Looks like Exemption #2 is the Winner.
BDO CANADA, April 15, 2015: Tax Alert – FATCA and Canadian Credit Unions
Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad
For the Senate Finance Committee’s attention and study — common sense suggestions for tax reform to remedy the FATCA discrimination of *US-defined US Persons Who Reside Abroad*
A Must Read from Shadow Raider’s IssacBrockSociety.ca comment:
I just sent my suggestion for tax reform to the Senate Finance Committee. You can read it here.
Americans at least three to five times as likely as Pakistanis to renounce citizenship
More than 3,400 Pakistanis have renounced citizenship in the past five years, which the Express Tribune describes as a “worrying sign”:
More than 3,400 Pakistani citizens have renounced their nationality in the last five years after adopting the citizenship of other countries while another 1,500 want to give up their association with the homeland. Around 251 Pakistanis have adopted the nationality of Canada, 171 of the United States, 145 of Australia, 121 of New Zealand, 75 of Norway while 54 chose to become citizens of Denmark. The rest went for the citizenship of other countries in Europe and the Middle East, immigration officials told The Express Tribune.
As the article goes on to point out, Pakistan allows dual citizenship with a variety of countries in Europe, North America, and the Middle East, meaning that those emigrants could have retained their Pakistani citizenship, but instead explicitly rejected that choice. In doing so, they voluntarily gave up a variety of benefits which the Pakistani government offers to its citizens abroad, such as evacuation from war-torn Yemen — a “benefit of citizenship” which the U.S. has not seen fit to extend to its own diaspora (contrary to all the Homelander myths about black helicopters coming to rescue us wherever on Earth we might go).
According to recent estimates, the Pakistani diaspora is about the same size as the American diaspora: each comprises seven million citizens living outside of their respective countries. But the number of Americans who have given up their citizenship in the past half-decade is at least in the low five digits.
Video Portion of Senate Finance Committee Submission Ready!
We have a Vimeo site, Citizenship Taxation, to post this portion of the submission. I am not sure if it is necessary to be a member of Vimeo to view them; I do know I signed up for free access.
Having sat through the entire filming portion of each of these, I am impressed at how well each excerpt captures the essence of each individual’s point of view/situation. On the day these were filmed, it was very powerful to hear each of these people relate their stories; one person’s was done spontaneously, without any prior preparation. Generally, none used scripts and I was surprised at how incredibly capable they were, at describing their dilemmas in a focused way. Some were as short as 10 minutes and the longest was 30 minutes. Each has been edited to approximately 5 minutes each.
Continue reading
WANTED – Ginny and Gwenny – Runaway Tax Slaves!
Help these two women, captured in a nightmare for having the audacity to leave the USA at five years of age and thinking they could live happily ever after in Canada, only to be betrayed by both countries!
Does five years of innocence deserve a life of being hounded by Uncle Sam with threats of fines and imprisonment? Should any US person who lives outside of the USA be threatened like these two five year olds are?
If you don’t think so, please donate at: Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty
We are often admonished that we should pay *our fair share* in return for the promise of U.S. military coming to rescue us on the fateful day of such need…
To those who wish to be rescued (by the US Marine or any other US military) …
Subject: Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Updated Travel Warning for Yemen
TRAVEL WARNING – YEMEN
1. The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the high security threat level in Yemen due to terrorist activities and civil unrest. On February 11, 2015 due to the deteriorating security situation in Sanaa, the Department of State suspended embassy operations and U.S. Embassy Sanaa American staff have been relocated out of the country. All consular services, routine and/or emergency, have been suspended until further notice. The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart when you are able to safely do so. This supersedes the Travel Warning for Yemen issued on February 11, 2015.
2. The level of instability and ongoing threats in Yemen remain severe. There are no plans for a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of U.S. citizens at this time. We encourage all U.S. citizens to shelter in a secure location until they are able to depart safely. U.S. citizens wishing to depart should do so via commercial transportation options when they become available. Keep vital records and travel documents close at hand; U.S. citizens should be prepared to depart at a moment’s notice. The airports are currently closed, but may open unexpectedly; other unforseen opportunities to depart may also suddenly arise.
3. Additionally, some foreign governments may arrange transportation for their nationals and may be willing to offer assistance to others. There is no guarantee that foreign governments will assist U.S. citizens in leaving Yemen. U.S. citizens who choose to seek foreign government assistance in leaving Yemen should only do so if they can safely make their way to the point of embarkation and have received confirmation that there is space available. Even if assured there is space aboard transportation, U.S. citizens should be aware that there is no guarantee that they will be permitted to board the transport, or may have to wait an indefinite period until they can do so. There is also no guarantee of where travelers will go.For U.S. citizen inquiries, you may send an email to YEMENEMERGENCYUSC@state.gov.
4. Terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), continue to be active throughout Yemen. The U.S. government remains extremely concerned about possible attacks on U.S. citizens (whether visiting or residing in Yemen), and U.S. facilities, businesses, and perceived U.S. and Western interests. In addition, piracy in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean is a security threat to maritime activities in the region. See our International Maritime Piracy Fact Sheet.
5. U.S. citizens remaining in Yemen despite this Travel Warning should limit nonessential travel within the country, make their own contingency emergency plans, enroll their presence in Yemen through the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), and provide their current contact information and next-of-kin or emergency contact information. You may inform the Department of State of U.S. citizens located in Yemen by visiting https://tfa.state.gov/ccd, selecting “2015 Yemen Unrest,” and providing as much information as possible. You can also contact us at 1-888-407-4747 (from the U.S. & Canada), +1-202-501-4444 (from overseas), and YemenEmergencyUSC@state.gov if you have additional questions or concerns.
6. For the latest security information, U.S. citizens living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs website where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts and Travel Warnings, and Country Specific Information for Yemen can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada or, for callers in other countries, by calling a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
Remind you of something more current?
Finland 1940
We are now refugees in
Finland.
My little daughter
Returns home in the evening complaining that no child
Will play with her. She is German, and comes
From a nation of gangsters.
When I exchange loud words during a discussion
I am told to be quiet. The people here do not like
Loud words from someone
Who comes from a nation of gangsters.
When I remind my little daughter
That the Germans are a nation of gangsters
She is glad with me that they are not loved
And we laugh together.
Bertolt Brecht, 1940
Another contribution from *Just Me* — sharing New Zealand and US banks’ correspondence…
I have been absent from the FATCA scene recently. I am back in the states and have been busy preparing to start the PCT hike next week trying to forget this madness. However, I had to fill out my FBAR before I left and file for a tax extension since I won’t be back until the first of September. Then I got two letters from my bank, one in NZ and one at our home back here in the States. It was from the “Foreign Revenue Enquiry Team” who are trying to “cure” their list of potential U.S. Persons.
For your information, here were their lead in paragraphs
“We are writing to ensure we have the latest foreign tax residency information for you as required under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
The foreign Account Tax Compliance Tact is a law from the United States of American that recently came into force. The Act requires Foreign Financial Institutions or their governments to enter into an agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service to determine which accounts are held by US citizens and report certain information about their accounts.
Under an inter-government agreement between New Zealand and the US, all New Zealand Financial Institutions are required to comply with the FATCA legislation. As a New Zealand Financial Institution we are required to collect and retain details from our customers to determine whether they are citizens or tax residents of the US.”
……..(details about why they they had identified us)…………….
Important Information…
If we do not hear from you within 90 days, we will be required to send certain information relating to you and your accounts to the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department, as part of the inter-government agreement between NZ and the US. We recommend that you contact your accountant or tax advisor if you are unsure about your foreign tax obligations.”
Anyway, I don’t have much time to devote to this FATCA crap, as still a lot to get done before I leave, but couldn’t help but send this enclosed letter (copy below) along with my compliance. Does no good, but makes me feel better, and thought I would send along a copy for you if you are interested. I don’t have time to post on IBS, but if someone else wants to, they are more than welcome to use it or not. Just remove the names, thanks.
Renouncing US citizenship? How the S. 877A “Exit Tax” may apply to your Canadian assets – 15 Parts
This is a 15-part series which is designed to provide you with some basic education on:
How the U.S. S. 877A Exit Tax rules work; and
How they particularly affect Canadians with a U.S. birthplace, who lived most of their lives in Canada.
The 15 parts are:
Part 1 – April 1, 2015 – “Facts are stubborn things” – The results of the “Exit Tax”
Part 2 – April 2, 2015 –“How could this possibly happen? “Exit Taxes” in a system of residence based taxation vs. Exit Taxes in a system of “citizenship (place of birth) taxation”
Part 3 – April 3, 2015 – “The “Exit Tax” affects “covered expatriates” – what is a “covered expatriate”?”
Part 4 – April 4, 2015 – “You are a “covered expatriate” How the “Exit Tax” is actually calculated”
Part 5 – April 5, 2015 – “The “Exit Tax” in action – Five actual scenarios with 5 actual completed U.S. tax returns.”Part 6 – April 6, 2015 – “Surely, expatriation is NOT worse than death! The two million asset test should be raised to the Estate Tax limitation – approximately five million dollars – It’s Time”
Part 7 – April 7, 2015 – Why 2015 is a good year for many #Americansabroad to relinquish US citizenship – It’s the “Exchange Rate”Part 8 – April 8, 2015 – “The U.S. “Exit Tax vs. Canada’s Departure Tax – Understanding the difference between citizenship taxation and residence taxation”
Part 9 – April 9, 2015 – “Why understanding the U.S. “Exit Tax” teaches us all we need to know about “citizenship taxation”
Part 10 – April 10, 2015 – “The s-877a exit tax and possible treaty relief under the canada us tax treaty”
Part 11 – April 11, 2015 – “S. 2801 of the Internal Revenue Code is NOT a S. 877A “Exit Tax”, but a punishment for the “sins of the father (relinquishment)”
Part 12 – April 12, 2015 – “The two kinds of U.S. citizenship: Citizenship for “immigration and nationality” and citizenship for “taxation” – Are we taxed because we are citizens or are we citizens because we are taxed?”
Part 13 – April 13, 2015 – “I relinquished U.S. citizenship many years ago. Could I still have U.S. tax citizenship?”
Part 14 – April 14, 2015 – “Leaving the U.S. tax system – renounce or relinquish U.S. citizenship, What’s the difference?”
Part 15 – May 22, 2015 – “Interview with GordonTLong.com – “Citizenship taxation”, the S. 877A Exit Tax, PFICs and Americans abroad”
Burning down barns is not wrong because it is illegal; it is illegal because it is wrong
We are living a crisis of morality in which leaders have difficulty distinguishing between what is right and wrong. Today, political leaders facing a legal obstacle to their agenda believe that all they have to do is change the law. So if the government stealing from people is illegal, all that one needs to do is change the law and call it “civil forfeiture“, and suddenly it becomes morally acceptable.
I recall reading a few years back a National Post article that brought up the question of lawmaking and morality came up. Fortunately, Mark Steyn, cites the money quote from George Jonas:
Back in the Trudeaupian golden age, you may recall, the great man’s barnstorming transformation of Canada was momentarily halted by a storm about barns. It emerged that some overzealous officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had burned down barns belonging to Quebec separatists. The press was briefly exercised over this, but M. Trudeau gave one of his famous shrugs and airily remarked that, if people were so upset by the Mounties burning down barns illegally, perhaps he’d make the burning of barns by the Mounties legal. As the great George Jonas commented:
“It seemed not to occur to him that it isn’t wrong to burn down barns because it’s illegal, but it’s illegal to burn down barns because it’s wrong. Like other statist politicians, Mr. Trudeau seemed to think his ability to set out for his country what is legal and illegal also entitled him to set out for his citizens what is right and wrong. He either didn’t see, or resented, that right and wrong are only reflected by the laws, not determined by them.”
The Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, is a moral embarrassment. Before he forced the FATCA IGA into law, it was illegal for the government of Canada, based on national origin discrimination, to give the financial information of Canadian citizens to a foreign government. But it is still wrong to do so, and it doesn’t matter how many laws Harper forces through Parliament, it will remain wrong.