"We're from the Government, and we're here to explore!"
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"We're from the Government, and we're here to explore!"
Subject: Confused expatriate wants to comply with US laws Date: Wed, 13 May 2015 10:57:14 -0400 From: Stefan Jetchick To: quebecACS state.gov, irs.paris irs.gov Quebec City, Canada, May 11th, 2015. (Snail-mail copy sent here) Internal Revenue Service 3651 South I-H 35 Stop 6063 AUSC Austin, TX 78741 (E-mail copies sent here) quebecACS [add "at" sign] state.gov (US consulate in Quebec City) irs.paris [add "at" sign] irs.gov (only e-mail address I could find on IRS website for International taxpayers) Subject: Confused expatriate wants to comply with US laws Dear overworked and underpaid employee of the IRS, (I'm assuming this letter will either never be seen by anybody, or if somebody does read it, he or she will be at the bottom of the hierarchy.) Some data about myself: - Born in the USA of an American Father (so I've always been a US citizen). - Mother is French-Canadian, so I became a dual national when I was a teenager. - Residence: Apart from very early childhood (5-6 years?) and a stint in the US around 1999-2000, I've pretty well always lived here. I rarely travel. - Social Security Number: [redacted on web version] - US Passport Number: [redacted on web version] - Annual income for the past 10 years: [redacted on web version] - Total money saved up for retirement (RRSP): [redacted on web version] - Market value of my only asset (house): [redacted on web version] - Amount of money owed to the IRS: Zero as far as I know. About a month and a half ago, people around me asked whether I was filing US Income Tax returns. "Hum, no. Why?" That got me surfing the web where I found hyperlinks such as: U.S. Taxpayers Residing Outside the United States and New Filing Compliance Procedures for Non-Resident U.S. Taxpayers and Foreign Bank Account Report FinCEN 114 etc. I'm not sure anymore what I should be doing about US Income Tax returns, and the even more mysterious "FBAR reports". [Warning: start of feeling sorry for myself] I tried to really attentively read those hyperlinks, but the more I read, the more I got confused. Then life got in the way: my roof needs repairs, carpenter ants are running around, my job doesn't care if I have one citizenship or two or seventy-five, etc. To make things worse, the line: "Sort out IRS stuff" on my agenda keeps getting pushed back by more urgent tasks. [End of feeling sorry for myself] So, while I try to find the time to sort all this IRS stuff out, here are a few things I want to "put on the record": First, I want to be a good Christian and a good Citizen, so of course I want to pay all my taxes and shoulder my share of the normal social burden of living in a society. I'm also all in favor of stopping financial crimes (and any other crime for that matter). Second, I found something about "non-willful conduct" on the IRS website: "Non-willful conduct is conduct that is due to negligence, inadvertence, or mistake or conduct that is the result of a good faith misunderstanding of the requirements of the law." I'm writing this letter to put myself on the IRS "radar", and to publicly state that I certainly cannot claim ignorance of the law or "non-willful conduct" anymore! I'm pretty confused, but now I know I'm confused! Third, I have no idea why I should fill out US Income Tax returns. I've lived almost exclusively in Canada all my life. I work in Canada, earning Canadian dollars with the Canadian sweat of my Canadian brow. I diligently declare all income and pay all taxes. I don't have anything in the USA (no bank accounts, no houses, no investments, etc.). I don't draw any payments or services from the USA, I never have, and don't intend ever to. I already file two tax returns every year! (the Canadian one, then a stupid near-duplicate return for the provicial government of Quebec). You are more than welcome to go crawling up all my income tax returns. I assume because of agreements between Canada and the USA, you already have access to them. If not, please take this letter as a signed consent on my part to allow the IRS to obtain and scrutinize all my income tax returns, of any year, for any reason. Fourth, I barely understand the "FinCEN" thing about "all citizens with bank accounts are considered guilty until proven innocent". You are more than welcome to go crawling up all of my bank accounts (as before, please take this letter as a signed consent on my part if you haven't done so already). My current bank is: Caisse Desjardins de Sillery--Saint-Louis-de-France Transit : 815-20272 1394, avenue Maguire Québec, QC G1T 1Z3 Tél.: (418) 681-3566 www.desjardins.com I used to have a small, static bank account in this other bank, for my 5000$ emergency fund (I'm a freelancer, with no pension fund or paid sick leave or anything like that, so I have to be able to pay my own way out of contingencies). That bank account has been closed for a while now: Banque Royale du Canada Place Sainte-Foy 2450-2, boul. Laurier Québec, QC G1V 2L1 Tél.: 654-2454 www.rbcbanqueroyale.com Fifth, from what little I understand, the last time the floor fell out of the financial system (2008), the Canadian banks did a lot better than the US banks. If we really want to find fraud and financial crime, shouldn't the US be sending all bank account information to Canadian banks instead of the other way around? (OK, I admit that was a dig! :-) Seriously, Canada already has the equivalent of FinCENT (FINTRAC) poking around all bank accounts. I'm not even sure there is room in my personal financial information for yet another latex-covered finger! * * * * * * * * (Dear overworked and underpaid IRS employee, you don't need to read the rest of this e-mail, since I now have things to say to some people high up in the US Government with whom I strongly disagree. But if you know of somebody who can help me sort out my tax questions and/or clear up my misunderstandings, please feel free to forward them this letter.) Some might ask, while reading this letter, why I even bother to keep my US citizenship. Simple: I can tell the difference between disgusting statism and bureaucracy, and the love of my Flag, my Country and the American Constitution. Calling myself an American doesn't mean I support the Government spying on us, the Government treating us like criminals until proven innocent, the Government debasing our currency, the Government transforming our Nation into a Nanny State filled with "Sheeple" waiting for handouts while in perpetual lockdown, the Government punishing our allies while encouraging our enemies, the Government more and more overtly oppressing Christians while removing obstacles to the dissemination of Islam, etc. I'm keeping my U.S. Passport. They can pry it out of my cold, dead hands, when the Second American Revolution breaks out and I travel back down south of the border for one last time, to die fighting for the US Constitution. That's what Canadian friends are for! Stefan Jetchick 1450, avenue des Grands-Pins Québec, QC G1S 4J6 Canada 418-922-7015 www.inquisition.ca
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