t have a GIIN, the U.S. firm withholds 30% and passes it to the IRS. Berg says the same will happen with securities accounts based in the U.K., Ireland and other countries that have IGAs with the U.S. Their IGAs and guidance notes label trusts as FFIs.
How did our lives become so complicated?