Nothing we didn’t already know. The January 1st deadline has now been blown and supposedly IGA negotiations will continue to a “conclusion” over the next few weeks. Again we need to keep up the fight in the new year. I just wanted to let everyone know in case comments open up on the G&M website. I will be contacting Barrie myself later this evening.
James Jatras of Washington, DC, law firm Squire Sanders, and RepealFATCA.com discusses how we can defeat FATCA. He stresses, and illustrates, why FATCA is not a done deal, and suggests what practical measures we can take to stop it. Green Party National Revenue and Environmental Fiscal Reform Critic Erich Jacoby-Hawkins speaks of the Green Party’s position on FATCA. Participants in the Forum then break to prepare a petition which Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will present to Parliament.
This is part 7 of the 9 part FATCA Forum. Calgary411 and I are preparing the transcripts and they will be posted on Brock as they become available during the coming days.
The text of Mr. Jatras’ presentation follows below and the transcript is also online as a PDF document.
Abby Deshman of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association discusses the implications FATCA would have on privacy rights.
This is part 3 of the 9 part FATCA Forum. Calgary411 and I are preparing the transcripts and they will be posted on Brock as they become available during the coming days.
The text of Ms. Deshman’s presentation follows below and the transcript is also online as a PDF document.
John Richardson introduces the Forum, providing background information on FATCA and related US extraterritorial tax policies, and the effects they cause on “US persons,” their families, and on Canada itself.
This is part 2 of the 9 part FATCA Forum. Calgary411 and I are preparing the transcripts and they will be posted on Brock as they become available during the coming days.
The text of Mr. Richardson’s presentation follows below and the transcript is also online as a PDF document.
Russia's Putin signs anti-U.S. citizen adoptions bill http://t.co/6WOLK3dK says US human rights abuses means it shouldn't lecture others
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) December 28, 2012
This is quite interesting. The story appeared in the New York Times a couple of days ago. It did generate a couple of comments about citizenship-based taxation and the problems of US persons abroad.
Apparently the proposed ban on US citizens adopting Russian children is described in the Globe as:
Russian officials portrayed the latest legislation as a tit-for-tat retaliation against a new U.S. law that seeks to punish Russians accused of human-rights violations”
Moscow’s latest legislation – which would also ban U.S. funded civic groups in the country – would put concrete action to rising Russian complaints, voiced most vehemently by Mr. Putin, that the U.S.’s own human-rights failings give it no credibility to lecture others.
#americansabroad can't even get empathy from "homelander" parents http://t.co/0qeGh5Ze – How can the #FATCA attack be better explained?
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) December 28, 2012
I am either a fool or an optimist but I believe that 2013 will be the year that the plight of U.S. persons abroad will begin to be heard. In anticipation of that, it is time to think carefully about and to sharpen the message. What is clear is that:
In this Forum session, Peter W. Dunn, a founding member and spokesperson of the Isaac Brock Society, speaks on the human consequences of FATCA, discussing the HEART Act as well, illustrating these consequences with examples of the financial, emotional and physical hardships sustained by persons the US Treasury Department defines as “US persons,” although they are not resident in, and in some cases not even citizens of, the United States.
This is part 8 of the 9 part FATCA Forum. Calgary411 and I are preparing the transcripts and they will be posted on Brock as they become available during the coming days.
The text of Mr. Dunn’s presentation follows below and the transcript is also online as a PDF document.
Why would the Canadian banks even consider selling out their “US citizen” clients? The banks are aware of the privacy laws and the charter rights, are they not? Well, they understand that their majority clients who are not US persons would be greatly inconvenienced if their banking institutions refused to become FATCA compliant. Billions of dollars are at stake. So I quite understand why they are playing fast and loose with Canadian privacy laws and our beloved charter rights. It’s about money. A lot of money.
But what is the price of an innocent man or woman who has committed no crime? Are they worth one million dollars? a billion? a trillion? If the entire economic system as we know it is at stake, is it right to hand over an innocent person?
The FATCA Fact Finding Forum took place at Toronto on 15 December 2012.
In this Forum session, John Richardson presented a video which dealt with the criteria and methods that financial institutions would use to determine a person’s possible US person status for FATCA purposes.
This is part 4 of the 9 part FATCA Forum. Calgary411 and I are preparing the transcripts and they will be posted on Brock as they become available during the coming days.
The text of Mr. Richardson’s presentation, as well as the transcription of the video, follows below and the transcript is also online as a PDF document at this link.
The FATCA Fact Finding Forum took place at Toronto on 15 December 2012.
The Opening Remarks were given by the Honourable Sinclair Stevens. Mr. Stevens, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, is the former President of the Treasury Board of Canada and also served as Minister of Regional Industrial Expansion.
This is part 1 of the 9 part FATCA Forum. Calgary411 and I are preparing the transcripts and they will be posted on Brock as they become available during the coming days.
The text of Mr. Stevens’ opening remarks follows below and the transcript is also online as a PDF document at this link.
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