KPMG to host seminar on US taxation and FATCA
KPMG in Saudi Arabia is hosting a seminar on taxation of US individuals and the impact of Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) at the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh on May 26.
Under US tax law, US citizens and US permanent residents (green card holders) are required to file US income tax returns and report their worldwide income even if not physically present or resident in the United States.
It is expected that FATCA will impact more than 200,000 individuals holding US citizenship and green cards living in Saudi Arabia.
FATCA was introduced by the US government and is aimed at ensuring that information on US citizens’ offshore investments is provided to the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). To achieve its goals, the IRS entered into agreements with non-US financial institutions around the world, directly or via Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs).
Under these agreements, financial institutions will report to the IRS, on an annual basis, information about bank accounts held by their clients who are US citizens. The information that is required to be reported by banks include account holder names, account numbers, balances at year-end and amounts deposited and withdrawn from these accounts.
In Saudi Arabia, banks already started the process of becoming FATCA compliant and implemented various measures to identify clients who are US citizens. For example, clients are now required to sign, under penalties or perjury, a self-certification form whether they are, or not, US citizens.
In this regard, Tareq Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, managing partner, KPMG in Saudi Arabia, emphasized the importance of this seminar in informing individuals who hold US citizenship and green card holders about their obligations under the US tax regulations and how to ensure that they become fully compliant with these rules to avoid any penalties that they may face as a result of non-compliance.
