Last week, Lynne Swanson (aka Blaze) wrote an open letter to Flaherty, Mulcair and Trudeau. This week, I wrote a Open Letter to President Barack Obama, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, IRS Acting Commission Daniel Werfel and Senator Carl Levin.
This is posted at The Money Guide.
In the letter, I ask:
Why do you want to FATCA me?
I assure them:
I am not a myth. I am not a tax cheat.
I then give them information about the “illicit activities” in my bank accounts–condo fees, electricity, charity donations, groceries and entertainment.
Because they are such poor money managers, I give them some financial tips.
I conclude by advising them to get their own house in order. And:
Leave me alone!
You are amazing. This is wonderful!
Oops…President Henry Nixon?
Blaze, That is great! Good for you!
WOW! I’m in awe, Blaze. I sincerely hope that someone with some kind of influence actually reads it.
You should send this to everyone in the US Congress. Maybe if they followed your financial tips, they wouldn’t have to keep shutting down their government, because they’re so flat broke because they don’t have the financial competence to manage a lemonade stand. (What ever happened to “don’t spend money you don’t have”?)
Dear Lynne,
Wow! You so eloquently speak for most ordinary “US Persons and families” who have chosen to live abroad and make their lives in other countries. The wisdom and common sense of such a brave, sensible and transparent woman is inspiring.
We have nothing to hide — we should not be guilty until proven innocent by another country coming into our own with such stealth. We echo, ‘leave us alone.’
One person that perhaps could added as an addressee (or a cc) is the “Mrs.” Obama. Perhaps she would more clearly understand what is happening (a conversation, woman to woman) — that this is such a waste of our time (LCU’s) and our “foreign” earned and saved resources for little or anything gained by the US.
If the US had a true moral compass as they think they do, it would be ashamed of what it is doing to people like you and families like mine. It makes me, a person raised in the US, so ashamed for their folly.
So many of us are indebted to you and Victoria and others who know how to express what this is and are brave enough to do so. Again and again, thank you.
From a fellow Canadian woman and her family.
Thanks Calgary. We are all doing whatever we can to fight the FATCA Fiend.
You should send that article to Margret Wente at the Globe & Mail.
More than a year ago she wrote a piece called “Help, I’m On The IRS HIt-list”
But has been silent on the subject since then.
Blaze, perhaps the new US Ambassador to Canada might benefit from your letter?
Allison Christians says; …”The recent news about the newly appointed US ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman–described as “A veteran Goldman Sachs & Co. executive and major fundraiser” for President Obama–reminded me of a paper I read some time ago in which the authors showed that ambassadorships are bought by contributing to the political coffers of the winning presidential candidate. All too unfortunately, this comes as no surprise….”
http://taxpol.blogspot.ca/2013/09/how-to-buy-us-ambassadorship-and-how.html
Great letter Blaze. Spot on!