4 Life Insurance Myths You Should Know About - See below link for quote in myth 3 by Julia Chung of Facet Advisors Wealth Strategies

http://www.valuepenguin.com/4-life-insurance-myths

As many U.S. citizens living in Canada can attest to, when their income has historically been derived exclusively from Canadian sources (and their U.S. return is prepared properly), they will rarely pay any U.S. income tax.  The reason behind this is simple: while a U.S. citizen living in Canada is required to report their worldwide income to both countries, Canada gets the actual income tax dollars on income earned from Canada while a corresponding foreign tax credit for that Canadian tax is claimed to offset the U.S. income tax due. 

THE ART OF LEADERSHIP: Julia Chung, leader of our Wealth Strategies division, attended the recent Art of Leadership Conference on April 11 as a guest of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs.  Please read her review of this event here: http://www.fwe.ca/blog/fwe-community/the-art-of-leadership-conference-vancouver/

MARCH 21, 2013

Federal Budget Commentary

Please see below for Facet Advisors commentary on the 2013 Federal Budget announced on March 21, 2013 and its effect on taxpayers. 

IRS FAQ's Regarding the Streamlined Compliance Procedure

As we’ve discussed previously,  the IRS last year announced an alternative to its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) which was being made available to a limited group of non-resident individuals who had failed to file their tax returns and Foreign Bank Account Reports (FBARs).

Facet expands into Alberta!  At a time when economic growth forecasts continue along a middling track, we are proud to say that we are growing by leaps and bounds. Most recently you may have heard that we expanded into Alberta (Calgary and Canmore) by bringing on Jeff Borschowa as a partner.

As part of our overall growth strategy we are not only increasing our operational capacity but also ramping up services in our Business Brokers Inc. and Wealth Strategies portfolios.

Why should I bother getting caught up on my US tax filings?

With new IRS voluntary disclosure programs popping up every few years as the United States makes a concerted effort to bring delinquent tax filers back into the fold, US citizens resident in Canada may still be wondering why they should bother getting caught up?

Many of the US citizens that are living up in Canada have been here for years or even decades and may feel that the US isn’t entitled to their banking or tax information when none of it has anything to do with the United States.

The PST is here again. 

On April 1, 2013, the HST in BC will be replaced with a sales tax regime similar to the one that applied before the HST was implemented in July 1, 2010 (7% PST and 5% federal GST). Businesses should register for a PST account as soon as possible, as discussed further below, and review all accounting and sales systems to ensure the changes will be captured accurately.