Hearing Set on Injunction to Stop FATCA Reporting

Aug. 21 — A federal court will hold a hearing Sept. 4 on whether to stop the U.S. from requiring banks in four countries to report information on U.S.-owned accounts under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

As the Sept. 30 deadline for that reporting approaches, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio will consider a motion for a preliminary injunction. That action was sought by the plaintiffs in a filing along with a lawsuit in July claiming that the FATCA intergovernmental agreements, along with other requirements to report U.S. accounts and assets in other countries, are unconstitutional (135 DTR K-4, 7/15/15).

The U.S., which filed a 57-page brief against the injunction, is expected to continue vigorously defending FATCA and opposing those claims (Crawford v. Dep’t of Treasury, S.D. Ohio, No. 3:15-cv-00250, response filed, 8/12/15).