“FATCA is really a sea change,” according to Queen’s University professor Arthur Cockfield.
The testimony of Professor Cockfield, McGill University Professor Allison Christians and lawyer John Richardson were reported in FATCA Sea Change, an article by Lynne Swanson (aka Blaze) that was published today in Tax-News, a global tax news service.
Professor Christians advised:
FATCA, as reflected in the bill before us today, tells us to ferret out our own citizens as likely U.S. tax debtors and present them and their financial resources to our most important treaty partner in an agreement of dubious status that may not even be a tax treaty,”
John Richardson insisted:
It’s extremely important, absolutely essential, under any FATCA agreement that the definition of a U.S. citizen could never, never, never include any Canadian citizen who is a resident in Canada.
Professor Cockfield agreed with constitutional experts that FATCA violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, He calls FATCA:
“A gotcha penalty regime”
and
“A very dangerous precedent.”
The article reports Canadians are fundraising through Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty for a legal and constitutional challenge to FATCA if it passes as it is currently written.
:
Blaze, I don’t think you could make the facts about the FATCA IGA any more clear than you expressed in this media article. FATCA is the US form of financial blackmail but if the Con government in Canada lets them get away with this..shame on them all. It is fitting that AnnFrank had the idea for the amendment to fix this situation. This reminds me that there was little resistant to Hitler for a long period of time as well. The FATCA “Sea Change” article is very much on target. Personally, I know its time to get out of the path of the tornado.
“Constitutional experts say FATCA violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a very dangerous precedent.” http://t.co/GTXfHRo3l8