A U.S. law aimed at cracking down on tax evasion by expatriates has collectively cost Canada’s five biggest banks about 750 million Canadian dollars (US$693.5 million) in initial compliance expenses, according to people familiar with the matter.

Read more here: http://online.wsj.com/articles/canada-banks-tally-their-tax-compliance-tab-1406504252?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LatestHeadlines

Hint: if you have trouble viewing this article, try cutting and pasting the headline into a Google search.

i.e., If anyone cannot get past the log in / subscription page: go to GOOGLE NEWS; in the search box there, insert Canada Banks Tally Their Tax-Compliance Tab.

July 28 UPDATE:

I spoke to Lynne today. She thanks everyone for their good wishes, but still is not feeling well enough to have visitors.

We all want her back with us soon.

July 25 UPDATE:

Many of you know that our warrior Lynne Blaze sustained a serious injury.

Lynne is still in an acute care hospital, will probably be there for awhile, and then will likely move to a rehab setting. I expect that she will return to us in about six weeks or so.

Lynne used many very colorful words to describe her situation in hospital, that I cannot repeat.

The nurses at the hospital refer to Lynne (who I have always described as “Kindly Lynne”) as “feisty.” Lynne herself explains to me that “My inner bitch has now come out!”

So, I send flowers — for Lynne

…or for her nurses…

She is the same Lynne again that we all know, and she knows that we all miss her.

PS: No, No, Lynne — not yet!!!

Stephen

It is also important to note that FATCA’s requirements are the same for all American taxpayers—expats are treated no differently. All citizens are required to comply with United States’ tax laws and FATCA is a tool to enforce them. Tax evaders should rightly worry that FATCA will reveal their illicit activities.

Mark J. Marzur, Assistant Secretary for tax policy, United States Treasury Department (emphasis mine)

FATCA hunts down “US taxpayers” as defined by US law, considers their legal activities in Canada carried out as Canadian citizens as illicit, and then tells these “US persons” that they should be rightly worried about their “illicit” activities. No, Mr. Assistant Secretary: You don’t have clue. You must go back to school and study international law: (1) The Master Nationality Rule says that every country has the right to consider their resident citizens as only their citizens and not the citizens of any other country; (2) the Dominant Nationalty Rule says that a so-called dual citizen has the right to protection of the country with which they they have the most ties; and (3) The Rule of State Nonresponsibility that a state has no right to protect a citizen–or steal from them–if they are currently inside a country in which they have citizenship. FATCA conforms to none of the international rules of dual citizenship.

By completely disregarding the international doctrines of dual citizenship,  the United States is a rogue nation, forcing other countries to “out” instead of protecting their own citizens.

The above statement of the Assistant Secretary raises a serious moral issue. If US Treasury wishes to ignore international law, then it is the United States which is involved in the illicit activity, not innocent Canadians who live in Canada and carry out their activities under the protection of the Canadian government (or the citizens of any other country for that matter). The immoral SOBs are not the accidental Americans–people whose only failure was birth in the United States–but the United States for taxing them.

The end result of immoral activity by the United States is war. We now see wars around the globe that the United States has instigated: Syria, Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Ukraine, and Israel/Palestine. The US is funding terrorists and neo-nazis in these various countries and it is causing instability, war, and death. FATCA is an extension within the financial realm of US imperial policy. It is financial terrorism: Financial American Terrorism Contra All.

Thanks very much, PatCanadian, for doing this interview!

Vancouver Sun:  Metro Vancouver Woman Joins Movement to Drop US Citizenship

The author, Douglas Todd made contact with Pat, due to Pat having contacted the Vancouver Sun regarding their coverage of FATCA/US tax policy on Canadians.

He also asked Pat if she could help him get in touch with other people affected by this – several other Brockers/Sandboxers have – and also at the end of the article asks people to get in touch with him. I’m wondering (hoping!) that’s because he plans to do more coverage of this important issue.

It’s a complex issue with several, if not many, facets.  If you’d like to share your story, or general information about the issue, and/or suggest another article focusing on a specific aspect/s of the problem, it may well be worth getting in touch with him.

Obama: Companies that avoid taxes are renouncing citizenship

President Barack Obama plans to go on the offensive later Thursday against companies that use cross-border mergers to avoid U.S. taxes, accusing them of essentially renouncing their American citizenship to shield profits. Bloomberg reports Obama will say in Los Angeles that companies using so-called inversions benefit from the economic advantages of being in the U.S. while adding to the tax burden of middle-class families. Democrats have called for action to stop inversions but analysts say near-term chances of legislation being enacted are very low.

Renouncing citizenship would appear to be a heinous crime, similar to treason. One such criminal, Peter Dunn, also appeared in a MarketWatch article by Al Lewis:

Tax man makes it hard to be an American, Commentary: Tough IRS rules hit the little guys hard

I feel honoured to be in a special class of criminal merely for exercising my universal and fundamental right to change my nationality.

Worry and concern but no actual statement on what the Liberals will do (or would have done) about the FATCA IGA implementation in Canada.

From: Alex Lysyshyn
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2014 10:39 AM
To: Caroltapanila
Subject: Re: Re: Leaders lead. You make it happen.

< ... Be part of the change | Faites partie du changement ... Alex Lysys Alex Lysyshyn (Liberal / Assistance) 23 Jul 12:39 Dear Carol, Thank you for taking the time to write to us regarding the implications the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has on some Canadians. As you may know, in February of this year the Government of Canada entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. regarding FATCA requirements. Under these rules the Canada Revenue Agency will collect tax information on Canadians who are U.S. citizens and then hand that information over to the IRS. Before the agreement which came into effect on July 1, the Liberal Party of Canada raised the issue in Question Period, pressing the Conservative government to do the right thing for Canadians. We believe that the Government of Canada should stand up for honest, hardworking people who have been caught up by overly complex American tax rules. They are not tax cheats and we encouraged Stephen Harper to stand up for them. We have concerns that the agreement reached with the U.S. may not stand up to a Constitutional challenge given that it forces the banks to treat clients differently based on their national origin, something forbidden by Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Liberals believe Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird should have asked the U.S. for amnesty against penalties as the IRS’s Foreign Bank Account Reporting requirements were not adequately communicated to dual-citizens living in Canada. In addition, we encouraged Finance Minister Joe Oliver to work to amend the agreement so that the IRS would not tax savings vehicles such as TFSAs and RESPs. We were pleased to learn these registered plans have since been exempted from reporting by the banks but continue to worry that the IRS may view them as taxable when dual citizens file their returns. For more information on how FATCA affects Canadians, you can visit the Department of Finance website at: http://www.fin.gc.ca/n14/14-018-eng.asp Thank you again for writing. Kind regards, Alex Lysyshyn Liberal Party of Canada Tell us about what issues you care about | Dites-nous quels enjeux vous tiennent à coeur 81 rue Metcalfe Street, Suite / Bureau 600 Ottawa, ON K1P 6M8 Telephone / Téléphone: 1 888 LIBERAL (1 888 542-3725) Email / Courriel : assistance@liberal.ca Follow us on / Suivez-nous sur: Liberal.ca | Facebook | Twitter Get updates | Mises à jour

And I heard all Europeans loved Obama. The shipyard workers are worried though that their own president is spineless.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/07/22/david-camerons-anger-at-frances-refusal-to-halt-warships-sale-to-russia-called-a-debate-led-by-hypocrites/

The owner of Le Ralliement, a café patronized by shipyard workers a few hundred metres from where the Vladivostok is docked, bristled with anger at Mr. Cameron and Barack Obama, the U.S. president.

“Obama should get off our case and concentrate on solving America’s problems,” said the burly 62-year-old, who declined to be named.

Thumping his hands on the bar for emphasis, he added, “As for Cameron, he should stop being the voice of his master and obediently repeating everything Obama says. If he wants to be heard in Europe, he should act as if he’s part of it.”

He stroked his moustache before going on, “The British should have been kicked out of the European Union when they chose not to take the euro like everyone else. And that soft president of ours hasn’t got the guts to stand up to anyone.”

Asked if it was morally justifiable to sell sophisticated warships to Russia after the downing of Flight MH17 by a missile which Washington says was fired from an area in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Moscow rebels, the café owner replied, “If we don’t sell ships to them, someone else will.”

Around the port, used by the Nazis as a submarine base in the Second World War, many shared his opinion, even if they expressed it less vehemently.

Stephane Gohaud, a 46-year-old taxi driver, described the MH17 disaster as “horrifying and tragic”, but added, “[The plane] should never have flown over a war zone. I don’t believe the Russians wanted it to be shot. It was a horrible mistake.”

Life planning, Career planning and the Reality of U.S. Citizenship for Americans Abroad including Life Preparation for U.S.Citizen-children of U.S.Citizens

These seminars will include discussion and analysis of the IRS “relaxed opportunities” for people to come into compliance.

It is estimated there are 7 million U.S. citizens living outside the United States. Some of these people don’t know that the U.S. may consider them to be citizens. The vast majority of these Americans abroad (according to U.S. law), are required to file tax returns and complete information reporting forms to the United States. Although “citizenship-based” taxation has existed for years, what is new is the enforcement.

On February 5, Canada signed an Intergovernmental Agreement with the United States concerning the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. This enables the US to receive enhanced financial information of Canadians (account numbers, balances, deposits, withdrawals); information the Canadian banks were never permitted to send to the CRA due to our privacy laws. This reporting applies to those deemed “US Persons” which includes citizens, green card holders,”Accidental Americans,” “border babies,” and will affect the families of anyone considered as such by the US. On Canada Day, July 1, 2014, Canadian financial institutions began to determine what accounts are “reportable accounts.” Information regarding those accounts will be passed on to the CRA who will, in turn, pass this information on to the IRS. The late Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty emphasized that the CRA will not collect taxes for any person who was a Canadian citizen at the time the tax was incurred, nor will any penalties be collected concerning FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report). This situation is causing confusion and concern for anyone who may have a US connection, whether it be actual citizenship, a member of the family, etc. This information session will focus on these issues which include:

Citizenship Issues:

Are you a US citizen?

Are you still a US citizen?

Are your children US citizens?

What is an Accidental American?

Tax Issues:

Filing US tax returns

What is involved?

Filing information returns (FBAR, 8938, 3520A & 3520, 5471, 8621 etc)

Reasonable cause (avoiding penalties)

Financial Planning Issues:

Treatment of tax-deferred savings plans

Treatment of Mutual Funds (PFICs)

Privacy Issues:

What might FATCA mean for me?

Border Issues:

Will FATCA make it harder for me to cross the border?

Does it make sense to give up US citizenship?

Relinquishment

Renouncing

Presenter: John Richardson, B.A., L.L.B., J.D., is a Toronto lawyer and a member of the Ontario Bar. CitizenshipSolutions.ca

When: Monday, August 25, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Where: Beaches Presbyterian Church, 65 Glen Manor Drive, Toronto M4E 2X2 MAP

Admission: $20 individual or $40 for a family of up to four people. Payable in cash at the door – please (to cover costs).

Hope to see you and your families on August 25. Spread the word!

Brockers, we have had very little luck in finding Francophone volunteers to translate the Alliance For the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty website for us.

This is principally because FATCA is unknown in Quebec. And, it will never be known in Quebec, if we cannot get the website translated. This is the quintessential ‘Catch-22’ situation!

We have had a few leads, but each of them have fizzled out for one reason or another. Please, if anyone is fluent in French (Quebecois), message me on this post and I will contact you. I have word files all ready to go. The task could even be divided up between a few people, so as to keep the task more manageable for each person.

Please take a moment to look over the site and get a good idea of what you will be undertaking before you volunteer.

Thanks!

A couple weeks ago, I sent this comment via  email to my Conservative MP of Nepean-Carleton, Pierre Poilievre (thank you to Deckard1138 whose wording I borrowed from one of his Brock posts):

Only one week after ushering-in FATCA on Canada Day, Canada’s government is warning the Eritrean consulate to stop harassing Eritrean-Canadians or risk closure of its consulate. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made the announcement today in Ottawa.

Fair enough to say that this is certainly one of the most egregiously hypocritical moves the Conservative government has ever made – and there have been far too many to count over the years. I would love to hear Mr. Baird explain to Canadians how it is acceptable for the United States to impose its infinitely more invasive extraterritorial tax laws in Canada but Eritrea’s amateur-hour 2% shakedown warrants impending closure of its consulate? Could it be that Mr. Baird is in fact preparing a subsequent announcement that he will be ordering the immediate closure of the US Embassy as well? Should we give him the benefit of the doubt?

Today I received this ‘enlightened, and well argued’ (NOT) response back:

The United States collects taxes based on citizenship, rather than residency. This means that a US citizen living in another country must still file and pay taxes in the US for as long as they remain a US citizen.

There is no equivalency between this and the actions of Eritrea.

Sincerely,

Pierre Poilievre, P.C., M.P. Nepean-Carleton