Category Archives: Issues regarding US persons abroad

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

International Business Times, April 3, 2015: “US State Department Issues Travel Warning For Yemen But Will Not Conduct A Government-Led Evacuation Of Americans”

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).

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

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.

Continue reading →

 
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”

Continue reading →

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.

FATCA and GATCA implementation and its costs are primarily where the large percentage of the population puts their money: In low-bearing standard savings and checking accounts.

(Yes, it also controls investments and insurance industries which may hold larger asset values, but certainly the largest quantity of control is where the largest quantity of persons have accounts. (FATCA and GATCA costs are not greaer for the account that is $999,999 versus the account that is $50,000.00 . And the small quantity of $1+ million accounts is also irrelevant)

So, what is this revenue that FATCA and GATCA are chasing after? I mean, the FATCA programs that cost $18 to $40 per capita to implement.

Are they so broke that they need the taxes on all the bank accounts of the world that are yielding less than 0,25% interest?

What should we think–knowing that these accounts are all (82%), in high-tax countries, and are all (according to tax treaty) due tax only to the country where they reside?

(Sure, there is some money to be skimmed from investment accounts where a smaller quantity of people are currently making some money. But the quantity of these accounts and the percentage of FATCA/GATCA implementation costs for investment accounts is much lower).

Why are King David’s controllers controlling a huge population that isn’t making any money?

Do they want this money to repatriate itself, so that Merca can tax it at the typical 0.02% interest being gained at US savings institutions?

What about those large investors that actually have negative interest? Does FATCA and GATCA want the proceeds from that too?

How many trillions of lost tax money must be needed to get the $870 million when FATCA’s profit is only 0.02% ?

Envy knows no bounds.

Just asking. It’s Sunday morning,

Can move this discussion further, after the little interesting budget thing in the Senate:

badger says

[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 25, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1901-S1956]
From the Congressional Record Online |through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]

TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

SA 621. Mr. WICKER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 11, setting forth the
congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year
2016 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2017 through 2025; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO REPEAL THE FOREIGN
ACCOUNT TAX COMPLIANCE ACT.

The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate
may revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution
for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments,
amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports
relating to fairness of United States taxpayers, which may
include the repeal of the provisions commonly known as the
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, by the amounts provided
in such legislation for that purpose, provided that such
legislation would not increase the deficit over either the
period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 or the
period of the total of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.

Hat Tip to Tim