Archive for September 2011
2011 Sept 28 – Zajac
Andrew Zajac
IRS strikes a conciliatory tone toward Canadians
Financial Post / Bloomberg News (28 Sept 2011)
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/09/28/irs-strikes-a-conciliatory-tone-toward-canadians/
Tax attorney Scott Michel estimates the number of Canadian residents affected by US disclosure requirements as closer to 750,000 than to one million. IRS spokesman Terry Lemons “sounded a conciliatory note in addressing individual Canadian reporting requirements” when he stated that the IRS “recognizes that many Canadians face complex tax situations because of dual citizenship.” In an April 2011 letter to IRS and Treasury officials, Peter van Dijk of Toronto Dominion Bank “estimated that complying with FATCA would cost $100 million.”
2011 Sept 28 – Get the IRS
Get the IRS taxman off the backs of innocent Canadians
Globe and Mail (28 Sept 2011)
The editorial concludes: “The Obama administration and the Congress should legislate forthwith to eliminate all heavy penalties against residents of Canada.”
2011 Sept 27 – Berry
Shawn Berry
U.S. tax rules cause concern for Canadians
Times & Transcript (27 Sept 2011) A10
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1443228
Financial planner Terry Ritchie describes the situation of most noncompliant dual citizens as a matter of filing required reports rather than a matter of tax owing. “While he hasn’t seen a client penalized, he said it is a concern now.” Tax lawyer Paul DioGuardi says: “They’re not really tax evaders. They thought they’d paid everything up to date to Canadian authorities, and they did. They didn’t think they had to file in the United States.”
2011 Sept 27 – Cayo
Don Cayo
Bad options worsen for non-resident U.S. citizens targeted by the IRS
Vancouver Sun (27 Sept 2011) D4
http://www.vancouversun.com/options+worsen+resident+citizens+targeted/5466178/story.html
Cayo opens: “The issue isn’t unpaid taxes. … The issue is penalties.” Some have not known that they were US citizens, while others reasonably assumed they had lost that citizenship. Cross-border tax expert Ron MacDonald says noncompliance faces increased financial penalties, the possibility of criminal prosecution, and “even jail.” Colleague Jyothi Rao estimates “about half [of clients] decided not to proceed with filing.” Fees alone could amount to $100,000 or more. There is “no basis to predict a probable outcome” in present circumstances. “Non-compliant Canadian residents … could continue to do nothing, particularly if they can avoid ever again going to the U.S.”
2011 Sept 27 – IRS tax
IRS tax grab: Flaherty’s welcome entry into the debate
Windsor Star (27 Sept 2011) 2
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Editorial+grab/5462567/story.html
The editorial opens: “The Internal Revenue Service is attempting to conscript Canadian banks in a cross-border tax grab that not only threatens individual privacy rights but Canadian sovereignty.”
2011 Sept 26 – Brooker
Kevin Brooker
U.S. taxman bullying citizens living abroad
Calgary Herald (26 Sept 2011)
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/taxman+bullying+citizens+living+abroad/5457847/story.html
Columnist Brooker criticizes US exceptionalism, outlines the complexities and difficulties faced by dual citizens, and declares: “These people need protection from a bully, and it is imperative that the Canadian government agitates on their behalf.”
2011 Sept 26 – McKenna
Barrie McKenna
IRS tars law-abiding expats with same brush as tax cheats
Globe and Mail (26 Sept 2011)
After a survey of the effects of FBAR, FATCA, and OVDI, McKenna reports: “The IRS won’t say how many Canadians are among the 12,000 amnesty-seekers [in the second round of OVDI]. But accountants with dual Canadian-American clients say most have opted to stay in the shadows.” Two solutions are then proposed: coming into compliance without penalties, and unrestricted renunciation of citizenship. Without a reasonable possibility of resolution, “tens, and perhaps hundreds, of thousands of Canadians will continue to live like fugitives in their own country.”
