Update: Blaze asked me to upload this letter from the Canadian Bankers Association to the United States (pdf) – Petros
Schubert and I wrote to Canadian Bankers Association two weeks ago concerning FATCA. We had a reply on Friday. CBA provided a copy of a comprehensive submission they made to IRS and Department of Treasury. They covered many of the issues we raised, but did not mention Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
Interesting article about FATCA and Lebanon linked to below. Same old story. FATCA compliance incompatible with Lebanese privacy law. Some discussion of changing Lebanese law but Lebanon MP’s yet to be informed of this. Some discussion of Lebanon trying to join a block of other countries unhappy with FATCA. Perhaps Flaherty needs to ring lead. Interesting quote:
Given his druthers, Brock — a tall, robust man of 42 and no fan of life in the colonies — would have returned to England to be assigned to service with the British army fighting in Spain. In fact, his deployment to the continent had been authorized near the end of January 1812. But quitting Upper Canada had become impossible as the warlike temper between England and the United States continued to rise.
What a box his sense of duty had put him in. He had few trained troops, the “dubious characters” of a ramshackle militia and few resources to equip them. Moreover, Brock had no good opinion of the fighting spirit in the society he led.
“A full belief possesses them that this Province must inevitably succumb . . . Most of the people have lost all confidence. I however speak loud and look big.”
In an era when governments are becoming increasingly active in regulating online activities, the Bodog.com case provides a warning that by using popular dot-com domain names, companies and registrants are effectively opting-in to U.S. law and courts as part of the package.
FATCA compliant foreign financial institutions (FFIs), including Canadian banks and investment houses, are required to close “recalictrant” accounts or collect 30 percent Withholdable Payments made to Recalcitrant Account Holders or noncompliant FFIs.
If anyone could use a laugh, I highly recommend watching this episode of Roseanne called “April Fool’s Day.” It’s about dealing with the IRS and I think we can all relate to the sentiment expressed here.
Some of you are familiar with attorney Hale Sheppard who has written extensively on FBAR issues. Renounceuscitizenship has provided links to his past writing at Looking for Mr. FBAR – In Search of FBAR fullfilment and Consciousness, which is an excellent post that provides history and back ground for the FBAR. In his post, he refers to Hale Sheppard as the FBAR Scholar for his 2006 work EVOLUTION OF THE FBAR: WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE, AND WHY IT MATTERS If you are still somewhat hazy on this history, and especially if you are going through the OVDI, this is required reading.
I bring this up as an introduction to Hale, as I recently came across some of his writing from 2008 about the Canadian RRSP. Continue reading
I wonder if this bank will accept deposits from all Swiss residents, regardless of where they were born?
A reader has asked me to post the following letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, a warning about FATCA.
See: “IRS Newsroom”
I found the following paragraph interesting: “A year ago we actually delayed the opening of tax filing for 6.5 million Americans, from January 14th to February 14th because of late tax law changes. That meant 6.5 million people, including school teachers who wanted to take a deduction for classroom supplies that they paid for themselves, had to wait an extra month to get their refund. In any public policy arena, policymakers should strive to give those implementing a law enough time to do it right.”
So he can be reasonable sometimes and proactively suggest that policymakers ensure that the IRS be nicer to US-based “Minnows” but not to Minnows abroad?
