Month: October 2018

Considering renouncing US citizenship? @Expatriationlaw information sessions Fall 2018

A series of information sessions (some formal presentations and some informal discussions); for information concerning the content of the programs please see here.

John Richardson is a Toronto citizenship lawyer, the co-chairman of the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty as well as the Alliance for the Defeat of Citizenship Taxation. He is a member of the ACA Taxation Advisory Panel. He holds the degrees of B.A., LL.B., and J.D. He is a member of the Massachusetts, New York and Ontario bars. His law practice focuses on “Solving the problems of U.S. citizenship” including relinquishing and the “Exit Tax”. He gives programs for expats (and Green Card holders) all across Canada and Europe. He writes extensively at citizenshipsolutions.ca.

Bangalore, India – October 22

Brisbane, Australia – October 25
with Karen Alpert
THU, OCT 25 AT 7 PM UTC+10
Information session – Brisbane
12 Payne St, Auchenflower QLD 4066, Australia
MAP

Karen Alpert founded the website Let’s Fix the Australia/US Tax Treaty and its associated Facebook group. The purpose of the group is to lobby and educate the Australian government regarding the impact of extraterritorial US laws on Australian citizens and residents and the cost to Australia of surrendering its sovereignty in these matters. Karen has a Ph.D. (UQ, Finance) and lectures in Finance at the University of Queensland.

Auckland, New Zealand – October 31

Sydney, Australia – November 1

Thursday, November 1
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
The Rex Centre – Baroda Room
58A Macleay Street
Entrance near Baroda Street
Potts Point NSW 2011
MAP
Cost: Free, but preregistration is required for all sessions except the October 25 session in Brisbane (where you can just appear)
Registration: please send an email to: citizenshipsessions at citizenshipsolutions.ca or nobledreamer16 at gmail.com

  • Kings Cross train station is within walking distance.
  • Bus route 311 stops on Macleay Street, near Orwell Street.
  • Bus routes 323, 324, 325, 326 and 327 stop on Bayswater Road, near Darlinghurst Road.
  • Limited on-street parking.
  • Kings Cross parking station is nearby.

Dubai, UAE – November 4

Limassol, Cyprus – November 7
 

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

CANADIAN FATCA IGA LAWSUIT UPDATE: October 3, 2018 Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of Argument Has Been Submitted to Canada’s Federal Court

cross-posted from Brock.

by Stephen J. Kish

CANADIAN FATCA IGA LAWSUIT UPDATE
 
 
 
 
 
 
Here is the Memorandum of Argument of our Plaintiffs (Gwen and Kazia) for our FATCA IGA legislation lawsuit that was submitted on October 3, 2018 to Canada’s Federal Court. [Note that text is limited to 30 pages.]

The Memorandum can be found HERE.

The gist of our argument (page 12) is that the FATCA IGA legislation is inapplicable to Provincially regulated institutions and violates Sections 7, 8, and 15 of Canada’s Charter of Rights.

The word “sovereignty” is used many times in the document.

Some Excerpts:

— “Section 8 of the Charter states: Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure…The Impugned Provisions authorize both a search and a seizure…The plaintiffs and other reasonable hypothetical individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their Accountholder Information…Canada pleads that because the plaintiffs and other US Persons have pre-existing obligations to report certain information to the IRS under US law, their privacy interest in that information is minimal…Canada cannot demonstrate that the searches and seizures authorized by Impugned Provisions are reasonable because (a) they are warrantless and lack any judicial supervision of any kind, (b) it is impossible to test their reliability in achieving their objective, and (c) they almost certainly capture an inordinate number of individuals who have no US tax and reporting obligations…”

— “The state objective underlying the Impugned Provisions is to assist the United States in implementing FATCA and finding US tax evaders and cheats.57 This is not an important Canadian objective.”

— “Finally, the court should recognize a novel principle of fundamental justice that Canada will not deny its citizens the protection of Canadian sovereignty…the principle of non-intervention between states is a cornerstone of the international order and intrinsically connected to state sovereignty;88 it is undoubtedly considered by all Canadians to be fundamental to their notion of justice that Canada will not expose them to enforcement of another state’s laws…”

NEXT STEPS:

— Canada responds to our Memorandum of Argument by November 21, 2018.

— We reply to Canada by December 7, 2018.

— Trial is held in Vancouver beginning January 28, 2019

Passport Revocation: The new weapon in the US war on Americans abroad

passport revoke
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
cross-posted from Citizenship Solutions

by John Richardson

Circa 2015:

The logical progression continues …

I just got off the phone with someone who has just received a letter from the IRS stating that:

1. He had a “seriously delinquent” tax debt; and

2. That notice of the “seriously delinquent” tax debt was being forwarded to the State Department.

(In 2016 I did a presentation on this topic just a few months after the law came into force. You may view the presentation here.)

It is clear that the letters from the IRS have started to go out. The purpose of this post is to explain in simple terms what this means for Americans abroad.

To put it simply:

1. If you have received the notice and you do NOT have a current U.S. passport then:

The State Department cannot issue you a passport.

2. If you have received the notice and you DO have a current U.S. passport then:

The State Department may revoke your passport but is not required to revoke your passport.

For most Americans abroad (who certainly have a valid U.S. passport unless they are dual citizens) receipt of the letter does NOT mean that they will lose their existing U.S. passport.

Like all aspects of living as a U.S. citizen abroad, this issue will be governed by both the IRS and by the State Department.

It began with Sec. 3201 of the FAST Act (which naturally is a revenue offset provision and one of the final gifts from the Obama administration) …

Like most of life as a U.S. citizen, it all starts with the IRS …

Internal Revenue Code Sec. 7345 provides the mechanism to certify the “seriously delinquent tax debt” and then forward notice of the debt to the State Department. The relevant language is:

If the Secretary receives certification by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that an individual has a seriously delinquent tax debt, the Secretary shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of State for action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport pursuant to section 32101 of the FAST Act.

You can read how the IRS interprets this provision here:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/revocation-or-denial-of-passport-in-case-of-certain-unpaid-taxes

Once the State Department receives the “certification” it will respond with “denial, revocation, or limitation” …

According to the State Department:

Passports and Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt If you have been certified to the Department of State by the Secretary of the Treasury as having a seriously delinquent tax debt, you cannot be issued a U.S. passport and your current U.S. passport may be revoked.

If you are overseas you may be eligible for a limited passport good for direct return to the United States.

We would suggest that if you have seriously delinquent tax debt, you contact the IRS to resolve your debt before applying for a passport. If you do not resolve your tax issues before applying for a passport, your application will be delayed or denied.

If you have seriously delinquent tax debt and have already applied for a new U.S. passport, we cannot issue a new passport to you until you have resolved your tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

For more information on seriously delinquent tax debt, see Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Unpaid Taxes on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website.

So, where in the legislation and regulations does all this come from?

Denial: Denial is mandatory when one applies for renewal or for a new passport.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/22/51.60

§ 51.60 Denial and restriction of passports.
(a) The Department may not issue a passport, except a passport for direct return to the United States, in any case in which the Department determines or is informed by competent authority that:

(3) The applicant is certified by the Secretary of the Treasury as having a seriously delinquent tax debt as described in 26 U.S.C. 7345.

Revocation: Revocation is permitted but is not mandatory

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/22/51.62

§ 51.62 Revocation or limitation of passports.
(a) The Department may revoke or limit a passport when

(1) The bearer of the passport may be denied a passport under 22 CFR 51.60 or 51.61; or 51.28; or any other provision contained in this part; or,

It is not clear when the State Department would revoke an existing passport. I am not sure what incentive the State Department has to revoke an existing passport (just because of a tax debt).

My thoughts on this …

1. The $50,000 “tax debt” includes interest and penalties. It’s easy for an American abroad to exceed this simply through “form transgressions”.

2. The people most threatened by this are those who do not have a second passport. Get yourself a second passport.

The days of living as a U.S. citizen outside the United States are clearly numbered.

Interested in learning about Substitute Tax Returns for non-filers? If this is not enough excitement, see …

John Richardson