Americans in Canada Resent and Defy U.S. Tax Demands
They don't live here and don't want to be milked by the feds
The deadline for Americans living in Canada to file a tax return with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is less than a week away, but not everyone is scrambling to get their paperwork in order.
"I'm not filing U.S. taxes," says a Calgary resident we'll call Joe. "As an accidental American, I'm outraged that a foreign government is going after me for the fact my Canadian parents had me in the U.S. and only stayed there for a few short months."
Joe, who did not want his real name used for fear he will be targeted by the IRS, considers himself 100 percent Canadian. He was born in April, 1958 in Pittsburgh, where his father worked for a short time. His birth was registered with the Canadian embassy and his parents returned to Canada in July of that same year.
"I have never earned a penny there," said the oil patch engineer. In his eyes, the notion that the U.S. government has any sort of claim on his income is "ridiculous."