It’s taken some time, but it’s harder for U.S. citizens to hold foreign accounts away from the eyes of the IRS. FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, was signed into law in 2010 with the goal of ferreting out accounts hidden by U.S. taxpayers in foreign lands. While FATCA… – Continue reading
While the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) became law in 2010, it has been slowly transitioning to implementation, with 2015 being the first year of required reportings. For anyone not familiar with the Act, FATCA aims to prevent tax non-compliance among U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts by requiring U.S…. – Continue reading
Despite the inevitable move towards automatic exchange of tax information and Common Reporting Standards internationally, there continues to be a steady flow of litigation in the Courts of International Financial Centres such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore relating to challenges to inter-governmental Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) requests…. – Continue reading
Following the expiration of the 29 May 2015 notification deadline with the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (the “TIA”), the next step for all Cayman Islands Reporting Financial Institutions (each an “RFI”) is to submit a return (the “FATCA Return”) setting out certain details of any US Reportable Accounts that… – Continue reading
The Bahamian financial industry is concerned it will have to start reporting information for the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) without the necessary legislation being in place, Tribune Business can reveal, reports the Bahamas Tribune. Lawrence Lewis, a Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) partner and accountant, confirmed to Tribune… – Continue reading
The Bahamian financial industry is concerned it will have to start reporting information for the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) without the necessary legislation being in place, Tribune Business can reveal. Lawrence Lewis, a Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) partner and accountant, confirmed to Tribune Business that there was… – Continue reading
As the financial world continues its march towards a more transparent and open environment, regulations governing private wealth are under scrutiny. The traditional is changing for good while new players emerge. Once was a time, not too long ago, the words “Swiss bank” conjured up evocative imagery: secret deals; bank… – Continue reading
A group promoting Canadian sovereignty has raised 80% of the funds required to take the Canadian Government to court for providing residents’ details to the US for its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS) on 11… – Continue reading
South Korea signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States on June 10, 2015. FATCA is intended to ensure that the US obtains information on accounts held abroad at foreign financial institutions (FFIs) by US persons. Failure by an FFI to disclose information… – Continue reading
The Maltese Commissioner for Revenue has announced a further extension in relation to the deadline on reporting for FATCA purposes from 15 June 2015 to 3 July 2015. The FATCA reporting deadline in Malta is normally 30 April. The Commissioner has confirmed that this exception will apply for reporting in… – Continue reading
Governments around the world could find themselves under-resourced when the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act deadline for collecting information on US clients arrives in September, one expert has said. Ellen Zimiles, managing director, head of global investigations at US firm Navigant, said governments will be handed an “unprecedented” amount of… – Continue reading
The Luxembourg Tax Authorities have confirmed that the deadline for FATCA reporting with respect to financial accounts as of 31 December 2014 has been extended from 30 June 2015 to 31 July 2015. The FATCA Agreement (Model 1) between Luxembourg and the United States was signed on 28 March 2014…. – Continue reading
Minister of Financial Services the Hon. Hope Strachan said international best practices are evolving at a rapid pace, particularly as it relates to automatic tax exchange initiatives, tax transparency, anti-money laundering and financial crime, and e-commerce, reports the Bahamas Weekly. Making her contribution to the 2015 Budget Debate in the… – Continue reading
MiFID II – FCA Issues Discussion Paper on MiFID II Implementation Measures The FCA issued a discussion paper (DP15/3) on 26 March 2015, asking firms for their views on a range of MiFID II implementation measures, including on: The revised inducements standards. Receipt of commissions and other benefits by discretionary… – Continue reading
Retired Canadian lawyer Ginny Hillis has a message for the U.S. Congress. “They have no rights over me. None.” Hillis detests the “arrogance” of Congress for “imposing their laws on a sovereign nation with the complicity of that sovereign nation’s government.” America’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) “should embarrass… – Continue reading
Developments in Asia over the last year have been continuous with the biggest generic development relating to the exchange of information. Asian countries have put their FATCA reporting systems in place (even though not all have yet signed an inter-governmental agreement with the US IRS), and most have now committed… – Continue reading
The past decade or more has not been an easy road to manoeuvre for IFCs. The Bahamas like other IFCs has faced the combined challenges of international initiatives, increased competition, industry consolidation, changing client demographics, emerging market requirements; legacy market stagnation and of course the financial crisis just a few… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands have entered into agreements with the UK for automatic disclosure of information in respect of interests in financial accounts held by UK residents. Most UK residents are taxed on the “arising” basis meaning they are liable to pay UK tax on worldwide… – Continue reading
On 31 March 2015 amendments were made to the Income Tax (Approved International Agreements) (Implementation) (United Kingdom and United States of America) Regulations, 2014 (the “2014 Regulations”) which brought FATCA-based reporting into force under Guernsey law. FATCA-based reporting is implemented in Guernsey pursuant to the UK-Guernsey IGA, signed on 22… – Continue reading
Thousands of Indian citizens in the US – from IT workers, health professionals, students and everyone else under the sun – will soon be innocent victims to snooping by the Indian government. If an Indian citizen holds a bank account in the US, minute details about his/her bank account will… – Continue reading
Reporting Australian Financial Institutions must report to the Australian Taxation Office by 31 July 2015 on their U.S. accounts or recalcitrant accounts. These financial institutions must have undertaken the prescribed due diligence procedures required under the IGA. Who must report? It is critical that you determine whether you are a… – Continue reading
In November 2013 the governments of the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) entered into intergovernmental agreements with the United Kingdom (“UK IGAs”) which contained provisions for the establishment of a framework for the reporting of financial account information. That framework is similar in scope to the framework… – Continue reading
The Serenissima : Foreign Secretary replied to the interpellation submitted by Lazzari and Pedini Amati / FATCA, Valentini: “It is not to be considered as a tax shelter” / Agreement “virtually in place since July 2014”, the signature will come after the ok from Use “FATCA is not an instrument… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) – a law passed in 2010 to tackle the abuse of using offshore financial accounts for the purpose of evading US taxes – is now in effect after a two-year delay. As it requires foreign financial institutions worldwide to identify and report to… – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has informed Malaysian financial institutions (MYFIs) that their filing deadline in respect of the 2014 reporting year under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been deferred from June 30, 2015. FATCA requires all FIs outside the United States to submit regular information… – Continue reading
NUMBER OF THE WEEK: 40 percent. The average combined federal and state tax rate paid by most U.S.-based firms, according to a Wall Street Journal op-ed by James Freeman today, entitled “The Tax Takeover Craze.” Freeman claims this is “roughly double the average in Europe and Asia,” and is the… – Continue reading
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Registrar of Companies (RoC), jointly hosted an outreach workshop last week regarding the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA is extra-territorial US legislation that affects Financial Institutions (FIs), particularly those which have accountholders who are US… – Continue reading
Introduction to FATCA On December 16 2013 Malta and the United States entered into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to implement rules and regulations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, enacted in 2010 by the United States, requires US taxpayers and financial institutions to report financial information to… – Continue reading
The Bahamas Ministry of Financial Services released draft copies of the FATCA Legislation and the FATCA Guidance Notes to meet the International Tax Compliance Requirements of the Model 1 FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Bahamas and the United States of America (US). The new FATCA Bill was drafted in… – Continue reading
HMRC has updated the reporting requirements under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which may mean that some organisations or taxpayers no longer need to submit a return by the 31 May deadline HMRC points out that two recent updates have changed the reporting criteria. Firstly, UK financial… – Continue reading
FATCA made it extremely difficult for US citizens to open offshore bank accounts and this is applied to all, who hold a US passport (even if they lived abroad) are liable for tax in the US as well as US non-citizen who are tax residents in the US. The banks… – Continue reading
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… – Continue reading
Officials from Mexico’s Tax Administration Service (SAT) met with Costa Rican tax administration officials from April 20 to 22, 2015, to share their experiences in the area of tax information exchange. The Costa Rican authorities learned from Mexico’s experience in implementing the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is meeting with some success in prompting foreign banks to disclose the holdings of U.S. taxpayers to the Internal Revenue Service, according to a former IRS official. FATCA was included as part of the HIRE Act of 2010 and requires foreign financial institutions to… – Continue reading
The CBDT has constituted a high- level committee to secure confidential tax data, obtained under mutual exchange with US authorities, as part of India’s compliance measures for signing the much awaited Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The seven-member panel will be headed by the Member (Income Tax) of the… – Continue reading
A year after the signing of the intergovernmental agreement regarding FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) between Luxembourg and the United States, the bill of law was finally introduced on 27 March 2015 to the Luxembourg Parliament. The bill of law relates to the exchange of tax information between the… – Continue reading
With its enviable reputation in offshore trusts, pensions and insurance, Bermuda is an ideal jurisdiction for employers to establish international pension and employee benefit plans (IPPs). Global organisations may consider establishing Bermuda IPPs for employees who work outside their home country or the home country of both the employees and… – Continue reading
The regulations require reporting FIs to notify TIA if they have reporting obligations under US FATCA and/or UK CDOT. With respect to US FATCA, Reporting FIs have until tomorrow (April 30th) to file their notification with an initial reporting deadline May 31st. With respect to UK CDOT, Reporting FIs have… – Continue reading
Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services warn managers are up against a time crunch ahead of the April 30 registration deadline The upcoming April 30 deadline for registration on the Cayman Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) portal marks another milestone but could prove a significant test for the industry, according to… – Continue reading
The April 21, 2015 Federal budget released by the Conservative Government includes updates on Canada’s involvement in the BEPS project and how Canada intends to fulfill its obligations to implement an automatic exchange of tax information with the G-20. Notably (with the exception of the common reporting standard discussed below),… – Continue reading
The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) has informed Mauritius-based financial institutions (MFIs) that the filing deadline for submitting their US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) data for the 2014 reporting year is July 31, 2015. FATCA requires all FIs outside of the United States to submit regular information on financial… – Continue reading
With the Transcontinental Trusts Bermuda Forum taking place next week, it is timely to reflect on some of the attractive features and structuring alternatives that Bermuda’s trusts and related law provides and to consider some recent exciting developments. Bermuda provides a flexible, cost effective regime for the formation and administration… – Continue reading
On 3 April 2015, Uzbekistan and the United States signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Agreement. FATCA seeks to obtain information on accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in other countries. It requires U.S. financial institutions to withhold a portion of certain payments made to Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs)… – Continue reading
Tim Thornton, Chief Data Officer, Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services comments on the upcoming deadline for registration on the Cayman FATCA portal… The upcoming 30 April deadline for registration on the Cayman FATCA portal is another milestone in the implementation of FATCA. The relatively short window from the portal being available,… – Continue reading
On 20 March 2015, the British Virgin Islands Government issued revised guidance notes regarding the Intergovernmental Agreements between the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) and the United States of America (the “US”) and the United Kingdom (the “UK”) to improve international tax compliance (the “Guidance Notes”). The Guidance Notes confirm that… – Continue reading
On Oct. 14, 1960, President John F. Kennedy made an impassioned plea to University of Michigan students, exhorting them to move abroad and assist nations struggling under the weight of underdeveloped economies. Kennedy was convinced American talent is a unique, effective export commodity. That speech laid the foundation for the… – Continue reading
FATCA 1. New FATCA IGA guidance notes On 3 February 2015, the Jersey Chief Minister’s Department published the latest version of the Guidance Notes on the Taxation (International Tax Compliance) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 in relation to the implementation of obligations arising under the intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with the US and… – Continue reading
1 General news 1.1 HMRC organisation chart HMRC has published its latest organisation chart showing the names of senior management. One point to note is the number of senior people now in roles such as change management as opposed to being in pure technical roles. This clearly demonstrates the direction… – Continue reading
After years of upheaval in the financial sector, taxpayer confusion, and widespread international angst, the IRS has finally unveiled its FATCA registration and reporting system. The system is known as IDES, or the International Data Exchange Service, and claims to provide “a secure web application … to transmit FATCA data… – Continue reading
1. NON-TAX ISSUES 1.1 Domestic law 1.1.1 Briefly describe your legal system and its origins The legal system of the Republic of Ireland is a common law system. In order to ensure consistency, a legal principle developed whereby courts were generally required to follow earlier relevant decisions. This doctrine of… – Continue reading
