While only tangentially related CBC Power and Politics did a feature yesterday on the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa that ended up discussing the current situation with TD Bank and Iranian Canadians. I can’t link directly to the video here but I linked to the story on CBC’s website.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/07/13/pol-iran-nazanin-afshin-jam.html

What is real interesting is that the wife Canada’s Defense Minister Peter McKay Nazanin Afshin Jam who is Iranian and strongly opposed to the Iranian Regime(she actually started the whole constroversy becoming out and calling for the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa to be closed) later came out and condemed TD Bank and called on the government(whom her husband is a minister of)to provide more detailed guidance to Canadian banks in terms of dealing with Iran.

I point this segment on Power and Politics because this EXACTLY the type of high level press coverage US Persons in Canada need.

What a shame the responsible Americans are doing their best to find a job rather than stay in the U.S. unemployed, collecting food stamps and living in section 8 housing–only to find that their mindless politicians have new plans that will make their lives outside of the U.S. an impossibility. In 2013 the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will begin and under its IRS reporting rules these hard working Americans will find themselves unable to open a bank account unless they are willing to sign away their Canadian privacy rights. Add to this the IRS’s restrictions on the types of accounts that they can hold, restrictions on employer provided pensions, investment restrictions and the potential for double taxation, and you’ve got a recipe for U.S. government induced failure. Many Americans from all over the world are now moving back to the States because the U.S. Congress has decided to make their lives outside of the U.S. intolerable and embarrassing. There is no reward for doing what is right.

Americans moving to Canada in record numbers: report

The following article (pdf) appeared in the July 9 (2012) edition of Tax Notes.  It is reproduced here with the express permission of the author.

Tax Justice For Americans Abroad, by Steven J. Mopsick.

One reason perhaps for some of the governments silence on the issues people face hear at Brock is while the US Canada tax treaty does not allow for the collection of US taxes on Canadian citizens by the CRA(and the reciprocal) the Netherlands Canada Tax Treaty does allow for the collection of unpaid Dutch Taxes by the CRA on a Canadian citizen. It is my understanding that the Netherlands are the only country in the world where such a situation occurs but it does. Here the applicable parts of the Canada Netherlands Tax Treaty.

1. The States undertake to lend assistance to each other in the collection of taxes covered by this Convention, together with interest, costs, additions to such taxes and civil penalties, referred to in this Article as a “revenue claim”. The provisions of this Article are not restricted by Article 1.

2. An application for assistance in the collection of a revenue claim shall include a certification by the competent authority of the applicant State that, under the laws of that State, the revenue claim has been finally determined. For the purposes of this Article, a revenue claim is finally determined when the applicant State has the right under its internal law to collect the revenue claim and all administrative and judicial rights of the taxpayer to restrain collection in the applicant State have lapsed or been exhausted.

3. A revenue claim of the applicant State that has been finally determined may be accepted for collection by the competent authority of the requested State and, subject to the provisions of paragraph 7, if accepted shall be collected by the requested State as though such revenue claim were the requested State’s own revenue claim finally determined in accordance with the laws applicable to the collection of the requested State’s own taxes.

4. Where an application for collection of a revenue claim in respect of a taxpayer is accepted by a State, the revenue claim shall be treated by that State as an amount payable under the Income Tax Act of that State, the collection of which is not subject to any restriction.

5. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as creating or providing any rights of administrative or judicial review of the applicant State’s finally determined revenue claim by the requested State, based on any such rights that may be available under the laws of either State. If, at any time pending execution of a request for assistance under this Article, the applicant State loses the right under its internal law to collect the revenue claim, the competent authority of the applicant State shall promptly withdraw the request for assistance in collection.

6. Subject to this paragraph, amounts collected by the requested State pursuant to this Article shall be forwarded to the competent authority of the applicant State. Unless the competent authorities of the States otherwise agree, the ordinary costs incurred in providing collection assistance shall be borne by the requested State and any extraordinary costs so incurred shall be borne by the applicant State.

7. A revenue claim of the applicant State accepted for collection shall not have in the requested State any priority accorded to the revenue claims of the requested State even if the recovery procedure used is the one applicable to its own revenue claims. A revenue claim of the applicant State shall not be recovered by imprisonment for debt of the debtor in the requested State.

8. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, the competent authorities of the States may by exchange of notes agree that the provisions of this Article also apply to taxes and duties other than the taxes referred to in Article 2 collected by or on behalf of the Government of the States.

9. The competent authorities of the States shall agree upon the mode of application of this Article, including agreement to ensure comparable levels of assistance to each of the States.

I am still not sure whether this was the work of Mr. Mulroney or Mr. Chretien. Amended Statement, the recently signed Canada New Zealand Tax Treaty negotiated by Flaherty also includes provision for the collection of NZ Taxes on Canadian citizens.