What have you missed in Saturday’s Personal Finance section in the Financial Post? Worry not, here is a list of this weekend’s stories:

Will a pension overhaul save your retirement?

The Conservative government will get down to the business of implementing its vision for fixing the Canadian pension system this week — and Bay Street is salivating at the prospect. Jonathan Chevreau has the details. Read More »

Parking rates across the country rose by 2.6% in the past year to an average of $235.76 per month but remain cheap by world standards, according to a survey by Colliers International Canada.
Calgary rates were the most expensive in the country at an average of $472.50 per month for an unreserved spot, making the oilpatch the second most expensive place in North America to park your car. Calgary only trails midtown New York where the average rate for an unreserved spot was US$541 per month.
Read More »

Readers blog about their pursuit of higher education in response to the Financial Post’s series of stories on student debt:

I worked it out: I pay $250 per month on a $33,000 student loan.

If I continue to pay that amount it will take roughly 26 years to clear it up and $46,000  in interest.

I cannot get any sort of loan because of my student loans. I have moved out of country as a way of starting over because I will never get ahead in Canada.

I have to say, my biggest regret in life is completing my useless degree.

Tanya

Related

• Go to our Young Money Page

• Student money: High-flying career never materialized — but debt remains

• Student debt bankrupting a generation

Send your student debt stories to personalfinance@nationalpost.com.

By Terry McBride/Postmedia News

On Independence Day, Americans celebrated breaking their ties to the British Empire in 1776.

The residents in the 13 former British colonies became free of their obligation to pay tax to Great Britain.

These days Americans are instead obliged to file United States tax returns each year. Indeed, Americans everywhere must file U.S. tax returns.

U.S. person
Who is a U.S. person? If you were born in the United States, then you are a U.S. person.

Similarly if you have a green card, then you are also a U.S. person.

U.S. tax return
A U.S. person who resides in Canada must file both a U.S. income tax return and a Canadian income tax return each year.

But that does not mean you pay tax twice on the same income.

The Canada-U.S. tax treaty prevents double taxation. Tax that you pay on your U.S. income tax return can be claimed as a foreign tax credit to offset tax on the Canadian tax return —and vice versa.

While Canadian income tax rates are typically higher than the U.S. tax rates for the same income, there are other differences that could make a Canadian resident’s U.S. return more taxable than you might expect.

For example, you cannot deduct your Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contribution and you must report investment income earned on your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) on your U.S. tax return.

Foreign accounts
The U.S. government wants each U.S. person to submit a “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” (FBAR) by June 30 each year if the aggregate value exceeds $10,000 US.

The FBAR is used to disclose the balance in any “bank account,” which is defined to include an RRSP, TFSA or mutual fund, for example.
Since 2003, the IRS started imposing severe penalties for failing to submit FBAR forms annually. They are calculated as a percentage of the balance of the financial accounts. The U.S. Department of the Treasury wants to catch U.S. residents hiding money and not reporting income from offshore bank accounts.

But the same FBAR rules also apply to U.S. persons living abroad who use foreign bank accounts to receive salaries and pay everyday bills.

FBAR amnesty
On Feb. 8, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a voluntary disclosure program with automatic penalties of a percentage of total overseas financial accounts when U.S. persons file their overdue FBAR forms before Aug. 31, 2011. A U.S. person who needs to comply should immediately seek professional advice from a cross-border tax expert.

Authors Brian Wruk and Terry Ritchie have written a helpful book called The American in Canada.

They tell of a client who is a U.S. citizen living in Canada, who was flying to the United States to tend to a family matter. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agent asked him if he was filing U.S. tax returns.

Increased co-operation between the IRS and U.S. border officials will ensure greater compliance by U.S. persons resident in Canada.

Are there any U.S. tax filing requirements for Canadians who are not U.S. persons?

U.S. estate tax
Canadians who are neither U.S. citizens nor green card holders can also be subject to U.S. estate tax. If you’re a Canadian and the value of your worldwide estate exceeds $5 million US. there could be some U.S. Estate Tax to pay on the value of your U.S. property, such as a U.S. vacation home and U.S. stock portfolio.

Snowbirds
Are you are a snowbird who stays south of the border for enough days to be classified as a “resident alien?” If so, you must report your worldwide income on a U.S. income tax return.

Terry McBride is a member of Advocis (The Financial Advisors Association of Canada). This article provides general information and should not be considered personal investment or tax planning advice.

Readers blog about their pursuit of higher education in response to the Financial Post’s series of stories on student debt:

I graduated with $130,000 in student loans to become a pilot.

Every person that was involved with the process said oh yeah you will make $200,000 a year. I am now working for an airline as a pilot making $20,000 a year.

I cannot get a loan for a house, car or even a credit card due to my student loans. I will never be able to afford kids and owning a house is out of the question.

I am only one of thousands of pilots in this condition. My fiancee also is a pilot with about the same amount in loans and can’t even find a job flying.

If I get a credit based loan for a bad business and it goes under it’s wiped out, but I get a credit based student loan that turns out I was lied to about the salary and ability to find a job I’m stuck with it forever. Student aren’t wanting to just dump their loans in bankruptcy.

They are just wanting fair treatment in case there is no other option, and I believe this is exactly what it says about bankruptcy in the constitution.

Chad

Email your student debt stories to personalfinance@nationalpost.com.