Finance committee  These initiatives provide for an increased level of predictability, certainty, and access for Canadian businesses, so the CBA is encouraging the federal government to consider including, while pursuing trade negotiations in the future, measures that would prevent the extraterritorial application of foreign laws to Canadian financial institutions and account holders. An example we have here, obviously, is the U.S. FATCA legislation. Also, in our submission we note that the banking industry welcomed the passage in June of this year of Bill C-25, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act. PRPP would be I think particularly useful for people who do not now have access to a private sector pension plan, which we know is common among employees of small and medium-sized businesses and the self-employed.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  The U.S. is trying to crack down on these tax havens by making sure that people are tax compliant and introducing new legislation like FATCA, for example. The problem is that they are actually scooping up the wrong people. They are not going after the folks who are tax avoiders or are ferreting off this money and trying to hide it, but are hitting ordinary citizens, like ordinary Canadians.

Finance committee  In part, that's right. I think FATCA is perceived as an overarching legislative fix to a lot of perceived loopholes that people might be able to use to skirt the information reporting requirements.

Finance committee  I don't sit on this committee, so I'm just trying to pick up the thrust and intent of the legislation, and the effectiveness of its application. Mr. Michel, you talked about a congressional initiative. The acronym was FATCA. It's sort of trying to characterize fat cats, but it gets a little short there. What does that acronym stand for again?

Finance committee  Surely they would be aware that this could circumvent American law. Is that why the Congress has taken the initiative under FATCA, to try to close that door?

Finance committee  In the United States, a new piece of legislation called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, as it's known, was just adopted. That, in my view, will eliminate bank secrecy for Americans around the world. So I think the trend--at least for American account holders--is that bank secrecy is waning, and that's why an effective voluntary disclosure policy is at least necessary to encourage people to come in and clean up their affairs.