Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad

More from NDP…

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Dear

You can see Tom Mulcair took the question asked at the forum and your letter seriously, and acted with dispatch. Murray Rankin, as Hoang Mai’s successor, was of course already working on this issue, so, as Tom’s letter notes, it made sense to reiterate the NDP’s deep concern in Murray Rankin’s September 25 letter in his role as National Revenue Critic. You may not be aware but Murray Rankin is a renowned and experienced constitutional litigator, and in an excellent position to be taking onboard the questions of applicability of the Charter of Rights along with our Justice Critic. I will remain available to assist Murray in his analysis, but I am confident one could not have a more qualified Official Opposition Revenue Critic to be in charge of this file.

All best,

Craig

DATCA – America is throwing the little fish out of its banks

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Americans living abroad are generally treated about the same as non-resident aliens.  It can be very difficult for non-resident aliens, including Americans living abroad, to maintain a US bank account in the US.  With non-resident aliens now being thrown out of American banks in America, non-resident citizens will likely be treated the same.

With such cross-border economic activity, fueled in large measure by the maquiladora industry in Juárez, it is only natural for foreign businesses to maintain U.S. bank accounts in El Paso. Unfortunately, many of these commercial accounts are being closed by U.S. banks. Why is this happening?

…The regulatory cost to U.S. banks to comply with the Patriot Act and reciprocal reporting obligations under FATCA agreements limit the profitability of maintaining deposit accounts for non-resident aliens, and expose U.S. banks to hefty penalties for regulatory failures, as in HSBC’s case.

So what does a U.S. bank do under such circumstances, particularly when foreign deposit accounts are a small percentage of your book of business? Close the accounts and focus on more profitable, less risky investments.

Foreign investors: Why US bank may close your account Sunday, October 6, 2013 6:00 pm

At least non-resident aliens can have a bank account where they live, unlike some non-resident citizens who are being denied local banking services as well as US banking services.

But, don’t worry, Americans.   The Mafia Bank still accepts American clients and business is booming!

Open Invitation to Linda “FATCA” McQuaig

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Hi Linda.

In case you haven’t heard, your Leader, Tom Mulcair, has just issued a letter to a lot of us concerning the NDP’s position on FATCA, in tandem with a letter to Jim Flaherty by Murray Rankin, your party’s Revenue Critic. See link here https://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/10/04/ndp/

Hmm … how does this match your published statements on FATCA?

My colleagues and I at Isaac Brock Society and Maple Sandbox cordially invite you to dinner, with the set menu depicted in the following photograph.
crow supreme

Sorry it’s not exactly haute cousine; we couldn’t find a better recipe on short notice. I think this one suits you to a “T.”

You are welcome to bring your spiritual buddy, Diane “merger” Francis, along with you.

Enjoy the crow. Bon appétit!

Cheers.

Your Canadian neighbours at Isaac Brock Society and Maple Sandbox

How #FATCA will enslave the world in 2 easy steps

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This post appeared on the RenounceUScitizenship blog and was motivated by the included brilliant and insightful comment of Badger.

If #FATCA becomes fully operational, it will result in the following:

Step 1: Non-U.S. countries will (at their expense, whether IGA or otherwise) identify those people who the U.S. defines (a possibly shifting definition) as U.S. persons;

Step 2: Once identified the U.S. will use the existence of those “U.S. persons as the excuse to transfer a share of the GNP of that country to the United States on a permanent and increasing basis. In other words: FATCA is to enforce citizenship-based taxation which is a “forced tribute to the U.S.”

The reasons include:

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During the USG Shutdown, @YourVoiceAtIRS Nina Olson and the TAS sent home!

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Can’t Stop The Machine: During Shutdown, IRS Computers Still Churn Out Tax Liens, Levies And Bills

It now turns out there is additional bad news for taxpayers, particularly those with IRS problems, known or unknown. Taxgirl, after studying the IRS’ preliminary shutdown plan, reported that National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson and 44 of her employees would continue working. But in the IRS’ final shutdown plan,  released Monday afternoon, not a single employee dedicated to protecting taxpayer rights was included in the 8,824  (out of  workforce of 94,516 ) kept on the job.

That unfortunate change was called to my attention by Olson herself, who emphasized she was “merely exercising my free speech rights as a citizen’’ and using her personal cell phone to do so. “I’m sitting at home with my two cats and my knitting,’’ she quipped.  Olson wasn’t just being cute; it would be a violation the Antideficiency Act  of 1884  for her to speak on her government issued Blackberry (she didn’t) or in her official capacity (she didn’t). A  violation could get her fired, fined or thrown in jail.

Read more here

America shutdown its citizens abroad

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From Normandy to Okinawa, Americans abroad feel the shutdown
“No one outside the U.S. is able to do check clearance. It’s an international problem, it’s not a problem only in Israel.” American banks are not processing for clearance any checks coming from outside the U.S. The Jerusalem money changer believes this is yet one more result of the American government shutdown, which is into its second day…
Federal Reserve Banks will continue to process checks and provide a mechanism for checks and funds to move between banks. But, apparently, while lending institutions will not suffer, individuals attempting to use their services—at least outside the U.S.—are not nearly as fortunate.
However, the US government is still providing services in areas where it believes that it can cash in on its expats:
The State Department would continue processing foreign applications for visas and U.S. applications for passports, since fees are collected to finance those services.
News Times

NDP

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Dear

Thank you for your email following the recent Toronto event held with my colleague, MP Craig Scott. I appreciate your perspective on the meeting. I am glad to have this opportunity to address FACTA further.

I share your concerns that FATCA’s sweeping provisions on financial disclosure will have significant consequences for dual Canadian-American citizens and Americans with landed immigrant status lawfully living here in Canada. Please know that New Democrats have consistently challenged the over-reaching aspects of FATCA and have urged the Conservative government to negotiate protective measures for those citizens who would be affected by FATCA’s onerous regulations.

We are also troubled that the secrecy of these negotiations with the US is detrimental for citizens facing privacy and financial pressures. They must rely on media reports for developing news and have no opportunity to have their views considered in a meaningful way.

In discussing this matter with my NDP colleagues, we felt that it was important to reinforce how serious and unfair the consequences of FATCA could be for Canadians if unilaterally imposed. In taking the lead on this issue, Official Opposition critic for National Revenue, Murray Rankin, has written to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty calling on his government to reject any agreement that may violate the privacy rights of Canadians, erode Canadian sovereignty, or fail to offer Canada equal benefits to those provided to the United States. Please see the attached copy of Murray Rankin’s letter to Minister Flaherty.

Going forward, please be assured that New Democrats will remain vigilant on this issue. We will continue to pressure the Government to help address the above-mentioned concerns and ensure the rights of Canadians who hold dual citizenship with the United States are protected.

Again, thank you for writing. Please know that your steadfast support for our Party is greatly valued.

Best regards,

Tom

Thomas Mulcair, M.P. (Outremont)
Leader of the Official Opposition
New Democratic Party of Canada

Follow Tom on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr
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September 25, 2013
The Honourable James M. Flaherty, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Finance
Department of Finance Canada
140 O’Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Dear Minister,
As Official Opposition Critic for National Revenue, I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding negotiations with the United States over the implementation of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
Currently, Canada is engaged in closed door negotiations with the U.S. over an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the implementation of FATCA in Canada. Such an agreement could oblige Canada to enact laws and regulations requiring Canadian financial institutions to comply with this U.S.-based legislation. New Democrats have serious concerns about the lack of transparency and consultation during these negotiations and the potential for such an agreement to infringe on the rights of Canadians and fail to offer reciprocal benefits to both parties.
Reports suggest that if implemented, an IGA may require Canadian banks, investment funds and other financial institutions to disclose annually to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information on accounts held by American citizens, including dual citizens in Canada. Failure to disclose account information could result in a withholding tax applied to U.S. income earned by the institution or by the account holder. We are concerned that these negotiations may allow the United States to bypass the established exchange of information between the IRS and the Canada Revenue Agency and instead get information directly from Canadian financial institutions. Concerns have been raised that such a system could potentially violate existing Canadian privacy laws. Furthermore, at this time it is unclear if reciprocal information would be granted in return.
New Democrats are concerned with the prospect of a foreign nation unilaterally imposing obligations on Canadian banks to disclose personal information. The Canadian Government has a responsibility to protect Canada’s tax base, and while we understand the United States’ desire to protect their own tax base, this should not come at the cost of the rights of individuals residing in our own country. Cracking down on tax cheats should occur through international cooperation rather than unilateral action.
Room 524, Confederation Building, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Tel: 613-996-2358 Fax: 613-952-1458 Email: Murray.Rankin@parl.gc.ca
What’s more, the secrecy of the negotiations over this agreement has left Canadians in the dark as to the integrity of their personal banking information. The Canadian government should be standing up for the civil liberties of Canadians. Furthermore, the Conservative government must ensure that any agreement reached is fair for Canada.
In the interest of transparency, fair taxation and respect for privacy rights, we are asking the government to reject any agreement that violates the rights Canadians or that fails to offer Canada equal benefits to those provided to the United States.
In light of the important issues at stake, we urge the government to bring transparency to this process and inform Parliamentarians on the state of negotiations.
I appreciate your time and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Murray Rankin, Member of Parliament for Victoria
Official Opposition Critic for National Revenue
cc: Peggy Nash, Official Opposition Critic for Finance

FBI withholds monthly NICS citizenship renunciation statistics due to government shutdown

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The FBI’s main NICS page has been updated with working links to most monthly reports on NICS: Federal Denials (still stands at 57 firearms denials to ex-citizens, down from 58 two months ago), Total Checks, and Top 10 Highest Days/Weeks. However, the same page gives an incorrect link for the Active Records report, which would include information on how many Certificates of Loss of Nationality the FBI received from the State Department in the preceding month: if you follow that link you’ll get a “this page does not seem to exist” 404 error message.

At first glance this just looks like a URL redirection hiccup in the Plone Content Management System which the FBI uses to run their website. But oddly, if you go to the URL where you’d actually expect the Active Records report PDF file to appear (by analogy to the still-working URL from two months ago — the URLs generally end with the date on which the report was issued in MMDDYY format, and all the other latest reports for this month have a date of 3 October 2013), you don’t get that same “this page does not seem to exist” message; instead you’re redirected to the top page, which shows a message about the government shutdown: “Due to the lapse in government funding, information on this website not directly related to the protection of life and property will not be routinely updated”.

FBI-Government-Shutdown

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U.S. State Department: “We cannot make India look at you as an American” (unless there’s money in it for the U.S. government)

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Salman Nouman (Twitter: @ImFilmmaker), a U.S. citizen based in Dubai, recently tried to apply for a student visa to attend film school in Bollywood, only to find that the Indian government does not permit naturalised U.S. citizens of Pakistani origin to apply for Indian visas on their U.S. passports. In an Outlook India article about his experience, he mentions the reaction of the U.S. government when he asked them for help dealing with his problem:

After working through the maze of departments within the DOS, I was finally routed to the American Citizen Services and India Desk. They asked me to email them the details, which I did, expecting a quick resolution. Surely the all-powerful Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton would get Consular Affairs to immediately ask India to not discriminate against US citizens based on their origin and treat all Americans uniformly for visa applications?

American Citizen Services told me that India has a right to deny my visa – to which I replied, of course, that that was not the problem. I would accept a denial on my US passport if I was put through the same process as any British, Irish, Italian, Arabic or other origin US citizen. As a US national, I wanted equality, and to be able to travel as a US national without my origin playing any part in that. It is the State Department’s job to ensure that US citizens are not discriminated against. And yet, they told me: “We cannot make India look at you as an American”.

Isn’t it great to see that US$1.20-per-American-abroad American Citizens Services budget is bringing us so many “great benefits of American citizenship”?

If Mr. Nouman’s story has a happy ending and he makes it to India with a visa in his Pakistani passport instead of his U.S. passport, he’ll find in fact that the U.S. has been putting out all efforts for more than three years to make India and every other country on earth look at him as an American. The U.S. is so intent on achieving this that they’re threatening (through FATCA’s provisions on gross proceeds withholding) to confiscate 30% of U.S. assets owned by residents of other countries if those countries don’t look at you as an American for tax & banking purposes — even if that violates their own laws, and even if you have another passport and emigrated from the U.S. long ago.

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