Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Possible relinquishment route for CLN for some duals-at-birth in Canada

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Some persons born dual US-Canadian citizens at birth, particularly those born of even one Canadian parent on US soil and with no adult connections to or claims on US citizenship, may have a viable relinquishment option (as distinct from a renunciation option, open to almost everyone) for getting a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States (CLN). Please see other threads of this and our partner website for a discussion of the difference between relinquishment and renunciation and why it might matter to you.

I learned yesterday by private email something I had suspected but had not been confirmed. Some duals-at-birth have, ideally after the age of 18, applied for an received a Canadian Citizenship Card from Citizenship and Immigration Canada at some point in their past. To get such a card, one has to provide evidence (in these cases) that at least one parent was a Canadian citizen at the time you were born, and you also must swear and sign an oath of allegiance to the Queen of Canada.

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Globe and Mail Suggests that Canadian/US Relationship Heading for More Friction

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Interesting commentary piece in today’s Globe and Mail suggests that Harper and Obama have run out of patience with each other, and we should expect this situation to get worse not better.

The usual suspects of disagreement are trotted out from the stalled Keystone XL pipeline to the recent posturing on Israel that Harper is milking for all that it is worth.

However,  the author makes no mention of the FATCA IGA that no one outside the sitting government seems to have any firm details on, nor does it mention the coming panic in Canada when more and more Canadian citizens fall victim to the blatant financial data grab that FATCA really is.

There were about 90 comments. I didn’t note any FATCA related ones but perhaps those Brockers who comment at G&M might have the time to add FATCA to the list of irritating issues between Canada and the US.

“January 2014 FBAR/FACTA (sic) Tax Update for DA Members”

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Democrats Abroad has just released a new report from its FBAR/FATCA Taskforce. Overall, it looks like most of its policy ideas have been cribbed from ACA without any attribution.  Most unfortunately, the report’s authors can’t resist turning a disaster which cuts across party lines for all U.S. Persons abroad into just another excuse to take cheap partisan pot-shots as it concludes:

Republicans Abroad has been conspicuous by their absence in lobbying for reforms to FATCA.  Political operatives at the RNC have woken up to the issue and have formed a new entity called Republicans Overseas to make political capital out of a FATCA repeal effort.  They hope the movement will stir sentiment and drive overseas votes to Republican candidates and raise money.  Their plan is at best quixotic and at worst a blatant political ploy – in either case it is likely to fail given the commitment that regulators have demonstrated to implementing the law and the recognition in the US and globally that tax dodging must be stopped.

Here, then, is the text of this new missive:

Democrats Abroad marks the start of tax season (woo hoo) with a new report, copied below, from the Democrats Abroad FBAR/FATCA Taskforce.  This Task Force examines financial reporting requirements affecting Americans with accounts in foreign financial institutions and works to lessen their unintended adverse impacts on overseas Americans. We hope this report is helpful. Democrats Abroad supports government efforts to block and catch Americans avoiding tax through illegal means.  We also urge the government to recognize that most overseas Americans are honest citizens, not tax cheats or money launderers.

Important:  Please be reminded that we do not provide personal advice on US tax issues and obligations.

Please also go to the Task Force webpage on www.democratsabroad.org for more information on the Task Force and an archive of past communications about their work.  This is the link:  https://www.democratsabroad.org/group/da-international/fbarfatca-task-force-page-updated.

If you log in to www.democratsabroad.org you can join the FBAR/FATCA Task Force Group (See Email Notification Settings in the right hand column and click on “Notify me of postings of this group”) to post comments.  We welcome your comments on the website.

Katie Solon

International Chair

Democrats Abroad

Could it be? Another #FATCA delay? Perhaps FATCA is nothing but a myth!

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Interesting “hot off  the press” post from Virginia La Torre Jeker, coming on the heels of this Eileen O’Connor Forbes article describing the difficulties of the FATCA rollout.

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New U.S. Tax Regime (#FATCA)Trampling Rights in New Zealand and Beyond

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February 3, 2014 UPDATE: Urgent:
Public submissions can be made from anywhere in the world. All that is required is a name, email address and phone number. But you will have to be quick as the link will be closed at midnight on Wed 5th Feb New Zealand time. I hope you will find time to express your opinion to them. The link is here:

http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/sc/make-submission/50SCFE_SCF_00DBHOH_BILL12926_1/taxation-annual-rates-employee-allowances-and-remedial (scroll down to “make an online submission”)

Osgood’s excellent recent analysis of FATCA IGA ‘enabling’ legislation in New Zealand has inspired another article at The New American.

Under the pretext of extracting more wealth and personal information from Americans living abroad by smashing all remaining vestiges of privacy, the Obama administration’s Treasury Department is bullying authorities around the world into signing unconstitutional pseudo-treaties with drastic implications for individual rights. Developments in New Zealand, where officials are already jumping onboard the deeply controversial U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) bandwagon, illustrate the problems well.

Alex hits a home run again. I understand that this plus other the articles on FATCA here, here and here will be in their print version too.  Every new article helps, so keep chipping away at it Brockers!  Reach out to every journalist you can!

@BarackObama view of equal treatment under the law – #Americansabroad should have a Geithner

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As I watch this video, I am reminded of the horrible horrible IRS abuse of Americans abroad. Also reminds of Badger’s suggestion for Americans Abroad.

Really, they should all just “have a Geithner”.

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#Americansabroad in Canada must warn @TOMayorFord of offer of U.S. citizenship – post warnings here!

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For those who don’t know Rob Ford is the Mayor of Toronto. Toronto is Canada’s largest city and (apparently the sixth largest city in North America). Some of you may know, that he has been having his problems with Toronto City Council. But, he has become an International Celebrity (giving him a priceless amount of free advertising in his bid for re-election). He is clearly a media sensation. He has been the subject of numerous articles including this interesting contribution by Conrad Black.

Whether he is loved or hated in Canada, Mayor Ford is loved in the U.S. In fact he is so loved that according to MSN Canadian News Quiz :

An online petition if acted upon by the U.S. Government would make Rob Ford an Honary Citizen of – you guessed it – The United States of America.

If I were Rob Ford, right now I might be thinking:

Well, there’s good news and bad news!

The good news is that I am so loved in the United States that they want to make me a citizen!

The bad news is that the U.S. government might deem me to be a United States citizen!

I thought it might be interesting for Brockers to comment on what it might mean for Mayor Ford to be a U.S. citizen living in Canada.

Let’s help the Mayor. He has helped many residents of Toronto.

Whether you support the Mayor or not, surely he deserves to know exactly how it might affect his life to be a U.S. citizen living outside the United States.

Please put aside your political differences, and offer Mayor Ford some advice …

(Oh, by the way, for the purposes of your comments, let’s make the reasonable assumption that Mayor Ford has a net worth that exceeds two million U.S. dollars.)

 

@BarackObama Selectively Implements More Than Just #Obamacare, At Great Taxpayer Expense – #FATCA

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This strong indictment from a Washington based lawyer Eileen O’Connor (who once headed the tax division of the U.S. Department of Justice) Includes:

Lost in the bewilderment about the Obama administration choosing which parts of Obamacare it would apply to which people and when, has been that it has been doing the same thing with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).  The Administration has time and again delayed effective dates that were set in the statute.  Nobody is complaining, though, because nobody can comply.  Not the government, and not the financial institutions subject to the law.

…

Embedded in the charmingly-named HIRE Act, FATCA requires any financial institution anywhere in the world to report to the US government the results of any dealings it has with any person or entity subject to US tax laws.  Just as nationalizing activities amounting to one-sixth of the national economy was a pretty tall order, so too was requiring global financial reporting.

…

Another problem with FATCA implementation is the intergovernmental agreements Treasury has been trying to negotiate around the globe.  A few are in place; more are in the works.

Under the agreements, the foreign government agrees to require its financial institutions to provide information on US persons either directly to the IRS (a Model 2 agreement), or to the foreign government, which will then provide it to IRS (a Model 1 agreement).  To entice foreign governments to enter into these agreements, Treasury has been promising to reciprocate, to the extent allowed by law.

The catch is that the reciprocation is not presently allowed by U.S. law.  This is clear from the Administration’s budget request for 2014, the “Analysis and Perspectives” for which asks, on page 202, for the authority to reciprocate.

Rep. Bill Posey, R-FL, wrote to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew last summer, asking him to stop negotiating FATCA-implementing intergovernmental agreements with foreign governments, because his promise of US reciprocation is one on which he cannot deliver.  Even if providing this information to foreign governments were permissible under US law, Posey believes doing so would discourage foreign investment in the US, thus depriving the US of capital that would otherwise be available for business formation and growth.

There are currently two great comments – perhaps you may want to add your thoughts.

 

 

 

Opportunity for Those in Alberta

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For those in the Edmonton and Calgary areas, the Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, is holding rallies next week. Free to attend but you need to request tickets in advance.

The man says he wants to hear from Canadians about what is important to them and what his party should focus on and stand for, and while at least one of his MP’s has questioned the sitting government on FATCA, the party hasn’t put forth an official stance as the Greens and the NDP have.

With the party set to hold its convention this coming February 20 – 23 in Montreal, any and all input should probably be made ahead of this gathering. Policy is on the agenda and if the Liberals can tackle legalizing prostitution and euthanasia, FATCA couldn’t be considered more controversial, could it?

Follow this link for more details on the rallies. There are two by-elections slated for Alberta soon, so we should be seeing a lot more of Mr. Trudeau.

Anybody interested in U.S. tax reform – #PeppTaxReform Tax Conference Today – @SoCalTaxProf Live Feed

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Last year Allison Christians presented at this event. Although, I don’t see anything on agenda about international tax of foreign accounts taxation of the local bank accounts of Canadian citizens resident in Canada, some of you may find certain topics to be of interest.

It may provide some clues on the possibility of tax reform in general.