Tag Archives: canada

Banks must notify customers before sending information to CRA and the IRS

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Just after the Canada US FATCA IGA was signed, CRA put out a list of frequently asked questions.
Among the list is item 14 which caught the attention of some: (emphasis mine)
14. Does my Canadian financial institution have to notify me if information on my accounts is being reported to the CRA?
Canadian financial institutions must be open about their policies and procedures for complying with the Agreement and must be prepared to make this information available to anyone who asks about them. Although there will be no obligation for financial institutions to automatically notify their account holders about reporting to the CRA under the Agreement, financial institutions must, upon request, allow account holders to have access to the personal information that has been reported. 
In his testimony before the Senate Finance Committee on April 30th, Kevin Shoom mentioned that there was a change to the implementing legislation to take away the voluntary nature of informing customers that their accounts have been flagged as reportable. He cited ITA subsection 265(5), which is written in the usual almost incomprehensible language of the Income tax Act.

(5) For the purposes of paragraphs (2)(a) and (b), subparagraph (2)(c)(ii), paragraph (3)(a) andb)(ii), subparagraph B(3) of section II of Annex I to the agreement is to be read as follows 3. if any of the U.S. indicia listed in subparagraph B(1) of this section are discovered in the electronic search,or if there is a change in circumstances that results in one or more U.S. indicia being associated with the account,then the Reporting Canadian Financial Institution must  seek to obtain or review the information described in the portion of subparagraph B(4) of this section that is relevant in the circumstances and must treat the account as a U.S. Reportable Account unless one of the exceptions in subparagraph B(4) applies with respect to that account.
 I have asked Kevin to ask CRA to change their frequently asked questions to revise item 14 and he agreed to do so.Until the Charter Challenge nullifies the IGA, there’s going to be mistakes made by FIs. At least now, with this change, they will be required to contact customers before passing private information through the CRA to the IRS.

@MurrayRankin @GuyCaronNDP & @NathanCullen On #FATCA Attack Again e FATCA Again

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NDP members Murray Rankin and Guy Caron were on the FATCA Attack in Question Period again today.
Rankin:  “..Experts have warned this deal may not even be constitutional, but the Conservatives are rushing it through…Can the Minister explain why this complex bill must be hidden from proper scrutiny…because he knows it’s a bad deal for Canadians?”
Oliver:   “…Agreement addresses these concerns…”
Umm. No Joe, it doesn’t.
Caron:   “….Canadians want to know if their private information will be protected.  We don’t even know at this point if #FATCA is constitutional…”
Oliver:   Rah. Rah. Rah.
Does anyone else have the sense even Oliver and the other Cons don’t believe their own Con games?  In fact, they seem to hate defending it. Even the trained seals don’t seem to be able to do their clapping routine very well on this one.
Plus, “with the concerns of constituents filling up their inboxes and voicemail,” NDP demanded the Conservatives get FATCA out of the budget bill.
Nathan Cullen:

“Compare the lack of effort on FATCA to the massive effort on lobbying for Keystone. The Canadian government has spent millions of dollars and all hands of deck in Washington at our embassy and at every forum they can find to lobby for a pipeline that’s going to export 40,000 jobs,” he said.
“Here we have an agreement that’s going to affect a million Canadians… anybody who used a bank or a credit union in Canada — it’s going to cost them money. And the effort has been absent.

 

Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS)/L'Alliance pour la défense de la souveraineté canadienne (ADSC) is established in Canada/est créée au Canada

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We have now incorporated a Canadian non-profit organization with Corporations Canada:

“Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS)/L’Alliance pour la défense de la souveraineté canadienne (ADSC)”

ADCS/ADSC is not affiliated with any other organization.
The present Board Directors are listed below. Other individuals critical in setting up ADCS/ADSC are Gwendolyn Brock, K. Badger, and many others. Lynne Swanson will chair the legal challenge committee.

The overall purpose of the Corporation is to defend Canadian sovereignty and protect all persons in Canada from the attempts of other countries to impose their “extra-territorial legislation” on Canada.

Its immediate objective is to fund a legal challenge to oppose changes in Canadian laws that would impose the U.S. FATCA law on all people in Canada.
Given that the Canadian government has extensive financial resources (courtesy of the taxpayers of Canada), significant monies need to be raised. We are counting on your support.
Stephen Kish (Chair)
John Richardson (co-Chair)
Patricia Moon (Secretary/Treasurer)
Carol Tapanila (Director)
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Nous avons maintenant constitué une organisation canadienne à but non lucratif auprès de Corporations Canada :

“Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS)/L’Alliance pour la défense de la souveraineté canadienne (ADSC)”

ADCS/ADSC n’est pas affiliée avec aucune autre organisation.
Les noms des administrateurs du conseil actuels apparaissent ci-dessous.  D’autres  individus indispensables à la création d’ADCS/ADSC sont Gwendolyn Brock, K. Badger et plusieurs autres.  Lynne Swanson sera la présidente du comité responsable de la contestation judiciaire.

Le but global de l’organisation est de défendre la souveraineté canadienne et de protéger toute personne au Canada face aux tentatives de pays étrangers d’imposer leurs « lois à portée extraterritoriale » au Canada. 

Son but immédiat est de lever les fonds nécessaires pour opposer tout changement aux lois canadiennes qui imposerait la loi américaine FATCA à tout individu au Canada.
Étant donné les vastes ressources financières du gouvernement canadien (gracieuseté des contribuables du Canada), nous devons recueillir des sommes considérables.   Votre appui nous est indispensable.
Stephen Kish (Président),
John Richardson (Vice-Président),
Patricia Moon (Secrétaire/Trésorière)
Carol Tapanila (Administrateur)
 

Free to Oppose FATCA

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The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force on April 17, 1985, 29 years ago last week. And since then, I’ve been pondering on how our current government could have strayed so far from what I believe is the intent of the Act, as well the intent of its precursor, the Canadian Bill of Rights. Outraged Protesting
The Canadian Bill of Rights, introduced back in 1960, stated, in part,
“It is hereby recognized and declared that in Canada there have existed and shall continue to exist without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour, religion or sex, the following human rights and fundamental freedoms, namely,
(a) the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law; Continue reading Free to Oppose FATCA →

We Intend to Commence Litigation Challenging Canadian FATCA IGA Implementation Legislation on Behalf of All Persons in Canada and Those Impacted by FATCA in the Rest of the World

FATCA, , , ,

Stephen Kish and Lynne Swanson have reviewed the legal opinion provided by constitutional lawyer Mr. Joseph Arvay on the constitutionality of the pending legislation “Canada-United States Enhanced Tax Information Exchange Agreement Implementation Act”.  This act is aimed at implementing the “Intergovernmental Agreement” (IGA) designed to make the “Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act” (FATCA) operative in Canada.
The opinion has also been discussed with Mr. John Richardson, a Toronto lawyer, with whom we now have solicitor-client privilege, and who will be part of Dr. Kish’s and Ms. Swanson’s “litigation committee”.
The lengthy opinion provides in detail the pros and cons of the arguments, and possible outcomes.
There are good arguments that the proposed legislation infringes at a minimum on constitutionally protected rights and freedoms.  Nevertheless, there are also arguments that the Government of Canada may employ to counter our position and, we emphasize, there is no certainty that litigation will be successful.  Further, any litigation will be hard fought and very expensive.  This litigation is not for the faint of heart.
Given the opinion of Mr. Arvay and discussion with Mr. Richardson, we advise that it is our intention to take all necessary steps to commence litigation against the Government of Canada once the IGA implementation legislation is enacted.  Moreover, the nature and impact of the unprecedented legislation on all persons in Canada and those throughout the world who will be impacted by FATCA demands that we exercise this option that is in the public interest.
Very significant fundraising will be required.
Stephen Kish
Lynne Swanson
Cross posted at Isaac Brock Society
 



 

	

	
	


							


	

		
				

			Legal Opinion on Canadian Constitutionality of FATCA IGA Legislation Received Saturday April 12, 2014
		

		
		

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Dr. Stephen Kish and Lynne Swanson today received a very lengthy and comprehensive legal opinion from constitutional lawyer Joseph Arvay on the constitutionality of Canada’s pending FATCA IGA legislation.

We are reviewing the document and will get back to you.

Lynne Swanson

Cross Posted at Isaac Brock Society by Stephen Kish.

 

	

	
	


							


	

		
				

			How The U.S. Pulled Off The Great Canadian Privacy Giveawa
		

		
		

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By Arthur Cockfield and Allison Christians in today`s Globe and Mail: How the U.S. Pulled Off the Great Canadian Privacy Giveaway.


For the first time in Canadian history, our federal government is preparing to provide a foreign government with sensitive personal financial information about hundreds of thousands of Canadians. It is doing so to stave off threatened economic sanctions, and is getting nothing in return.


Their article tells the “`sad saga“ of how the US managed to pull it off and makes a suggestion for an amendment to the enabling law that would allow reporting only on U.S. residents.