Announcement
December 5, 2012
The Progressive Canadian Party presents
A Fact Finding Forum on U.S. Tax Grab in Canada
“FATCA”: What is at Stake for Canada and Canadians?
Saturday, December 15, 2012 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (doors will open at 10:00 a.m.) University of Toronto – Victoria College – Victoria College Building – Room VC115
In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” (FATCA) with the stated purpose of detecting “U.S. persons” (which by U.S. Internal Revenue Service definitions would include many Canadian citizens residing in Canada) who may be hiding taxable income abroad. FATCA would place expensive data collection and reporting requirements on Canadian financial institutions: banks, stock and equity funds, pension funds, insurance companies, etc. – costs that would be passed on the Canadian consumer. A 30% withholding on U.S.-derived income would punish “recalcitrant” Canadian institutions for failing to provide the demanded information to the IRS.
In an effort to ease compliance costs for Canadian firms, the Government has indicated its interest in signing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the U.S. under which the Canadian Government would enforce FATCA – a U.S. law – in Canada. An IGA also would override Canadian laws barring transfer of private information, such as Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. On November 8, The Department of Finance has asked for comments from the Canadian public on a FATCA agreement with the U.S.
In an effort to help in developing responsible, well-analyzed submissions to the Finance Department, as well as to assist the Government, MPs, and the Canadian public in making informed choices, the Progressive Canadian Party invites you to a fact-finding forum on FATCA and consequences for Canada. Speakers include the following:
- The Honourable Sinclair Stevens, Progressive Canadian Party Leader, former MP and Cabinet Minister.
- Dorian Baxter, Progressive Canadian Party President.
- Professor Allison Christians, H. Heward Stikeman Chair in Tax Law, McGill University Faculty of Law.
- James George Jatras of www.repealfatca.com, Washington, DC; former U.S. Senate staffer and diplomat.
- Representative (name to be announced) of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Among the questions to be addressed by speakers and in general discussion:
- What would be the costs of FATCA (with or without an IGA) for Canada and Canadians?
- Should the U.S. be allowed to make laws for Canadians? Is FATCA consistent with Canada’s sovereignty?
- Is FATCA consistent with Canadian privacy laws, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, WTO, NAFTA, and principles of international law?
- Is the Government rushing into an IGA with the U.S.? Where are the Opposition and Canadian media?
- Would FATCA subject the retirement savings of Canadian citizens to confiscation by the IRS?
I happen to live in an NDP riding (Ottawa Centre) and am a member of the NDP and voted in the leadership convention last year.
I sent the following email and link to my MP (Paul Dewar, foreign affairs critic) as well as Tom Mulcair and Peter Julian (finance critic).
I would encourage anyone on this forum who is a member of the NDP or of the Liberal Party, or who lives in an NDP or Liberal riding, to write something similar. It’s great that the PC party is doing this, but they’re a little-known splinter group. The two main opposition parties need to do stuff like this and aren’t. I’m tempted to add the Greens to the list, but the harsh reality is they don’t have the resources the NDP and Liberals have for this sort of thing. Mind you, I don’t know that the PC Party does either, they don’t even have one seat in Parliament.
Text of my email follows:
In case you aren’t already aware of this, the Progressive Canadian Party (which seems to be a red-Tory splinter party currently led by Hon. Sinclair Stevens) is hosting a significant public meeting in Toronto concerning FATCA and its implications for Canadian sovereignty and the privacy of Canadian citizens. The meeting will be this Saturday December 15; there is an impressive roster of speakers including an as-yet un-named representative of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
I am surprised and a bit disappointed that it was this unknown-to-me-until-now splinter party that is organizing this forum, and not my NDP. However I am encouraged to see that even former members of the Conservative tent in Canada have major reservations about our government’s negotiating an intergovernmental agreement with the US on FATCA.
http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-community-activities-groups-Fact-Finding-Forum-on-U-S-Tax-Grab-in-Canada-W0QQAdIdZ431686629
…that should have been “surprised” not “surprising,” I hate it when I only notice these finger-slips after the email has already gone …