A reader shared this with us in a comment. It deserves its own post. Cheers.
Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad
IRS Letter: "If we don't hear from you, we may have to increase the tax you owe or reduce your refund"
As I reported earlier, I sent my 2009 tax return to the IRS and this is the letter that I received back in duplicate. I suppose I just have to fill out the dates in the space provided on page one, send one copy of the form back, and that’s it. Not sure what to do. IRS speak (a.k.a. gobbledygook) is not always so clear.
Of course, it seems that they need my verification that I’ve lived in Canada in 2009, even though my accompanying letter indicated that I had become a Canadian citizen last year, and of course, my address is in Canada, whence I’ve filed at least ten years worth of returns. What gives?
US = Weak Data Protection!
This FATCA word just in from the Channel Islands on
Why in Jersey and Guernsey an FFI cannot lawfully transfer information to the US without that person’s permission …
Principle 8 provides that transfers are only permitted to countries that are deemed to have adequate protection of confidential information. US data protection law is much weaker than that of Jersey and the United States is not a country which is listed as one having adequate data protection – the de facto position in Jersey and Guernsey is therefore that an FFI can’t lawfully transfer information to the US without that person’s permission. Again, whilst client consent is an exception to this principle, compliance with another country’s laws is not. On the face of it, it will therefore be unlawful for a Jersey or Guernsey institution to transfer information pursuant to, or indeed register for, FATCA.
Rosie Stott – Jersey: The United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) – Implications For Financial Services Businesses In The Channel Islands – 4 April 2012
Domestic literacy levels make "corr" audits difficult and spur TAS to launch a pilot program using a “virtual service delivery” as another option
TAS is looking to use video conferencing in order to better facilitate examiners and taxpayers during the examination process and to reach “underserved” taxpayers. Highlights Tampa as an area where underserved taxpayers are concentrated, but no mention of the lonely expat. Get audited in the comfort of your own home, just make sure they can’t see your Lear jet through the window.
http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/Blog/virtual-face-to-face-audits
World's Highest Corporate Tax Rate Hurts U.S. Economically
Under a simplified “territorial” system, governments would see gains that would offset most, if not all, short-term reductions to tax revenue. Moreover, the long-term gains caused by increased economic activity and decreased compliance costs would dwarf any immediate losses.
Russia forming government task force to look into FATCA deal
Major Russian business newspaper Kommersant reported in an article yesterday that the Russian government, egged on by Association of Russian Banks (of whom we’ve written previously), is looking into the possibility of signing an inter-governmental agreement for the exchange of bank account information, along the lines of the European deal announced in February. The journalist writes as if such a deal were a foregone conclusion, stating that the Russian government is not looking into “whether” but instead “how” to sell out their sovereignty to the IRS. I’ve translated the article below.
Take the Money and Run…for office.
I just listened to this great podcast on This American Life which ran on NPR stations this weekend.
It is called Take the Money and Run for Office.
I highly recommend it to you. Continue reading
Federal appeals court challenges Obama
I know this is off topic but it was too much fun to pass up. Canadian politics are never this exciting.
Judges order Justice Department to clarify following Obama remarks on health law case
A federal appeals court is striking back after President Obama cautioned the Supreme Court against overturning the health care overhaul and warned that such an act would be “unprecedented.”
A behind-the-scenes look at how a government might work at connecting an activist group with a terrorist one, by Chris Hedges
Guilty by association, even when the association is allegedly created by the government itself:
Someone You Love: Coming to a Gulag Near You
Financial Repression
Merryn Somerset Webb has just posted a big-picture piece at Money Week – Why every bank will soon be a tax collector for every government everywhere. Bottom line? Financial repression is a government tool to force a broad population to hold debt that loses them money in real terms. This is outlined as the context for FATCA.