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There is a million Americans in Canada and they are SCREWED!

Northern Lawn

Northern Lawn

Platinum Member
Now they have to file a tax return with the IRS as well even if they've never been to the states and Late tax returns. Failure? $10,000 fine per form.

We gotta get rid of this Harper criminal, election can't come fast enough.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...ation-on-americans-in-canada/article16710461/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/u-s-f...pecting-canadians-in-its-crosshairs-1.2493864


This affects millions of people, not just Americans in Canada. Everybody we’re related to, people that were accidentally born there,”
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A Calgary woman's developmentally disabled son is caught in a U.S. tax quagmire that she fears may cost him the money she spent years setting aside for his financial future.


"He's entrapped," said Carol Tapanila, the 70-year-old mother. "There's no way out. He is entrapped into U.S. citizenship."

Her 40-year-old son was born in a Calgary hospital, but automatically received U.S. citizenship because both his parents were American. That simple fact may soon create financial woes for the Tapanila family.
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the tax-sharing arrangement would give the IRS the ability to target individuals they believe may be offside, including the obligation of all Americans to file an annual tax return, wherever they live.

“It makes me sick,” said Lynne Swanson, 62, of London, Ont., who moved to Canada in 1973 and believed she had long ago relinquished her U.S. citizenship. “I feel betrayed by the country I’ve been loyal to for 45 years.”
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Speaking as a former ExPat, we've always been required to file tax forms. Certainly that was the case 20 years ago. Can't imagine it changed.

You have to formally renounce your citizenship at an embassy or consulate to escape the requirement.
 
I'm going to be interested in seeing where this thread goes. I have read the first link and here is a quote from it.

Perrin Beatty, a former federal revenue minister who is now President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, warned that compliance would be “exceptionally costly” for banks. “It’s intrusive in terms of people’s property,” he said.
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In a number of European countries, banks made the decision to not allow U.S. citizens to hold accounts in their banks for the reasons Mr. Beatty spoke of. This essentially backed U.S. citizens into a corner that resulted in many of them renouncing their U.S. citizenship. This was met by our rabid leftist friends with a ton of vitriol. Trying to escape taxes, good riddance to them, etc.

We'll see how it plays out in Canada but I think we can expect more people to renounce their citizenship because their choice will be to do that or move back to a country they have not resided in for decades.

From the second link:

That would provide some relief, but Tapanila notes that the cost of filing U.S. taxes every year could actually be the largest drain on her savings.

Accounting firms estimate that personal tax filings can cost from $500 to $5,000 a year because of the complexity of U.S. tax law.
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We see the unintended consequences of poorly thought out legislation far too often with our current regime. They can fix this if they can put their ego's in check. This is unlikely as they would first have to face that they are in error.
 
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I poked around IRS.gov for a while, and what I found appears to match my recollection: US Citizens must always file and pay taxes on their income, regardless of whether they currently reside inside or outside the country. Taxes paid to Non~US entities (the government of Canada, in this case) may qualify for a total or partial credit against US taxes, depending on income level and situation.



Definitive answer from http://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/ar02.html

3) My entire income qualifies for the foreign earned income exclusion. Must I file a tax return?
Generally, yes. Every U.S. citizen or resident who receives income must file a U.S. income tax return unless total income without regard to the foreign earned income exclusion is below an amount based on filing status. The income levels for filing purposes are discussed under Filing Requirements in chapter 1.

If your regular filing date has passed, you should file a return, Form 1040, as soon as possible for last year. Include a statement with this return noting that you have returned to the United States and will not qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion. You must report your worldwide income on the return. If you paid a foreign tax on the income earned abroad, you may be able to either deduct this tax as an itemized deduction or claim it as a credit against your U.S. income tax.
However, if you pay the tax due after the regular due date, interest will be charged from the regular due date until the date the tax is paid.

Yes. All U.S. citizens and resident aliens are subject to U.S. tax on their worldwide income. If you paid taxes to a foreign government on income from sources outside the United States, you may be able to claim a foreign tax credit against your U.S. income tax liability for the foreign taxes paid. Form 1116 is used to figure the allowable credit.

Your U.S. tax obligation on your income is the same as that of a retired person living in the United States. (See the discussion on filing requirements in chapter 1 of this publication.)

U.S. taxpayers overseas have the same requirements for paying estimated tax as those in the United States. See the discussion under Estimated Tax in chapter 1.
Overseas taxpayers should not include in their estimated income any income they receive that is, or will be, exempt from U.S. taxation.
Overseas taxpayers can deduct their estimated housing deduction in figuring their estimated tax.
The first installment of estimated tax is due on April 15 of the year for which the income is earned.
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boomerang said:
Accounting firms estimate that personal tax filings can cost from $500 to $5,000 a year because of the complexity of U.S. tax law.
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Ok serioulsy if you have a simple tax return it doesn't need to cost this much. I have already filed by my 2013 tax return and I paid $40 for Turbo Tax and another $20 to file my Federal taxes online and a couple of hours. Turbo Tax even has questions to lead you through if you live overseas and are a US citizen. It isn't that hard.
 
US citizens have always been required to file a US return regardless of residency. People that don't want to be bothered should revoke their citizenship, but I don't think you're allowed for tax purposes. I'm pretty sure the US is the only country in the world that does this. That is dumb but this is nothing new.
 
Brovane said:
Ok serioulsy if you have a simple tax return it doesn't need to cost this much. I have already filed by my 2013 tax return and I paid $40 for Turbo Tax and another $20 to file my Federal taxes online and a couple of hours. Turbo Tax even has questions to lead you through if you live overseas and are a US citizen. It isn't that hard.
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Hey quote the article. Don't make it look like that's something I said.
 
It is a silly law and most countries are decent enough that once you have left for a short while they stop requiring it. Really, what this woman is doing in Canada is none of the US' business.
 
boomerang said:
Well, if you were the top dog of a bank and had to comply with this law, how would you do it?
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I thought the gist of the law was they had to send the info they had, not collect new info. Plus I'm not sure if ignoring any requests for new info would put them in any more of a predicament than they are already in (other than compounding fines maybe but what's going to happen if they don't pay them).
 
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