Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad

 
Cross posted from USxCanada InfoShop

 
A search for the data that underlies “estimates” of the numbers of U.S. citizens resident outside the United States does not lead far. A total of 6.35 million, excluding military personnel, is one handy number.

A map [2] provided as part of the information on the web site of American Citizens Abroad (ACA) [1] appears to be as good a piece of information as any that can be obtained. And even that map data is contradictory (see note following citation).

ACA and Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO) pass along figures said to be provided by the U.S. State Department. The only level of detail is for seven regions that cover the entire world. These organizations have been hacking away valiantly for years at this data situation. It seems peculiar that a direct State Department source for this same data cannot easily be found.

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http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1414557890001/

Several people have received the same letter from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.  CanuckDoc has posted a reply.

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US Treasury Aims To Lower FATCA Burdens.

This article popped up in my Google news feed.

The first half is a rehash of what we already know, but the last six paragraphs shed a bit of light on how FATCA will proceed. Note the comments about a higher dollar threshold for reporting requirements and the possibility of having the FFIs report to the government which in turn would report to the IRS.

Now I have heard through a friend that works for a large investment firm here in Canada that at the moment they only plan to report customers that fall under the category of non-resident status in Canada. Don’t take this as gospel because as we all know the rules can change at any time. It’s not clear what other investment firms are doing, but banks are likely to follow a stricter set of rules.

Below is a link to valuable planning advice for seniors (or, really, for anybody).

Just how should we update these instructions to include what we have to do if we are also a “US person” in another country?

What should we do to make sure that a disabled member of our family (including those who may eventually be affected by an unfortunate accident, dementias, etc.) is properly looked after from whatever our estates will be?

Can we satisfy the laws of the country we live in and the country we left, the USA?  If so, what will be the extra expense, administration for a US person living abroad?

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The US Federal Debt limit now stands at $16.394 trillion.  Here is a video that explains how that works.  Hat tip Zerohedge.  Open thread means feel free to share anything on your mind.

I am going to post the reply letter I received from the Finance Minister.

Although the content is encouraging, I sense that the Canadian Government believes our problem has been ‘solved’ by the December 13th IRS Fact Sheet, and the only other obstacle to deal with is FATCA.

Having said that, I  give credit to the reply, and have faith that the Canadian Government is at least making an effort.

Hon_Jim_Flaherty_NEW

Hmmm, is there more to it than just getting the USC’s?  And now what happens to the USC’s who switched to Wegelin from UBS?

excerpts of interest:

To avoid risks of legal “contamination” from Wegelin’s problems in the U.S., where three of its Switzerland-based private bankers were this month indicted by the U.S. authorities, Raiffeisen is not buying any of the latter’s U.S.-related business.

In a complex deal, Wegelin, founded in 1741 and controlled by eight partners who have the risk of personal liability, has transferred all its non-U.S. activities to a formerly passive sub-brand, Notenstein Privatbank. The latter has in turn been sold to Raiffeisen, where it will form a standalone subsidiary.

Wegelin’s problems arose from the revelation that – like a handful of other Swiss banks – it had, from roughly 2008, taken the ill-judged step to welcome former U.S. offshore customers of UBS AG

Many such clients were desperate to establish a new Swiss banking relationship once UBS decided to close its Swiss-based offshore private banking operations for rich Americans after a legal battle with the U.S. authorities, which ended with a $780-million settlement and the disclosure of almost 5,000 U.S. client names.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/european/article2317658.ece