Last Sunday I linked to two well-written articles by Don Cayo of the Vancouver Sun. One question that has interested individuals residing in Canada who are impacted by FBAR (Form TD F 90-22.1) is whether the Canadian tax authorities would collect penalties on behalf of the IRS.
Mr. Cayo corresponded with Revenue Canada (the Canadian equivalent of the IRS) and got the answer: No. You can read his correspondence here, but it boils down to CRA noting that the FBAR provision is not included in the US-Canada Tax Treaty. Additionally, CRA says they will not collect taxes for the IRS for an individual who is a Canadian citizen at the time the liability arose.
This will have even more meaning in the years to come as Congress is forcing foreign banks to collect information on Americans (beginning in 2013). I expect to see significant pushback, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
Tags: FBAR