Group Plans Constitutional Challenge to Budget Bill
OTTAWA – Globe & Mail
Monday, JUNE 30, 2014
by Josh Wingrove
A constitutional challenge is in the offing for a Conservative government budget bill that will allow some Canadians’ bank information to be shared with American authorities.

“The thing is an unbelievable joke,” said John C. Richardson, a Toronto lawyer who serves as ADCS co-chair. “… I am very confident in our legal position … , no ifs, ands or buts about it. In fact, if [C-31] is not a violation of the Charter, then the Charter doesn’t mean anything at all.”

 
FATCA applies to anyone with citizenship, even those who’ve lived in Canada for decades. Kate, a 52-year-old Canadian, was born in Texas to Canadian-born parents, and was brought back to Canada at age one. She says she’s now facing penalties for a life of not filing taxes – she didn’t know she had to – in the United States.

“I’ve never worked there, I’ve never been to school there, I’ve rarely travelled there,”said Kate, who is supporting ADCS and spoke on condition her last name would not be published. She said she feels betrayed by Canada.
“I would like other Canadians to realize that their rights and freedoms aren’t any safer than my rights and freedoms are. I haven’t done anything wrong. I was just born in the wrong country. And the Canadian government is having no problems just deciding that a foreign country can have my information. So if my rights and freedoms can be thrown under the bus, then all Canadians’ can be. That’s why I think people should be concerned about it.”

See Article Here

 
Tonight – Monday, June 30 – 8:00 PM
Live Streamed Online
 
“The Night Before FATCA”
Watch HERE
 
BNN – Business Day AM 11:00 am ET
FATCA: What you need to know
Lawyer John Richardson discusses new tax legislation taking effect
July 1, that will impact a million US citizens currently living in Canada
Watch Here

James Fitz-Morris at CBC is reporting FATCA Forces Canadian Banks to Send Info to IRS.

When Canada’s banks reopen for business on July 2, they will begin formally operating as informants for the United States Internal Revenue Service — the IRS.
Financial institutions in Canada will be required to ask all new and existing clients opening a new account questions such as where they were born, and possibly where their parents were born.

This gives information on a possible Charter Challenge, but no information about how to donate.
 
 
 

It is estimated there are 7 million U.S. citizens living outside the United States. Some of these people don’t know that the U.S. may consider them to be citizens. The vast majority of these Americans abroad (according to U.S. law), are required to pay taxes and complete information reporting forms to the United States. Although “citizenship-based” taxation has existed for years, what is new is the enforcement.

The U.S. has enacted FATCA (“Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act”) and has signed IGA’s (Intergovernmental Agreements) in many European countries including Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Financial institutions across the globe will be required to identify accounts of “US Persons.” Starting July 1, 2014, financial institutions will begin to determine what accounts are “reportable accounts.” Information regarding those accounts will be passed on to the tax agencies of each country, who will in turn, pass this information on to the IRS. These seminars will include discussion and analysis of the IRS “relaxed opportunities” for people to come into compliance and will focus on:

Citizenship Issues:

• Are you a US citizen?

• Are you still a US citizen?

• Are your children US citizens?

• What is an Accidental American?

Tax Issues:

• Filing US tax returns

• What is involved?

• Filing information returns (FBAR, 8938, 3520A & 3520, 5471, 8621 etc)

• Reasonable cause (avoiding penalties)

Financial Planning Issues:

• Treatment of tax-deferred savings plans

• Treatment of Mutual Funds (PFICs)

Privacy Issues:

• What might FATCA mean for me?

Border Issues:

• Will FATCA make it harder for me to cross the border?

Does it make sense to give up US citizenship?

• Relinquishment

• Renouncing

Presenter: John Richardson, B.A., L.L.B., J.D., is a Toronto lawyer and a member of the Ontario Bar. CitizenshipSolutions.ca

• When: DUBLIN Tues, Aug. 12/BELFAST Wed., Aug. 20

• Where: TBA

• Admission: €15(Dublin)/£15(Belfast) cash payable at the door (to cover costs).

Information presented is NOT intended or offered as legal or accounting advice specific to your situation.

Why bother with bombs when you have FATCA?
Here is an article from The Economist Tax Evasion Dropping the Bomb.
As we know, the US has threatened to use FATCA as a WMD (Weapon of Monetary Destruction. Thanks JustMe–aka FATCA_Fallout–for coining that term two years ago) as a sanction against Russia because of the Ukraine.

Marvin Van Horn ?@FATCA_Fallout 15 Jul 2012

You could call #FATCA the new WMD, or Weapon of Money Destruction.
Now, in what The Economist describes as a tasteless joke, it was suggested Obama might do the same to Iraq:

Barack Obama, he claimed, was drawing a red line around the city and, if necessary, would “drop FATCA on them”. Worse, they would get no deadline extension. The nuclear option, he added, was to treat them as if they were Swiss.

As many of you know, I have been calling FATCA Foreign Attack to Control All for two years.
FATCA is not about taxes. It is about power, control and punishment of people, financial institutions and countries around the world-including those whom the U.S. should consider allies.
The U.S. is literally dropping the F Bomb on the entire world–with the complicity of what we once thought were countries that stood for some fundamental basic values.
 

Anyone feel like some Fourth of July USA and FATCA bashing in London Ontario July 4?
A few of us are getting together at my condo for lunch.  One person said she will bring a US flag to burn. I don’t think that is safe in my condo, but there is a park right across the street.
If there are just a few of us, we can do it in my condo. If there are more,the social room in my building holds about 20.  Any more than that and we will need to figure out a different location.
It may be potluck. I don’t cook, but I can pick some stuff up from Remark.
If you are interested, please e-mail me at maplesandbox at yahoo dot ca for details and to let me know you are coming.
 

Brockers!!
 
Please distribute this far and wide.
 
We need the media to pay attention to this story.
 
Please download this Press Release PDF and send it out to your Local Papers, TV and Radio Stations!
 
Tweet and post on Facebook!
 
We need people to wake up and join the Legal Challenge, but they won’t do so unless they know what is happening to our country.
 
ADCS-ADSC_PR_June27_2014

You may be having problems logging in to Maple Sandbox.  Even I had issues yesterday.  I have alerted Outraged.  I have not heard back from her, but I’m sure she will do her best to fix it as soon as she can.
If you are not having a problem, could you post here and let me know. If you are having a problem, please bear with us.
Many apologies.
 

Tax-News, a global tax publication, has published Canadian House of Commons Votes To Help IRS Seize Bank Records of Canadians 

“Why do our most heinous criminals have more Charter rights than I do?” asks this Canadian police officer who has protected Canadians for over three decades.

The article by Lynne Swanson also quotes Stephem Kish responding to a statement that appeared in Tax-News:

“I cannot believe that the Investment Funds Institute of Canada actually “commends” the Canadian government (Tax-News June 17, 2014) for an agreement that makes discrimination against one group for Canadian citizens mandatory based on place of birth, sacrifices  fundamental rights of one million Canadians, and surrenders Canadian sovereignty to a foreign bully,” says Dr. Stephen Kish, Chair of ADCS Board of Directors.

Dr. Kish also says:
 

“We will fight this violation of Canada’s constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada to protect our rights and stop this imposition of American law on Canada.