Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad

‘As mentioned in our call (bubblebusin’s husband), IRS is a budget issue, given the large amount of funds potentially payable to the US Government by Canadians; the effect on many self-employed people and entrepreneurs of compliance with these rules; and the damage to bilateral trade and commerce should the Americans make FBAR compliance and issue relevant to trans-border activity.

You may want to make a Pre-2013 Budget Submission to the Finance Committee, if only to get the matter onto their agenda.

Finance Committee of the House of Commons: Deadline-Aug 3, 2012 for initial submission (elaboration may be provided thereafter)

Go to the Finance Cttee website-“Pre-Budget Consultations”. Complete the 5 questions, which, among other things, advise the Committee how the proposed project may advance the Conservative Government’s priorities of the promoting economic growth and jobs.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/CommitteeBusiness/CommitteeHome.aspx?Cmte=FINA&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1

Last year, the Finance Committee received over 400 submissions. Only 100 groups were invited to present. The proponents should clearly identify their interest in presenting their case to the Committee. A brief submission is more likely to be read than a long one. The deadline of Aug 3 is critical, even if more information has to be provided later-at least answer the 5 questions!

Should you proceed, John would back you up with a submission to the Minister of Finance in the Fall.’

If I am fortunate enough to have Mr Weston back me up with a submission made directly to the Minister of Finance, I would REALLY appreciate it if all Canadian Brockers help me craft something that best expresses our concerns.

Please use the link to the questions, and post here any comments that would be relevant to any of the questions.

This question has been kicking around for several days so I sent a letter to the Halifax consulate:

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The CEO of the Financial Services Council (FSC) has headed to Washington DC this week to argue that Australian super funds should be exempt from the reach of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA) regime.

FSC in Washington to lobby for Aussie Super exemption from FACTA

If found this in the Swiss MSM today.

They never forget.

Sorry for the poor translation. 🙂

No the lady was not beaten.  They just meant to say that this due tax is more than 55 years old 🙂

For those who understand German here is the German link.

Steuer-Irrsinn!

“Over the last decade the IRS has spent nearly $20 billion on information technology,” Boustany said in a statement. “Taxpayers deserve to know if they are getting their money’s worth.
“Congressmen Question IRS Technology Budget”,  AccountingToday,  July 17, 2012

$20 billion spent on information technology, and the system is still limited to the US, with Americans abroad still being unable to type their foreign address into digital tax forms like Free File Fillable Forms:

If $20 billion can’t buy something as simple and logical as the ability to enter a foreign country into an information system, then citizenship-based taxation is clearly not worth the money wasted.  The address is the most basic element of a tax system, with a citizenship-based tax system on worldwide income requiring the entry of foreign addresses.  The inability to enter a foreign address in a tax system demonstrates that the tax system is not citizenship-based, since it is not designed for all citizens.

Came across this only today.  It’s from 2005.

Need to have CLN to travel Virgin

P Bowles from Littlehampton, West Sussex wrote
On September 27, I arrived at Heathrow to check in for a flight to Boston with Virgin Atlantic. As we stood in line, our passports were checked by an agent. I have a full British passport, but my place of birth is Baltimore. I was taken to see a supervisor, who asked whether I had proof I had given up my US citizenship. Apparently, a British passport is not sufficient proof. Virgin said it could not fly me unless I produced a “Loss of Nationality” letter.

I found a pretty good research paper back from 1997 describing the old Filipino system of of citizenship based taxation and the impact of the Canada Philippines Tax Treaty. Like the US Canada Treaty the Filipino treaty had/has a “savings clause” allowing the Philippines to tax its citizens living in Canada on Canadian source income. The paper suggests a route to bringing a charter challenge to get the treaty thrown out on the basis of equality of citizenship (something we have talked a lot about here). This is big very big. I am going to try to track down the author of this paper.

Double taxation: Riding on the backs of Filipino export labour, by Genevieve Hamada-Plank , Ottawa Law Review / Revue de droit d’Ottawa 29 (1997-98) 395-423.