I’m moving this to the top.

PS: The other person referred to is Brocker ‘disgusted’. It was great to finally meet ‘disgusted’ and would love to meet more from Calgary and area. We talked to lots of FATCA interested people and passed out information at the end of the meeting. We both felt it was a worthwhile trip in the dark of the Alberta winter, although (with me driving) getting a little lost and a little late to the ‘meet and greet’.

From: carol tapanila
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2014 7:18 AM
To: Jeremy Broadhurst ; alex.lanthier@parl.gc.ca ; justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
Subject: Re: REMINDER: Action required and Justin Trudeau ‘Meet and Greet’ in Okotoks last night

Thank you for your morning email soliciting my membership in the Liberal Party.

A so-called ‘US Person’ in Canada (born “accidentally” in a US hospital to Canadian parents – there for 5 days) and I drove from Calgary to Okotoks last night for the Justin Trudeau’s ‘meet and greet.’ From the back of the room I did ask Mr. Trudeau a very important question during his short Q&A,

“What will you and the Liberals do regarding FATCA when Parliament resumes and gets down to the business of running this country?”

He acknowledged the question and then said something like, “…for you in the audience who don’t know what FATCA is, it is about people who have made income in the United States…” then went into a comparison, talking about something else entirely. He left us with the impression that he doesn’t know what FATCA is or at the least is not well versed of the consequences of FATCA US extra-territorial law entering Canada. This US extra-territorial law coming into Canada will result in loss of dollars from Canada’s treasury and loss of its very sovereignty, entitling our country’s banks and credit unions (what the US refers to as “foreign financial institutions” for those persons in Canada who our Canadian financial institutions discover in search for ‘US Persons’ using US definitions of “indicia”). FATCA will be a cost to every Canadian taxpayer who also pays banking fees to cover the cost of implementing FATCA and has the ability to destroy the lives of those ‘US Persons’ in Canada who pay their taxes to the country in which they live and work and pay taxes and receive their services and benefits. We are Canadian.

I reached Mr. Trudeau as he greeted persons after his Q&A and asked:

“Will you answer if, with FATCA, ALL Canadians will have the same rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?”

There was an answer from Justin Trudeau, but not a straight and simple ‘Yes’ or ‘NO’.
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http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/01/22/3191631/fatca-tax-evasion-repeal-rnc/

Lets pound this bastard into sand.

Thanks, Badger,  for posting the NDP press release issued today.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2013
CANADIANS DESERVE ANSWERS ON FATCA

OTTAWA – Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty must address growing public anxiety about the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and secret negotiations over an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the implementation of FATCA in Canada.

“A complete lack of transparency, communication and consultation on the part of the Conservatives has exacerbated fears among those who have serious concerns about FATCA,” said NDP pensions critic Murray Rankin (Victoria). “Negotiations are being held behind closed doors while Canadians remain in the dark as to the integrity of their personal banking information.”

Reports suggest that if implemented, an IGA may require Canadian banks, Continue reading →

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jesse-eggert/40/b93/133

I don’t have any more details about Mr. Eggert but he appears to have left the employ of Treasury/IRS and is now living in Paris working the OECD.

For this not familiar with Mr. Eggert here is a video of him sparing with friend of the site James Jatras at George Mason University:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agk7-xqywHc

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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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

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