FATCA deadline looms for hedge funds
Deadlines are fast approaching for funds to comply with FATCA, the IRS announced an April 25 deadline for fund managers to register their offshore funds and offshore master funds with the IRS. Funds have until May 5 2014 to get their Global Intermediary Identification Numbers.
Notably, the IRS has also announced that the 19 countries which were in the process of completing their intergovernmental agreements on FATCA will be treated as though those agreements are already complete. Those countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Czech Republic, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa and South Korea. Brazil and the British Virgin Islands will likely stick out most for fund managers as those countries are hubs of activity for funds. 45 countries now have FATCA agreements.
On June 2, 2014 the IRS will publish a list of FATCA-compliant financial institutions, funds that have failed to get their identification numbers on time will not be included on this list, which could present its own set of difficulties in dealing with investors and service providers.
An alert from accounting firm EisnerAmper notes that processes and procedures for new investor onboarding should be in place no later than June 30, 2014. “A compliance plan should.
Credit: Opalesque
