Internal Revenue Service: Dual Citizens

Calgary Herald Dept: In a global effort by the IRS to root out U.S. tax evaders, foreign banks will be required to verify the citizenship of every existing account holder and identify to U.S. authorities anyone with U.S. tax status, including U.S. green card holders and dual citizens, according to Calgary Herald. The IRS estimates that it will collect more than $165 billion in additional taxes from overseas Americans over the next decade through the act. Because the U.S. rules apply broadly to foreign financial institutions, Canadian investment houses, insurance companies and a host of other financial services companies are affected and canadian banks are among those worldwide pushing back against a U.S. requirement that will effectively turn international financial institutions into an enforcement arm of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Customers who refuse to divulge the information -regardless of their nationality -could have 30 per cent of any U.S. income flowing into their accounts withheld, such as earnings from mutual funds. The U.S. regulations, known as the Foreign Account Compliance Tax Act, were signed into law by President Barack Obama last year and are scheduled to come into effect in 18 months. As reported in the news.
@t irs estimates, international financial institutions