More on the merging of the terms “tax avoidance” and tax evasion.”

“…there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands… To demand more of mortals is mere cant.”

Learned Hand in Commissioner v. Newman, 159 F2d 848 (1947).

MORALITY and TAX (by Kim G C Moody FCA, TEP, Moodys Gartner Tax Law LLP

And to top it off, the International Bar Association has recently released a report stating that the facilitation of tax avoidance strategies could constitute a violation of international human rights law.

Will their fellow Minister Jim Flaherty follow Hogg’s advice on FATCA too? While we are at it why not submit the text of the US model 1 FATCA IGA for a Supreme Court of Canada reference?

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/news-nouv/nr-cp/2013/doc_32973.html

The  Honourable Peter MacKay, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Central Nova, Minister of Justice  and Attorney General of Canada, announced today the steps the Government has  taken to clarify certain eligibility criteria of Supreme Court Justices.

A Reference will  be launched by the Attorney General of Canada, in the Supreme Court of Canada,  relating to appointments to the highest court. Declaratory provisions have also  been introduced to the Supreme Court Act.

“Our Government will defend the eligibility of  longstanding members of the bar in all provinces and territories to sit on the highest court in Canada,” said  Minister MacKay. “Longstanding members of the Quebec  bar should be,  and are under  the law,  treated the same as  lawyers  in other provinces and territories in Canada.”

According to the  legal opinion of former Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie, whose professional  recommendation was sought before the appointment of Justice Nadon, someone who has been an advocate of the Quebec bar for at least ten years at any time during their career is  qualified to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.  This view was also supported by both former  Supreme Court of Canada Justice, the Honourable Louise Charron, and noted  constitutional expert PETER HOGG.

Treasury Department spokesman Robert Stack claims it’s a myth that US persons living their everyday lives outside the US are being harmed by FATCA.  We know it’s true because the damage FATCA has caused and is causing to our lives is real.

In relation to the Stack statement, Tim noticed that Treasury was “re-iterating on twitter that NO ONE will give up their US citizenship because of FACTA and that it is only a myth that that is happening,” which caused Not Amused to write, “That makes us all mythical creatures then. If anyone related to any US government agency ever tries to contact me, I’ll tell them to have their head examined because people like me don’t exist.” 

“We Are Not a Myth” is a protest on Tumblr where we  post our photos to show that we are real.  You can show your face or hide it in your photo, as you wish, and you can add a message along with it.  You can add your photo yourself  OR e-mail atticusincanada@gmail.com and she’ll add it to the display.

Thanks much, Atticus, for setting this up on Tumblr.  Thanks to Blaze for the original suggestion, “It occurred to me that would be great to do around the world as a Treasury Myth Buster. Each person could do their own sign I Am Not A Myth and perhaps the country.”

And thanks all for your photos – the visuals are so eloquent!

Strange findings from a recent survey by Rasmussen Reports: when asked “have you ever considered giving up your U.S. citizenship?”, nine percent of 977 U.S. adults responded that they had:

Few Americans have ever thought about giving up their U.S. citizenship … Perhaps in part that’s because 93% consider it at least somewhat important to be a U.S. citizen, including 79% who think it is Very Important … Men are more likely than women to have considered giving up their U.S. citizenship. Democrats are less likely than Republicans and unaffiliateds to have considered it. But sizable majorities across all demographic categories have never given a thought to quitting their U.S. citizenship.

Keep in mind however that this is a so-called “national survey” — by which they mean a survey conducted throughout the territory of the State, not among a representative sample of members of the nation located both on State territory and abroad. But just think: if 9% of Homelanders have toyed with the idea of renouncing U.S. citizenship, how many Americans abroad do you imagine are considering it?

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http://www.investmentexecutive.com/-/your-american-clients-and-the-irs?redirect=%2Fsearch

While canadian financial services institutions scramble to prepare for the new U.S. law that requires them to report on accounts held by their American customers, those clients may need a helping hand now.

The new regime starts next summer. For the estimated one million Americans in Canada, this new law means it will be almost impossible to remain off the radar of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) any longer. As a result, your American clients may be panicking and in need of advice and reassurance.

That’s also partly because many such clients have been in denial for some time. But that denial is now a recipe for trouble. “For people who aren’t filing [their U.S. tax returns and] thinking, ‘I’m a small fish; they’re never going to get me’,” says Christine Perry, a lawyer with Keel Cottrelle LLP in Toronto who specializes in cross-border tax law, “I think that’s just a naive way of looking at it. Their accounts will be reportable accounts, and banks will turn over all that information to the [IRS].”

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