This Brock comment which just appeared is deserving of its own post and your specific attention, thoughts and assistance.
But first, …
This has been a very interesting week for Canadians who are possibly impacted by the U.S. Transition Tax. We have the interview of the Hermans which appeared on the National.
Here is @suzanneherman1 on CBC The National talking about the transition tax https://t.co/UCEuDWBTA8
— Laura Snyder (@laurasn1000) May 1, 2018
We have articles by Elizabeth Thompson. I expect that Ms. Thompson’s articles led to the the following editorial in the Halifax Chronicle:
Halifax @ChronicleHerald understands that USA is attempting 2 confiscate individual Canadian pensions by using IRC Sec. 965 @USTransitionTax – CDN Finance Minister @Bill_Morneau must respond! Could include @Canadiansabroad @CanadiansInUSA @CDNSnowbirds https://t.co/lhdc1ydb5o
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) May 5, 2018
A second article from CBC indicated that Murray Rankin* (a 2014 ally in the fight to stop the FATCA IGA, had referenced the “transition tax” in the House of Commons.
Trudeau government should help those hit by #Trump #tax say MPs @MurrayRankin and @PatKelly_MP https://t.co/JxrapDuTq4 #cdnpoli #TaxReform #taxes
— Elizabeth Thompson (@LizT1) May 2, 2018
It appears that there is momentum growing in the “campaign for awareness”.
Moving on: How can we better frame the message? How can the right question(s) be used to educate?
It would be helpful for Brock readers and commenters to consider, when conveying the message:
1. What are the most important aspect(s) of the transition tax to convey?
2. What should be the language used to convey those ideas?
Beginning with the following Brock comment …
CAB asks for the assistance of Brockers as follows:
“URGENT I have been in contact with my local MP (conservative) and he is willing to submit a Question for Question Period regarding the Transition Tax. What I need to do is put together some background information and the actual wording of the question we want to have asked. There is no guarantee that it will be selected but it is certainly a shot. My understanding is that if not selected for this weeks question period then it can sit in the queue and be picked up at a later date.
My first kick at the can in composing a question — ” Mr. Speaker, The United States as part of their tax reform has recently passed a new law aimed at bringing home the profits of money off shored in large multi-national corporations. While it is laudable to repatriate these earnings back to the US homeland the application of this law makes no distinction between the large American corporations and those small Canadian corporations owned by Canadian citizens permanently resident in Canada but also hold a secondary US citizenship. These Canadian corporations owned by doctors, restaurateurs and small mom and pop shops are not Google and Apple . These corporations hold the retirement savings of Canadian citizens; the retained earnings of Canadian entrepreneurs ear marked to grow and expand their business. Application of this tax will effectively bankrupt Canadian businesses and wipeout the pension plans of our Canadian citizens. It is a violation of the Canada -US tax treaty as the US has created a fictional tax event retroactive to 1986 where the first right of taxation has been usurped by the US. First installment of this tax is due June 15 2018 .
Will the government of Canada commit to negotiating with US treasury to exempt Canadian corporations from the disastrous effect of this tax? Will the government use the the Canada US tax treaty to protect our sovereignty and tax base against this raid by the US government? The Finance Minister has committed to studying the effects of this extraterritorial law. But time is of the essence. Will the government provide direction to our citizens prior to June 15 2018 when the first installment is due.
Those affected are first and foremost Canadian citizens ,resident in Canada , and deserve the protection of the Canadian government.”Looking for your feedback – want to make sure I set the right tone and get the right question asked that will help us the most. Also any suggestions as to what I can include in the package that I need to send would be helpful.
Keep our fingers crossed”
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*For those who were not following this in 2014, you will see that MP Murray Rankin played a prominent role in opposition to the FATCA IGA. See here:
