Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad

RepealFATCA.com Roundup: News and Commentary on the Approaching FATCA ‘Train Wreck’

March 20th, 2014:

This RepealFATCA.com bulletin rounds up some important news and commentary from around the world on the looming July 1, 2014, “train wreck” of the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” (FATCA). The headlines:

1.  Even Tax Compliance Experts Decry Looming “Train Wreck,” Impossibility of Meeting IRS’s Requirements.

2.  Treasury (Inadvertently) Admits FATCA is a “Fishing Expedition.”

3.  Lack of “Reciprocity” Fatally Undermines Both FATCA and OECD “Information Exchange.”

4.  Rob Portman (Ohio): Big Pickup in Senate for Repealing FATCA.

5.  Canadians Fight Back.

Presenter for this session: John Richardson, Citizenshipsolutions.ca

($20 to offset costs – payable at the door)

CALGARY, AB – Saturday, APRIL 19, 2014, 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.

http://www.kensingtonlegion.ca/ (free parking /Legion restaurant will be open)

Map: North Calgary Kensington Royal Canadian Legion No. 264, 1910 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, AB

This session comes with the “No one But Someone Who Is Going Through This Can Really Understand” element. John Richardson, like us who need information and SUPPORT, is a US Person in Canada.

A lot of grass-roots volunteerism by generous persons committed to this goes into these sessions. We don’t offer polish; we do offer information and support to help you come to the right decision for you and your family.

(John will be leaving for the airport right after the session as he will present at the Edmonton Information Session, Sunday, April 20, 2014, details to be announced.)

I hope to meet MANY Calgary and area persons on April 19th — this is your Alberta opportunity to attend ours in the series of Canadian and European information sessions.

From Elizabeth May, “Island Times” March 20, 2014: What’s up with FATCA? An issue that should concern more than those Canadians with ties to the US

Thank you, Elizabeth May, for referring to us as what we are: Canadians! We appreciate that very much.

… and her email to me today:

Dear Ms. Tapanila,

Thank you for your message regarding the US Foreign Account Tax Compliancy Act (FATCA) and what it means for Canadians. I share your concerns on this urgent matter, and I will continue to work to ensure that Canadians do not suffer financial penalties as a result of this legislation.

As you are likely aware, on February 5 Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that an inter-governmental agreement with US officials to implement FATCA had been reached. Although Minister Flaherty claimed to have negotiated hard-won concessions from the US, the reality is that this agreement remains largely unchanged from when it was first announced.

Under FATCA, Canadian banks will soon be required to search their account records for the personal information of US citizens, their children, and all those who through some accident of family or work history acquired some characteristic of interest to the IRS, and report the findings to the Canada Revenue Agency, who will then provide the information to US officials.

This legislation is slated to come into effect globally on July 1, 2014, and thus it is imperative that Canadians with US citizenship or legal status take steps to educate themselves about what these changes mean for them.

Continue reading →

I just read a report from the Credit Union Central of Canada, which seems to indicate that most Canadian credit unions will be at least partially exempt from FATCA.

Even credit unions over the 175 million asset limit (which are MOST credit unions) appear to be partially exempt. IF less than 2% of their customers are non-resident ‘US persons’  they only have to report those non-residents of Canada under the FATCA IGA presuming I am interpreting this report correctly.

Am I dreaming?  I sure hope not, and if not, we should have a HUGE BANK PROTEST DAY by moving all our funds out of the big banks and into a credit union!

Select the article titled: “FATCA IGA & Guidance provide much needed details, Mar 11, 2014” from:

http://www.cucentral.ca/SitePages/Publications/Connections.aspx

Thursday, 27 March 2014 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Burlington Public Library – Holland Room
2331 New St
Burlington, ON L7R 1J4

On February 5, Canada signed an Intergovernmental Agreement with the United States concerning the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. This will enable the US to receive enhanced financial information Continue reading →

I have been trying for months to educate people about FATCA at Garth Turner’s blog which focuses on the Canadian housing market, as well as investing.  It has been a frustrating exercise. I am either ignored, or told to go find a FATCA blog somewhere to complain.  After staying away for awhile, I could not resist today, when Garth wrote a post called ‘F’, especially since there were a couple anti-FATCA comments already there, which surprised me since I have never seen anyone dis FATCA there before (one was from BCDoc who referenced isaacbrock, YAY BCDoc).

Unfortunately, after I posted my comment, I got the usual negative feedback.  Keep in mind this is a Canadian blog, frequented by Canadians, and yet rarely have I ever received a supportive reply. This makes me very sad.

Here is the link to Garth’s post about ‘F’: http://www.greaterfool.ca/2014/03/18/

The following email was sent to my MP, Scott Armstrong, signed with my real name:

Dear Mr. Armstrong;

In 1958, my Canadian parents crossed the US border and attended the nearest “maternity home” where I was born before we all returned home to Canada.  Since that time, I have never lived, worked or voted in the US.  I have always lived, worked, voted and paid taxes in Canada.  I also bank here, where I continue to live.

As someone who has voted for you in the past, I would request that you answer the following questions, the answers to which will determine if I ever vote for you again:

1. Do you consider me to be a Canadian who was born in the US, or a “US person” who lives in Canada?

2. Based on the fact I am Canadian, have always lived and worked in Canada, and do all my banking here in Canada where I live, do you consider my bank accounts “offshore” and the business of any foreign government?

3. According to the Master Nationality Rule, a Canadian living in Canada is only Canadian.  Do you believe this, or do you believe that a Canadian living in Canada can also be American or Eritrean, and thus be subject to the laws of those nations while in Canada?

4. Do you believe that might makes right (i.e. that the US can do what it wants inside Canada, because of its might, but Eritrea is not allowed to do the same thing) or that Canada should stand against all foreign marauders?

5. Do you support the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its guarantees to protect people from unlawful search and seizure and to not be discriminated against based on national origin?

6. Do you support the FATCA IGA, which assists the IRS in a fishing expedition which, while allegedly aimed at tax cheats, will actually result in a massive by-catch of honest, law-abiding Canadians (and we know what becomes of the by-catch on a fishing expedition)?

7. If you answered “yes” to 5 and 6 above, how do you reconcile that, considering that the IGA violates the protections guaranteed in the Charter?

8. Do you honestly believe that there will ever be reciprocity, when all the US is promising to do is “to pursue legislation to provide reciprocity” or do you accept that Canada will get nothing from this except to maintain the status quo (i.e. avoid economic sanctions)?

9. Do you believe that Canada is a sovereign country, and should not acquiesce to the extortionist demands of foreign powers?

10. Would the Conservative government be so quick to sign an IGA that violated the Charter rights of any other group except “US persons”, or is the political calculus that Americans are unpopular enough that trampling on their rights will have little political fallout?

11. When the enabling legislation for FATCA is tabled, do you intend to support it or to take a stand for Canadian sovereignty and the Charter rights of all Canadians?

Thanking you in advance for your prompt reply.

Canadian Cop

Today’s TED Talks (from Vancouver, Canada) is worth a listen. What Edward Snowden says about the internet, pertains and resonates for me re FATCA:

It too bothers me so much for people to say “if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.” You’re giving up your rights! You’re saying “I don’t think I’m going to need them — “these guys” are going to do the right thing.” I agree that: Your rights matter because you never know when you’re going to need them. They should not be taken away without due process.

Privacy — What does it matter?

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Here’s the explanation to the “secret court” reference: How a Court Secretly Evolved, Extending U.S. Spies’ Reach” by CHARLIE SAVAGE and LAURA POITRAS, NY Times, MARCH 11, 2014

and here’s a link to the: TED talk video, including transcript

Many interesting points, among them:

Who I am (Edward Snowden) doesn’t matter at all.

We don’t have to give up our privacy to have good government.

Is it really “Terrorism” we’re stopping? Or is it that justification provokes an emotional response? (Just as justification of FATCA as the term “Tax Evasion” provokes an emotional response.)

Re NSA “Boundless Information terminology” and how much interception: NSA says to tell you that would invade your privacy.

More communications are being intercepted by the NSA in America about Americans than in Russia about Russians.

Related: Debates: Does the NSA mass surveillance program violate privacy and due process?

Or some ask: Does Edward Snowden even exist?