We’ll be getting together for lunch Saturday, 4 October, at 2:00 pm at Boston Pizza, 1055 St. Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa (between Donald and Queen Mary, free on-site parking).
We’re currently expecting about 10 people — hope you can come too! Please rsvp by posting a comment here or e-mail me at pacifica@isaacbrocksociety.ca
Originally, my understanding was that existing customers would not be signaled under FATCA regulations unless their accounts were over $50,000. Yesterday, I spoke with a woman whose accounts never exceed $10,000 in aggregate. Furthermore, she is a young mother who hasn’t worked much in the last few years since coming to Canada, and so she has never had an IRS tax liability, as her income would be well below the Foreign Earned Income Exemption. She holds her accounts jointly with her Canadian-only husband. This case highlights why we need the legal action of ADSC.
Yesterday she received the following correspondence from her bank. It shows that they have determined that she has US indicia. They have threatened her with reporting her accounts to the CRA in violation of section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights, which would require the CRA to obtain a warrant before seizing her account information. But now the TD Bank has threatened to transfer her account information to the CRA. But what crime has she committed that the TD has threatened this action? None at all.
I have recommended that she do nothing–not fill out the self-certification form. But I’d like to hear what others think. Please discuss.
Updated on September 19 with an interesting comment by JC to the Robert Wood article:
Which IRS #Offshore Amnesty Program Is Right For You?http://t.co/Iktw9LTdLI – U can't choose all of them, but you could choose none of them
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 18, 2014
The above tweet references an interesting article by Robert Wood. Many people consider the question of which vacation destination to go to. As any “Homelander” will tell you, all Americans abroad are probably “offshore tax cheats” who simply “don’t pay their fair share”.
Therefore, it’s reasonable that while the whole wide world (less Americans abroad) wonder about their next vacation destination, Americans abroad worry about:
“Which IRS Offshore Amnesty Program Is Right For You?”
It’s 11:00 p.m. – Have you worried about your amnesty program today?
Readers of this post are encouraged to post some comments on Mr. Wood’s blog. I don’t believe that he differentiated between Homeland tax cheats using offshore accounts to evade taxes and Americans abroad who need offshore accounts to pay their bills.
One commenter filled the void left by the failure to acknowledge Americans abroad by writing:
“Amnesty is often used to express “freedom” and the time when prisoners can go free.”
Michele Bachman proposes 51st state for Americans abroad?… http://t.co/s4fOxz9RfM
— Patricia Moon (@nobledreamer16) September 17, 2014
Have fun with this one!
Democrats Abroad has published a report of their four month study of how FATCA affects Americans. These reports have been sent to “selected members of Congress and senior officials at the US Treasury and IRS.” DA also indicates discusions with them are ongoing.
DA Report DataPack-CDNS top the list of respondents; 31.8% of those denied jobs due 2 #FATCA Senior Exec Positions http://t.co/6HNFnd4NZK
— ADCSovereignty (@ADCSovereignty) September 15, 2014
The report consists of the following (3) documents:
1. Executive Summary of 2014 FATCA RESEARCH PROJECT – “FATCA: Affecting Everyday Americans Every Day”
2. 2014 FATCA RESEARCH PROJECT – “FATCA: Affecting Everyday Americans Every Day”
3. 2014 FATCA RESEARCH PROJECT – Datapack
Lynne Platt has just arrived as the new US Consul General in Vancouver. A three-year appointment. Perhaps obsessive Brock researchers can dig out detail on her earlier posting to … Baghdad.
http://vancouver.usconsulate.gov/news-events/2014-news-and-events/amb_pao_yukon.html
The absolute and relative dysfunction of the U.S. tax system:
Forget Zimbabwe, U.S. Tax System Ranks At Bottom, Just Better Than Portugal http://t.co/87r8TAPtU8 as per Robert Wood
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 16, 2014
U.S. Tax System Ranks 94th Out Of 100 — Right Below Zimbabwe
http://t.co/q8FXRqTGJa the higher the number the worse the ranking!— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 16, 2014
The absolute immorality of the way it treats U.S. citizens abroad
USG receives perfect score on tax immoriality index 4 stealing from disabled children's protected disability account http://t.co/7jMlaJ1MRk
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 16, 2014
Who are the beneficiaries of the U.S. tax system and why it is difficult to change – A message from 1976
Milton Friedman: The imprediments to U.S. tax reform are Congress and the Compliance Condors https://t.co/5qJQ84VxNL – See 5:00 mark #PFIC
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 15, 2014
I came across this by accident. It has been many years since I read Mr. Friedmans’s Free To Choose – but I remember it as one of the best economics books I have ever read.
The book was turned into a Television series. It can be watched here.
Professor Friedman was not well liked by those on the “left” of the political spectrum. Politics aside, I recommend this short video where he explains his views of “why tax reform is impossible”. Or to put it another way:
Who can possibly have a vested interest in retaining a tax system that is so inefficient, archaic and frankly stupid?
It’s Congress and the Compliance Condors Stupid!
Continue reading
@VLJeker This is one more way that the USG is putting the lives and security of #Americansabroad at risk – opposite of protection from USG
— US Taxation Abroad (@TaxationAbroad) September 15, 2014
I was recently attempting to explain FATCA, FBAR and U.S. taxation practices to a friend. After deciding that I was NOT fabricating a story, she remarked:
“It’s unjust! It’s inhumane! I didn’t choose where I was born!”
(Fortunately she was not born in the U.S.).
The truth is that issues of FATCA, FBAR and citizenship-based taxation are more “citizenship problems” than tax problems.
Incompatible tax systems create problems for people subject to both tax systems.
Incompatible citizenship laws create problems for people who have dual citizenship.
U.S. tax lawyer, Virginia La Torre Jeker has just published a fascinating post where she describes the problems of “incompatibility of citizenship”. Ms. Jeker describes the problems where a country:
1. Does NOT allow dual citizenship; and
2. Makes it a criminal offense to have dual citizenship.
I quote from her insightful post:
Not only are many desperately struggling to become US tax compliant, many GCC nationals are becoming quite concerned that their government will learn they hold a prohibited “second” nationality. Under FATCA, foreign financial institutions must agree to verification and due diligence procedures – meaning they must be on the look-out for customers, owners or beneficiaries evidencing any “US indicia”. They must identify and report directly to the US Internal Revenue Service or to their own government via an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), information on US account holders. FATCA will help expose GCC nationals who hold US citizenship by a financial institution’s transmission of that information directly to the home country government agency responsible for gathering information under the IGA. America, in its quest to root out tax cheats, has now put many of its own innocent citizens in a very perilous position.
This fear of detection seems particularly acute right now in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, Saudi citizenship can involuntarily be lost if a Saudi citizen obtains a foreign citizenship without the prior permission of the Prime Minister. See Articles 11 and 13 of the Saudi Arabian Citizenship System.
Must read Facebook discussion between one of the those #Americansabroad with @DemsAbroad France about #FATCA #FABR https://t.co/nRAcNuVuyb
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 14, 2014
The above tweet references a Facebook conversation between on Stephanie Reynaud (one of the many who lost the birth lottery) and Connie Borde (Chair of Democrats Abroad France).
Note the reference to the “Canadian FATCA lawsuit“.
I have included the full text of the conversation below (wanting to capture this in it’s original text). It is absolutely extraordinary for reasons that include the following:
– the absolute desperation and anguish expressed by Ms. Reynaud
– the attempt by Ms. Borde to turn the fear, hopelessness, anger and despair of Americans abroad into a partisan issue
– the implied (if not stated) refusal of Ms. Borde to see this as an issue that affects all Americans regardless of party (or no) affiliation
– the recognition of Ms. Reynaud that all Americans must work together on this issue (as per the thoughts of Victoria)
– the obviousness of the fact that Democrats Abroad is there to further the interests of the Obama administration which (whether by accident or design) but WITH FULL AWARENESS IS DESTROYING THE LIVES OF ALL AMERICANS ABROAD!!!!!!
On several occasions I have documented how Democrats Abroad is nothing but “The Obama Democrats Abroad” (and the best argument there is for not voting for the Democrats) and anybody who believes differently is nothing but one of those “Stepford Wives“.
This post will likely be read by Democrats Abroad. I encourage you to share your thoughts.
The United States reportedly is asking five European countries to set up preclearance checkpoints at airports for customs and immigration. The expedited checkpoints for foreign travel are now available only in Canada, the Caribbean, Ireland and United Arab Emirates.
The Guardian newspaper in England reports no formal request has been made yet. But U.S. authorities approached England, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden about setting up the checkpoints, according to the Guardian.
