Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad

Ueli Maurer, Swiss People’s Party (SVP/UDC), will be President of the Swiss Confederation for 2013. I hope that 2013 will mean bad luck for supporters of FATCA and that Maurer will do something to check US policy, despite that Widmer-Schlumpf will still be finance minister. In my humble opinion expressed here many times before, we have suffered two years of grovelling to US demands by Micheline Calmy-Rey, then Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. It is about time that somebody have the guts to stand up to the US’s extortion attempts.

Ueli Maurer Will Share his Everyday on Facebook (Article in German)

I wrote Federal Conselor (President Elect) Maurer earlier this morning on Facebook, wishing him a good presidential year, and asking him to have a look at our issues by visiting IBS and the YouTube FATCA Forum videos:
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If the French Constitutional Council rejects a 75% tax on incomes over EUR 1 Million, what should it say about the effects of US double taxation on middle class people, and even people earning welfare and unemployment benefits? How would it see the heinous and excessive FBAR and FATCA non-compliance fines?

I have not yet found the written opinion of the Council, it would be interesting to see what arguments they use and if any of the language and rationales could be applied by analogy to our issues.

The Guardian: France’s constitutional council rejects 75% tax rate

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/uncle-sam-wants-you-if-youre-an-american-in-canada-or-at-least-your-tax/article6799960/?service=mobile

Nothing we didn’t already know. The January 1st deadline has now been blown and supposedly IGA negotiations will continue to a “conclusion” over the next few weeks. Again we need to keep up the fight in the new year. I just wanted to let everyone know in case comments open up on the G&M website. I will be contacting Barrie myself later this evening.

Why would the Canadian banks even consider selling out their “US citizen” clients?  The banks are aware of the privacy laws and the charter rights, are they not?  Well, they understand that their majority clients who are not US persons would be greatly inconvenienced if their banking institutions refused to become FATCA compliant.  Billions of dollars are at stake.  So I quite understand why they are playing fast and loose with Canadian privacy laws and our beloved charter rights.  It’s about money.  A lot of money.

But what is the price of an innocent man or woman who has committed no crime?  Are they worth one million dollars?  a billion?  a trillion?  If the entire economic system as we know it is at stake, is it right to hand over an innocent person?

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