Everyone can read into this how they want but I wanted to put it up. They seem to be indicating further negotiations will need to be undertaken. No mention of dual nationals but they do mention all of the countries involved have a “residency” based tax system.
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/joint_intl_statement_fatca.htm
Senator Carl Levin, not yet ready to rest on his laurels with the damage he’s done to Americans abroad by sneaking FATCA into the HIRE Act at the last minute, has apparently decided it’s a good idea to decrease American economic activity by making it even harder for Americans abroad, especially expat entrepreneurs, to do business with domestic American suppliers of goods and services. The full text of his newly-proposed “CUT Exports Loopholes Act” is not yet available publicly, but he’s already put out a press release about it. In his floor statement, he described it as a subset of what he attempted to get implemented in the “Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act” (S.1346). Continue reading
Speaking out again, 30-year IRS Vet tells us that Isaac Brock was a great guy but that FATCA is not the hill that any of us wants to die on.
Interesting letter from the Brazilian Bankers Association. If you read through it many legal conflicts not just with Brazilian law but Brazil’s Constitution. In many ways a tougher position being taken than by anyone in the Canadian financial industry.
http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/4031/the-offshore-banking-nightmare.html
While I don’t believe the situation described by this article is at all relevant to the situation facing people here I just wanted to show at least from a Canadian standpoint where there are some people who might not necessarily be as sympathetic to our plight over here at IBS as we would hope. Given there is an ability on their website to make comments I suggest people to do so generously about the situation Expats/Accidental Americans/Dual Citizens are facing and that Canadian Lawyer magazine should be covering their plight AS MUCH as those whom they describe in the article of being victomized by these offshore investment scams.
Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday.
Hat tip: Zerohedge
For anyone who might be interested.
I understand the January presentation in Calgary over-subscribed immediately.
To my knowledge there is no Foreign House Report (FHR). Did the IRS just make this up?
A reader submitted this letter to me (UPDATE: Late Loyalist has now renounced his United States citizenship):
Dear Mr. Flaherty
I’m one of those Canadians with dual US Citizenship. My family moved from Minnesota to Manitoba in 1975. I was 13 years old at that time. My Dad had been an unemployed teacher for the previous 4 years. As a last resort he decided to apply for a teaching job in Manitoba. After all Manitoba is lot like Minnesota right–well the snow and -40 maybe. Wouldn’t you know, he got the job right away. We drove to Winnipeg in a snowstorm and he had the job 20 minutes after we got there. He taught for another 15 years and retired in Dauphin. My parents left everything and the result was a better life. In 1980 all our family member became Canadians, no question.
Continue reading
Penalty abatement, reasonable cause, and the facts that support reasonable cause
The Isaac Brock is a wonderful forum for discussion. It is also a wonderful resource. A resource that will alert you to issues that may be relevant to your compliance. Some readers are clearly grappling with the best way to come into compliance . This involves tax or information returns or both. The Isaac Brock Society has been fortunate to have had contributions from two lawyers: Roy Berg in Alberta and Steven Mopsick in California. Their thoughts and contributions have been greatly appreciated.
In the December 2011 FS the IRS made it clear that penalties could be abated if the taxpayer were able to show “reasonable cause”. Continue reading
