The link to our discussion is now available If you missed the live broadcast of this discussion live, you can now watch it at your leisure.

Canada ceases to be an independent nation as of Canada Day 2014 when FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) comes into effect. Stephen Harper’s government has sold out Canada yet again and is now providing America’s IRS with personal banking information of Americans and Canadians born in the USA. Check out www.stopfatca.ca to find out what you can do about it and regain your sovereignty!

Updated video link here

The Canadian IGA says:

Accounts under $50K are not reportable “unless the FFI elects otherwise”.
Accounts with unambiguous US birthplace are reportable by the FFI “unless it elects to apply subparagraph B(4)…” (which is to try to cure the indicia).

The CRA draft guidance says:

The CRA expects that financial institutions will generally attempt to cure indicia before determining that an account is reportable.

I persisted with my own financial investment advisor, saying I wanted none of our information to go to the CRA as we have CLNs (US-ness was known) and finally got this statement:

I have reviewed all of your documentation that I have for you here and in all of this; I have only noted Canadian Citizenship. Given this, yours and XXX’s status would be noted as Canadian Citizens only with no indication of indicia on record, therefore TD would be reporting to CRA for you as per every other Canadian Citizen.

Continue reading →

http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/07/fatca-tax/

Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, sounds another forceful warning about FATCA while confirming his support for the efforts of both Jim Bopp and our own ADCS.

Some excerpts:

History will ultimately teach us that America’s far-reaching new global tax law, FATCA, which came into effect Tuesday, is a “hammer blow for the U.S. economy”, warns the founder and chief executive of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations.

The stark warning from Nigel Green of deVere Group, which has $10bn under advice and management, is in response to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), better known as ‘FATCA’, which was implemented by Washington yesterday.

“As such, I will continue to voice my calls for this damaging tax act – which cannot possibly effectively achieve its purported aims of combatting tax evasion – to be definitively repealed.

“I will also continue to champion the legal and constitutional challenges being prepared by the likes of American super-lawyer Jim Bopp Jr. and the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty.”

www.devere-group.com

Says bubblebustin,

Wow, the Animal, you are as exceptional with the written word as you are with graphic arts. Well said:

 

This is not the Canada that I was born in.

The Canada I remember, was one of Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The very same who stated: “We must now establish the basic principles, the basic values and beliefs which hold us together as Canadians so that beyond our regional loyalties there is a way of life and a system of values which make us proud of the country that has given us such freedom and such immeasurable joy.” when he signed the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms in 1981. Back then we were so proud that we had a Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to aspire to. That at the very age of eleven, I looked on believing Canada to be the land of the just and upholder of human decency. We were proud of being Canadians; the first to put together such a proclaimed charter that the Queen herself had given Royal Assent and personally signed in a ceremony on Parliament Hill. We truly believed that Canada was at the forefront of civilized nations.

Just a couple of short days ago, …

Waking on Canada Day to:

Now today, July 2, 2014:

…here I stand not 33 years later angered and bitter at the fact that Canada, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper has signed away those very rights and freedoms that were enshrined to us under the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms by passing an omnibus bill that contained a United States law called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

…

This law does not affect just those with clinging US person-hood, but it affects all of us. We will be forced to pay out of pocket for the rising costs of the bank compliance through higher fees, intrusive interrogation when opening a bank account that normally would be cause for a Human Rights complaint, but because of a flourish of a pen, is made legal to ask. One by one our rights are being eroded and instead of being enraged for the further erosion of this once-great country, we are complying with a whimper. Trudeau would ask about the location of our spine.

The acts of our government would indicate that we have none.

*****************

Yes, bubblebustin,

Shame on the Canadian media for not warning all Canadians of the impending attack. Laura Secord’s rolling in her grave.

Many of you have reasonably given up on the political process in any country as a means to change bad laws — and many would also have difficulty in agreeing with all of the positions of some members of the U.S. Republican party.

—But today the Republican National Committee voted unanimously a resolution to support Residence-Based Taxation.

We now have a major political party in the United States aiming to kill both FATCA and citizenship-based taxation. Will the other party support these good resolutions?

From the RO Facebook site:

Resolution Supporting “Residence Based Taxation”

WHEREAS, Residence-Based Taxation, (RBT), is a fair, equitable, and efficient taxation of American Citizens living overseas because it taxes their worldwide income only once in the country where they actually reside and receive government services;

WHEREAS, RBT would not only align U.S. law with the other industrialized countries, but also eliminate complex requirements and tax forms, such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR); and, it would significantly reduce IRS administrative expenses;

WHEREAS, The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that taxes foreign-source income of its citizens living overseas by Citizenship-Based Taxation (CBT), resulting in double taxation; all other industrialized countries only tax foreign-source income of their citizens residing in their home country (Residence-Based Taxation or RBT);

WHEREAS, The complexity of a U.S. tax return for an American living overseas and the significant additional penalties applicable to
Americans living overseas requires these U.S. Citizens to hire expensive tax preparers; the cost of this double-taxation along with the costs of preparation and compliance put American job seekers at a competitive disadvantage to other non-American workers, thus costing American jobs;

WHEREAS, The higher cost to hire American workers resulting from CBT causes multinational corporations, even those headquartered in America, to hire fewer Americans, to have less of a connection to America and purchase fewer American goods and services, thus decreasing American exports;

WHEREAS, The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), implemented as a result of CBT, has caused banks, both U.S. and foreign, to deny access to banking and other financial services to the 7.6 million Americans overseas, thus denying employment and investment opportunities and forcing them to choose between U.S. citizenship and their livelihood;

WHEREAS, The implementation of FATCA to enforce CBT promotes the abandonment of the U.S. Dollar as the global reserve currency and hurts the U.S. economy; and

WHEREAS, History reveals that replacing Citizenship-Based Taxation with Residence-Based Taxation will raise net Federal tax revenue because of increased economic growth, therefore be it

RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee urges Congress to repeal Citizenship-Based Taxation and its supporting legislation such as FATCA and FBAR;

RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee urges Congress to permit restoration of citizenship for those who were compelled to renounce their citizenship because of the crushing burdens of FATCA and FBAR; and

RESOLVED, The Republican National Committee urges Congress to align U.S. law with the laws of other industrialized countries of the world by limiting taxation to Residence Based Taxation on American Citizens living overseas which will encourage increased employment of Americans and increased export of American goods and services.

Chief Sponsor – Solomon Yue, Jr., Republican National Committeeman for Oregon (Vice Chairman and CEO of Republicans Overseas)
1st Co-Sponsor – Carolyn McLarty, Republican National Committeewoman for Oklahoma (Chairman of the RNC Resolution Committee and Member of Republicans Overseas Board of Governors)
2nd Co-Sponsor – Jeff Kent, Republican National Committeeman for Washington (Vice Chairman of the RNC and Member of Republicans Overseas Worldwide Advisory Committee)…..and others

https://www.facebook.com/republicansoverseas

Group Plans Constitutional Challenge to Budget Bill
Ottawa – Globe & Mail
Monday, JUNE 30, 2014
by Josh Wingrove

A constitutional challenge is in the offing for a Conservative government budget bill that will allow some Canadians’ bank information to be shared with American authorities.

“The thing is an unbelievable joke,” said John C. Richardson, a Toronto lawyer who serves as ADCS co-chair. “… I am very confident in our legal position … , no ifs, ands or buts about it. In fact, if [C-31] is not a violation of the Charter, then the Charter doesn’t mean anything at all.”

FATCA applies to anyone with citizenship, even those who’ve lived in Canada for decades. Kate, a 52-year-old Canadian, was born in Texas to Canadian-born parents, and was brought back to Canada at age one. She says she’s now facing penalties for a life of not filing taxes – she didn’t know she had to – in the United States.

“I’ve never worked there, I’ve never been to school there, I’ve rarely travelled there,”said Kate, who is supporting ADCS and spoke on condition her last name would not be published. She said she feels betrayed by Canada.

“I would like other Canadians to realize that their rights and freedoms aren’t any safer than my rights and freedoms are. I haven’t done anything wrong. I was just born in the wrong country. And the Canadian government is having no problems just deciding that a foreign country can have my information. So if my rights and freedoms can be thrown under the bus, then all Canadians’ can be. That’s why I think people should be concerned about it.”

See Article Here