Canada Revenue Agency won’t collect FBAR penalties for IRS
It appears that Canada Revenue Agency will not help the IRS collect FBAR penalties from people in Canada who get hammered with reporting requirement penalties. This is according to an opinion item in the Vancouver Sun. I got a call from an IRS employee about this, in addition to comments on my blog.
I have not found the original source item that the columnist refers to. I spent a few minutes poking around with Google to no avail.
Don Cayo’s correspondance with CRA regarding assistance in collection is at this link. Apparently an email from Finance department. Not a big surprise; it’s in keeping both with actual content of Tax Treaty andl Canadian high court decisions rejecting extra-juristictional revenue claims.
In a world of press release journalism, Cayo did what real reporters do: he asked “how?”
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/cayo/archive/2011/08/23/verbatim-what-canada-says-about-collecting-irs-non-filing-penalties.aspx
Thanks for the link.
Phil
Hopefully more governments will stand up to the IRS on this FBAR nonsense too. This news takes a load off the shoulder’s of a lot of Canadians, for sure.
I have just posted on my blog the full and unedited email from the Canadian Department of Finance in response to my question about whether Canada would collect the penalties.
Thanks Don. I’m glad to see some pushback to the US government’s attempts to annex the world.
Phil
It would be good that the Canadian government promise that it will protect its residents and its non-resident citizens who travel into the US from being arrested and charged with FBAR crimes for having legal accounts in Canada. I know that this hasn’t happened, but with the threats being breathed by the IRS, this is the next step. It comes down to a huge question of annexing the world, as Phil says. And in order not to have their interest overwhelmed by a harassment of 1 out of every 30 or so people in Canada who have ties to the US, the Canadian government must put its foot down.
Good! Maybe some other governments will grow some fuzz on their nads and tell IRS to pound sand.
@hootie,
You win the Metaphor Award for the day!
P
CBC doesn’t know about this decision:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/08/25/wdr-taxing-americans-living-in-canada.html
The Canadians couldn’t collect the FBAR penalty even if they wanted to.
The penalty amount is not automatic. I has to first be determined by a civil judgement brought in a US Federal District Court.
Since the IRS has yet to bring such suits against anyone much less obtain such a judgement what, exactly, would or could the Canadian authorities do to assist the IRS? Establish Canadian FBAR courts?
As a Canadian and no longer an American as of this year, I decided to ignore FBAR. The Canadian government itself is pretty greedy for a our tax money so its not going to want to share with the US. To allow its people to be fleeced by FBAR penalties reduces its own tax base. Every country in the world has to wake up and smell the coffee. The IRS implemnetation of FBAR is evil and it is the United Socialist of America trying to expand its revenue base into the rest of the world.
Poser.
Congratulations.
I will be following your lead as will many others. Did the renunciation go smoothly and how long did the process take?
in order to renounce you must have filed 5 years taxes to the IRS and FBAR is part of filing your taxes.they don’t make it easy.. depending on your circumstances there is a exit tax after you renounce.