Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad

In a consultation Tiger, Somerfugl and I had with a lawyer today, he assured us Canada’s Bank Act and privacy laws protect the rights of all Canadians.

Because Canadian laws have not been amended to accommodate FATCA, he advised us there is no basis for a lawsuit now, but there may be in the future if the government changes the laws or if banks don’t adhere to the current Bank Act or privacy laws.

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Over the past half-year, tens of thousands of words have swirled around the current situation of extraterritorial citizens of the United States.

In all that flood of comment, one piece stands out for treatment of an important but little-considered facet. Early on, financial planner (fee-for-service) David Christianson squarely addressed the topic of personality in Long arm of American tax law. It is good to see that his perceptive take at Winnipeg Free Press still remains available, just a click away.

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According to the Hill magazine a “son” of FATCA proposal by Carl Levin is heading for Senate approval as soon as today. Link below:

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/215075-financial-services-lobby-concerned-about-tax-evasion-proposal

Key features:

Credit and Debit cards issues by non-FATCA compliant banks such as Canadian credit unions will not be accepted in the US anymore.

Update: Son of FATCA proposal attached by to Highway Bill by voice vote. Will try to provide more details. Absolute Disgrace.

Further Update: The amendment is so new it doesn’t even show up on the Senate website yet. Bill still far from final Senate approval. I should note that while I am not an expert on US politics I seem to have heard some place that the main sponsor of the Highway Bill California Senator Barbara Boxer earlier had indicated she was opposed to any non transportation related amendments being made to this bill. The US Senate won’t be in session until Monday so we should now more about what actually passed by then. I do feel though that for those of you still involved in US politics and American Citizens Abroad this might be a good opportunity to make a stand. Given the large number of expats from California this might be a very good opportunity to put some pressure on California Senator Barbara Boxer.

Just retweeted this courtesy of Terry Ritchie.

US Citizens in Canada – Status of Penalty Forgiveness

Monday, March 05, 2012 by Kevyn Nightingale

I have written previously about Americans in Canada who are delinquent in filing their US tax returns and Foreign Bank Account Reports.

What We Already Know

On December 1, 2011, David Jacobson, the US Ambassador to Canada suggested that the IRS may provide these people with some relief from the over-the-top penalties that can apply.  The IRS issued a fact sheet on December 8, but that sheet basically reiterated the Service’s longstanding position. The IRS will evaluate each filing to determine whether the taxpayer has “reasonable cause” for filing late. There are no specifics about relief from penalties, so there is no certainty whether penalties will apply.  Each taxpayer is dependent on the vagaries of the particular IRS agent assigned to her case.

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