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FATCA: What you need to know
Lawyer John Richardson discusses new tax legislation taking effect
July 1, that will impact a million US citizens currently living in Canada
Also see John Richardson on Independent Nation: Monday, June 30 – 8:00 PM Live Streamed Online
“The Night Before FATCA” (with Peter Dunn and Tricia Moon)
See Video HERE
July/13 @Mopsicktaxlaw writes on "Being an American" http://t.co/p45vzgU4Ab – July/14 As #FATCA Hunt begins issue: "Being #Americansabroad"
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) June 30, 2014
Mr. Mopsick’s post includes:
I also highly commend to everyone, particularly our dear friends to the north, Victoria’s piece on the Franco American Flophouse published July 25, 2013. “On Being An American.” I trashed a draft blog of my own “on being an American” which I was struggling with before the Fourth of July. I was searching for words to express the feeling Victoria captured so eloquently below which I am sure has resonated with Americans abroad.
As we approach the 4th of July – Independence Day – one must ask whether the there is a difference between “Being an American” and “Being an American Abroad”. Another year has passed.
– the formal relinquishments of U.S. citizenship continue to grow
– the informal relinquishments of U.S. citizenship (run and hide) are going through the roof
– the rollout of “FATCA Hunt” is forcing Americans abroad to hide their “USness”
– the U.S. Congress has shown no interest in freeing Americans abroad from the “prison of citizenship-based taxation” – AKA taxation based on place of birth
Tomorrow July 1, 2014 marks the Official start of FATCA Hunt.
As Americans abroad contemplating the arrival of Independence Day:
What are your thoughts on the MEANING of being an American abroad?
What message would you like to send to America this Independence Day?
Brockers!!
Please distribute this far and wide.
We need the media to pay attention to this story.
Please download this Press Release PDF and send it out to your Local Papers, TV and Radio Stations!
Tweet and post on Facebook!
We need people to wake up and join the Legal Challenge, but they won’t do so unless they know what is happening to our country.
The move will enable Beijing to obtain information on mainland Chinese taxpayers in the US, which will help in its fight against tax evasion and corruption.
“It is important, as China was seen as the last major outlier in reaching an IGA with the US,” said Charles Kinsley, a China tax partner at accounting firm KPMG. “Most major economies have negotiated an IGA, either formally or in principle.”
Eric Boes, an international tax consultant at the trust company Amicorp, said: “I can imagine Beijing will want information on Chinese taxpayers abroad. A possible reason is that the government wants information on corrupt Chinese officials.”
Really? Do the Chinese actually believe that the US, the world’s greatest tax haven, is going to hand-over any more banking information about their nationals than they have to the Russians, any number of Central or South American countries or, for that matter, any of the signatories to FATCA worldwide, including Canada? While the US may have gleefully yanked Switzerland’s banking secrecy culture out by its roots it sure isn’t about to do the same thing to Delaware or Nevada or Texas or Florida. It is simply laughable to pretend otherwise.
Yet plenty of pretending has been going on worldwide. We know that reciprocity is a lie, yet every single article and press release trumpeting yet another FATCA deal includes this easily-refuted canard. Is there something else going on behind the scenes that we simply haven’t figured-out? With only four sleeps left until FATCA ignites, are we truly witnessing the birth of a nightmarish One World Government ruled by a despotic America or is this more like a game of high-stakes poker where every player is badly bluffing – except maybe China?
What do people think will happen if a “US Person” Canadian citizen gets their bank records sent on to IRS?
The Economist weighs-in with two new articles about FATCA:
These are both great commenting opportunities.
Thanks to Innocente for pointing-out the additional article.
Defending wealthy tax cheats is all the rage these days
http://fortune.com/2014/06/25/foreign-tax-evasion-law/
Canadian Government challenged on right 2 revoke citizenship of "dual" Canadians http://t.co/zw9FQTgR8h – Creates #FATCA like 2nd class Cdns
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) June 26, 2014
This article is generating a number of comments. Good place to do some education. The article should be read along with this Globe editorial:
On July 2 2014 my understanding is that Canada’s banks will be asking (at least) new account holders questions and employing a variety of approaches to establish U.S. personhood. These questions will violate Canada’s Charter Of Rights and other laws. Many of us also wonder whether the Silent Majority out there feels that such questions have no consequence.
Coming to a Canadian bank near you?
We need to know the actual questions and approaches and are focusing first on questions about U.S. personhood that will be asked by Canada’s major banks when Canadians open a NEW PERSONAL CHEQUING account after July 1. I suspect that different banks may ask different questions.
When you have this information, please provide in your comments these questions to be asked and I will update the top of this post.
[Please also read the disturbing comments below from @Pollyanna, who reports that one Canadian bank actually used information provided in casual conversations with the account manager to help establish whether the account holder is a U.S. person.]
My local Canadian bank branches provide this information on U.S. questions asked or not asked when opening a new account (this info may all be incorrect; please correct):
SCOTIA BANK: “Are you a U.S. person for tax purposes?”
http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,6098,00.html
TD BANK CANADA TRUST: “Are you a U.S. citizen” AND “Where were you born?”
TD’s web information page: http://www.td.com/fatca/index.jsp
See: LM Correspondence with CustomerCare, TD for others to consider in relation to their own FFI’s web information and their relationship with their FIs.
HSBC CANADA: “Do you hold multiple citizenship” AND “What is your place of birth”
http://www.expat.hsbc.com/1/2/hsbc-expat/services/expat-tax/tax-matters/fatca?WT.ac=HBIB_14_5_29_home_small_pro_FATCA_Find_out_more
NEW HSBC information consent
CIBC: Local branch will receive info July 2.
Note: the link below is for CIBC World Markets, which deals with Wholesale Banking (Corporate & Institutional) as opposed to Retail Banking (Personal & Small Business). We have yet to see a CIBC FATCA page specifically written for Retail Banking clients. Perhaps as of July 2, once local CIBC branches receive info, there will be such as page on the CIBC website.
http://www.cibcwm.com/cibc-eportal-web/portal/wm?pageId=fatca&language=en_CA
BMO: “Do you have any other citizenships” (tentative per @Anne Boleyn)
http://www.bmo.com/home/about/banking/foreign-account-tax-compliance
RBC ROYAL BANK:
http://www.rbc.com/aboutus/fatca.html
I would be very skeptical of this information:
“If you open a new account and provide two pieces of ID that are not U.S. tainted and do NOT INCLUDE A CANADIAN PASSPORT (e.g., Canadian driver’s license and social insurance number are ok) and the bank has no other evidence to indicate that you are a US person (e.g., you never told the bank by mistake) no U.S. questions will be asked.
However, should you PRESENT A (TOXIC) CANADIAN PASSPORT at the time of opening an account, YOU WILL BE ASKED whether you do or do not have a U.S. place of birth.”
The way to stop the questions from being asked is to go to:
Another confounding dispatch from the inimitable Mr. Mopsick, this time offering some armchair quarterbacking of the June 18th IRS announcements.
Some CanCon highlights amongst the head-scratching tally of winners and losers:
With the Streamlined Express, the IRS has recognized that it is ill-equipped to hold everyone’s hand including old ladies in Canadian nursing homes who swear they see armed IRS special agents lurking around the bushes at night ready to arrest and humiliate them because they have disgraced themselves by failing to recognize their obligation as dual citizens to honor America with an annual tax return for all these years.
*****
The Canadians were not loser’s [sic] here. Continue reading
