“UPDATE: FATCA: Citizenship-Based Taxation, Foreign Asset Reporting Requirements and American Citizens Abroad” is a comprehensive article in the New York University Law Journal on the evolution and current situation of FATCA/CBT/citizenship by international lawyer and retired US Foreign Service Officer Andrew Grossman. It’s well organised, both very detailed and easily readable for the layperson, with plenty of links throughout for those seeking further information on the various aspects. It’s an update of his article which was posted here around five years ago.
Tag Archives: FATCA
July 13, 2023: Supreme Court of Canada Rejects Leave to Appeal Application for Canadian FATCA IGA Legislation Lawsuit
On August 11, 2014 Plaintiffs Ginny Hillis and Gwen Deegan filed a Claim in Federal Court of Canada arguing that the U.S. FATCA law imposed on Canada violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Canadians. We lost in Federal Court and later in the Federal Court of Appeal.
On January 10, 2023 our Appellant, Gwen, filed a “leave to appeal” request in the Supreme Court of Canada asking the Court to accept her application to hear the appeal. In argument Gwen asked Court to consider both Charter sections 8 and 1. Section 8 protects against “unreasonable” searches or seizures and section 1 protects rights and freedoms subject to reasonable limits.
Today, on July 13, 2023 the Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear the appeal, thus exhausting our last opportunity to appeal in the Canadian courts.
Given the Supreme Court decision, the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS) has decided to abandon its efforts to end the Canadian legislation enabling the U.S. FATCA law — and will dissolve our non-profit corporation.
The ADCS Board thanks many for past support which made this lawsuit possible: the brave plaintiffs and appellants Gwen, Ginny, and Kazia, the Isaac Brock Society, and the hundreds of people who, since 2014, contributed financially and in other cases their encouragement that this legal challenge was necessary.
Thank you all for your support,
Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty
Brock Project: April 2019 Report From GAO is evidence of how #FATCA and Foreign Asset Reporting is viewed in the Homeland
Hot off the press from GAO – important because it illustrates how this issue is viewed in the Homeland: "Foreign Asset Reporting: Actions Needed to Enhance Compliance Efforts, Eliminate Overlapping Requirements, and Mitigate Burdens on U.S. Persons Abroad" https://t.co/T0k4HKll0j
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) April 1, 2019
Question:
The above tweet links to the a report from the Government Accountability office. It is extensive but generally interesting. A quick perusal reveals no evidence that the Government views FATCA and foreign asset reporting as tools to enforce worldwide taxation on people who live outside the United States. Yet, that is the purpose of FATCA and foreign asset reporting in general.
The “Fast Facts” page includes:
How does the government prevent tax dodgers from hiding income in offshore accounts?
A 2010 law requires Americans and foreign banks to report more information to IRS about Americans’ foreign assets. Implementing the law, however, has raised some concerns.
For example, close to 75% of taxpayers reporting foreign assets to IRS also reported them separately to Treasury—indicating potential unnecessary duplication.
Also, some Americans living abroad can’t get services from foreign banks that find the law too burdensome.
Our recommendations to Congress, Treasury, and other agencies address challenges related to foreign asset reporting.
The 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as FATCA, created new reporting requirements for taxpayers with specified foreign asset
Brandeis: The right to be let alone, to have privacy, is the most comprehensive and valued right
Reposted from the Renounce US Citizenship blog
This post was written in December 2014. It is being reposted in 2018 – the question is why
FATCA and the CRS (“Common Reporting Standard”) are mandatory information sharing schemes. They first define people in terms of their “tax residency” (each country defines who its tax residents are) and then shares people’s private information based on that “tax residency”. In other words (assuming you believe that there is a legitimate interest in privacy) both FATCA and the CRS should be viewed as “privacy overrides”.
Although the notion of privacy is dead in the United States (companies like Facebook and Google make a living off obtaining and using private information), the European GDPR suggests that privacy is valued by Europeans and that individuals should have some control over their data. In Europe the GDPR reflects a presumption that individual belongs to the individual. There is no such presumption in the United States. See:
31-year-old Austrian lawyer Max Schrems was the catalyst for new privacy protection regulations in Europe. He says your data belongs to you and you should have control over it. pic.twitter.com/OTV0reXDOg
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 12, 2018
Automatic exchange of tax information and data privacy
Coalition Supports RBT – Letter to Ways & Means & Senate Finance Committee
So, you have received bank letter asking about your tax residence for CRS or FATCA – A @taxresidency primer – Part 4 – Conclusion
cross-posted from citizenshipsolutions.ca
Part F – A “U.S. citizen” cannot use a “tax treaty tie breaker” to break U.S. “tax residence”. How then does a “U.S. citizen” cease to be a “U.S. tax resident”?
Q. I am a U.S. citizen. I do not live in the United States. I live in Canada. I am a Canadian citizen. How do I stop being subject to the all of the FBAR and other reporting rules, tax rules (including PFIC), life restrictions and inability to effectively invest and plan for retirement imposed by the Internal Revenue Code?
A. You relinquish U.S. citizenship. Please note that a “renunciation” is one form of “relinquishment”. In general, the date of relinquishment of U.S. citizenship is more important than the form of relinquishment of U.S. citizenship. A Certificate of Loss of Nationality (“CLN”) may or may not (depending on the date of relinquishment) be necessary to cease to be subject to U.S. taxation.
Q. In simple terms, where do I get information about the process of renouncing U.S. citizenship?
Continue reading
So, you have received bank letter asking about your tax residence for CRS or FATCA – A @taxresidency primer – Part 3
cross-posted from citizenshipsolutions.ca
Part D – Different definitions of “tax residence” – Not all countries define “tax residence” in the same way
Q. What is the criteria that different countries use to define who is a “tax resident” of the country?
A. The circumstances that constitute “tax residence” will differ from country to country. Generally speaking “tax residence” is based on definitions of (1) “residency” (deemed and actual), (2) “domicile” and (3) (in the case of the United States and Eritrea) “citizenship”. Note that different countries may define “tax residency” differently.
Q. How can I learn the definition of “tax resident” for the OECD countries?
A. In an earlier post about “OECD tax residency” I referenced the following chart which summarizes the definitions of “tax residency” in OECD countries. (I suggest that you use these definitions as a “start” to your research and not as the “last word”.)
Q. What is the significance of the “OECD” and why does “OECD tax residency” matter?
Continue reading
So, you have received bank letter asking about your tax residence for CRS or FATCA – A @taxresidency primer – Part 2
cross-posted from citizenshipsolutions.ca
Part B – The Combined FATCA/CRS Letter
This letter is particularly worrisome for Canadian residents (whether Canadian citizens or not) who were either born in the United States or are (otherwise) U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents (AKA Green Card Holders). Could this mean that they would be required to apply for a U.S. Social Security number?
What follows is a sample letter…
Dear Valued Customer:
We appreciate our relationship with you and we are committed to informing you about matters that affect you. We are writing today to inform you that changes have been made to the Canadian Income Tax Act (Part XVIII and Part XXIX), requiring TD to provide information about customers who have a tax residence in other countries to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA may then share information with other countries through existing provisions and safeguards under the Tax Convention.
To comply with this legislation, we have reviewed our records (eg. address) in order to identify customers who may be residents of other countries for tax purposes.”
Part C – “Tax Residency 101”: It’s about where you should be paying your taxes
In a #FATCA and #CRS world – the most interesting thing about a person is where has @taxresidency ESPECIALLY when he has > one. @Expatriationlaw interview with CPA @1040Abroad: ‘Episode 1 of: "A Tax Residency Primer"- Tax, Residency and #TaxResidency" https://t.co/6swfQmJO7i
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) August 8, 2018
Some Question and Answer …
Continue reading
So, you have received bank letter asking about your tax residence for CRS or FATCA – A @taxresidency primer – Part 1
cross-posted from citizenshipsolutions.ca
So, you have received bank letter asking about your tax residence for CRS or FATCA – A @taxresidency primer
Introduction – So, what’s this “tax residence” stuff about? What does “tax residence” mean?
During the #InvestmentMigrationForum 2018, @ExpatriationLaw discussed multiple #Tax residencies, tax treaties and tax treaty tier breakers in #CRS and #FACTA world. pic.twitter.com/Y3hJ1PlJBz
— IMC (@IMCouncil) August 2, 2018
In 2014, as people started to receive “FATCA letters” I wrote a lengthy post describing “What to do if you receive a FATCA letter“. Information exchange under the Common Reporting Standard “CRS” has begun in 2018. As a result, I am writing this post which is to explain what the CRS is and how it relates to the FATCA letter. It is important to understand that the “CRS letter is actually a combined “CRS/FATCA” letter which is more likely to be received than the original FATCA letter. I urge that those who have received a letter of this type to read this post PRIOR to seeking professional advice!!!
The #OECD Common Reporting Standard combined with @FATCA is forcing people to reveal where they have @taxresidency: "Thousands of bank accounts closed due to foreign information sharing law" https://t.co/aOLhsYFzd0
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) July 29, 2018
FATCA Repeal Update: The action to take right now!
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Posted in FATCA, House Ways & Means Committee, Issues regarding US persons abroad
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Posted in FATCA, House Ways & Means Committee, Issues regarding US persons abroad
6 Comments
#FATCA Repeal Update: The action to take right now!https://t.co/5xuVgYEvZY
— U.S. Expat Canada (@USExpatCanada) July 27, 2018
From Global Advocate for the American Overseas, Keith Redmond is this important message:
ATTENTION AMERICANS OVERSEAS!
There is a SERIOUS bi-partisan push for an updated FATCA hearing to address the sharing of personal financial data and the lock-out of Americans overseas from foreign financial institutions (i.e. their local banks).
As a result of Suzanne Iclef Herman’s hard work and tenacity in establishing and cultivating a relationship with her Congressman and his staff, we have succeeded in building bi-partisan momentum in an updated FATCA hearing. Suzanne requested to Congressman Posey’s office that I get involved in order to have as many Americans overseas as possible contact their respective Congressmen/Congresswomen.
The attached letter has been sent to Members of Congress (MOC) in a bi-partisan effort to have the House Ways & Means Committee hold another FATCA hearing. In conjunction with the request, MOCs have been sent a letter (in the same aforementioned attachment) which each MOC can send to House Ways & Means Committee showing their support for another hearing. Americans overseas are asked to write their Congressmen/Congresswomen to sign the letter.
Therefore, I am requesting that you contact your Congressman/Congresswoman via e-mail and/or fax AND FOLLOW-UP WITH A TELEPHONE CALL.
I have attached the THREE STEPS to be taken in order to contact your representative via e-mail as well as the link to find your representative’s fax number. Please follow the instructions.
