The British Virgin Islands International Tax Authority (ITA) has launched its BVI Financial Account Reporting System (BVIFARS). The portal was opened yesterday and is ready to accept enrolment applications from BVI Reporting Financial Institutions (FI) which are required to submit information under the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the BVI and… – Continue reading
Ahead of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) return deadline of 31 May, two recent updates have changed the reporting criteria. UK financial institutions are no longer required to file nil returns Following a recent clarification from the US Internal Revenue Service(IRS) – see question C19 – HMRC has… – Continue reading
Offshore investment entities in the Cayman Islands and many other international financial centers should now start turning their attention to compliance with the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) promulgated by GATCA – Global FATCA. They must document all account holders existing on December 31, 2015, with the exception of entities with… – Continue reading
British Virgin Islands entities who have determined that they are Reporting BVI Financial Institutions (“Reporting FIs”) for the purposes of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of the United States (“FATCA”) and recently registered with the US Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for a Global Intermediary Identification Number (“GIIN”) should now… – Continue reading
United States and the Republic of Uzbekistan have inked an agreement to adopt of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the press release from the US Embassy in Tashkent has said, according to UzDaily. Ambassador Pamela Spratlen and Chairman of the Uzbek State Tax Committee, Botir Parpiyev penned the… – Continue reading
New York, NY, April 08, 2015 –(PR.com)– The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that Conor Crowley, Managing Director, Vizor Software will speak at a 2-hour webcast entitled “FATCA for Government Agencies: What You Need to Know in 2015… – Continue reading
April 2: Guidance from the State Bank of Vietnam provides financial institutions and branches an automatic 90-day extension of time in which to file their FATCA reporting forms. Therefore, financial institutions have until 30 June 2015 to file their FATCA reports to the U.S. tax agency (IRS). KPMG observation Pending… – Continue reading
Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading
The Tax Information Authority of the Cayman Islands, the country with the highest number of financial institutions registered with the Internal Revenue Service under United States FATCA, recently went live with the Vizor Software for FATCA & AEOI solution in order to meet their FATCA obligations. Today, Vizor Ltd. announced… – Continue reading
March 27 — Competent authorities should step in to resolve potential disagreements between the U.S. and other jurisdictions on how to treat new accounts under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said. In a letter to the Treasury Department released March 27, SIFMA… – Continue reading
30 March 2015 – The International Tax Authority (ITA) of the Ministry of Finance, Government of the Virgin Islands, is informing the public that it has now published Version 2.0 of the Guidance Notes on the International Tax Compliance Requirements of the Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) between the British Virgin Islands… – Continue reading
New York, NY, March 28, 2015 –(PR.com)– The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, brings together the world’s leading authorities and industry participants through informative two -hour webcasts. It has scheduled a live webcast entitled: “FATCA for Government Agencies: What You Need to Know in 2015 Live Webcast.” This… – Continue reading
The International Tax Authority (ITA) of the British Virgin Islands has recently announced the issue of Version 2.0 of the Guidance Notes on the International Tax Compliance Requirements of the Intergovernmental Agreements between the British Virgin Islands and the United States of America and the United Kingdom (IGAs). The initial… – Continue reading
A vote in favor of repealing FATCA sends a message: a message to foreign banks that they can get back to helping wealthy Americans hide their assets and use offshore accounts to evade tax. In anticipation of yesterday’s Senate’s budget resolution “vote-o-rama,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) has introduced an amendment… – Continue reading
Introduction Every non-US entity has FATCA status Passive NFFEs report substantial US owners Trustee of trust or its sponsoring entity will report US persons Other reporting FFIs in structure will carry out FATCA due diligence Reporting when US account holders are identified Enforcement Comment Introduction The policy statement in the… – Continue reading
On March 6 Luxembourg’s government adopted the draft legislation transposing into national law the grand duchy’s intergovernmental agreement with the US and facilitating compliance by the country’s financial institutions with the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. FATCA, which was signed into law in 2010 but only took… – Continue reading
HMRC’s reporting of tax reliefs does not enable Parliament to scrutinise them effectively to determine whether they are providing value for money and the complexity of tax law and the constraints on HMRC’s resources mean that it is fighting an uphill battle against those who are determined to cheat the… – Continue reading
Michael Betley, group chairman of Trust Corporation International looks at how Guernsey has coped in an increasingly transparent and regulated world and how it can adapt to further change in the future. Is Guernsey positioned to navigate its way successfully through the maze of initiatives designed to penetrate the legal… – Continue reading
Attorney-at–Law and Compliance Specialist We are living in a time where the tax landscape facing the Bahamian financial services industry is changing and evolving rapidly. On November 3, 2014, the Government executed a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the US government to implement the latter’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): On Friday 20 March at 4:15pm the Cayman Islands officially opened the doors to the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) Portal to report tax information to other jurisdictions. The Financial Services Ministry has announced the AEOI Portal is now available for financial institutions to register and report customer… – Continue reading
MINSK, 18 March (BelTA) – Belarus and the United States of America signed an intergovernmental agreement to improve international tax compliance and to implement the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. The signing ceremony took place at the… – Continue reading
Following a public consultation, the Inland Revenue Authority (IRAS) of Singapore has issued final regulations and an e-Tax Guide regarding the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requirements for financial institutions (FIs) in Singapore. FATCA requires all FIs outside of the United States to submit regular information on financial… – Continue reading
The agreement under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will enable exchange of information on cases of tax avoidance through overseas entities The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the signing of an inter-governmental agreement between India and the US seeking to impose higher withholding tax on Indian companies on their US… – Continue reading
UK financial institutions (FIs) that have no US-reportable accounts will not be required to submit annual ‘nil returns’ in order to ensure compliance with new rules designed to prevent tax evasion by US citizens, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed. The change comes after the US Internal Revenue Service… – Continue reading
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — DMS Offshore Investment Services Ltd., (DMS) the world’s largest fund governance firm, is expanding its International Tax Compliance Group to better serve private investment funds in meeting their compliance obligations under various international tax initiatives worldwide. DMS announces the recent addition… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE – The Government yesterday made public its response to feedback on proposed new regulations to help financial institutions here comply with a new United States law that is being imposed worldwide. The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) requires all financial institutions outside the US to regularly submit… – Continue reading
The ongoing global initiatives around exchange of tax information and publication of beneficial ownership information, while ostensibly in pursuit of transparency, have their origins in the need for the larger, richer countries to increase tax revenues, and the perception that taxpayers are hiding assets abroad and out of the tax… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): After months of preparation, the exchange of tax information from the Cayman Islands to other jurisdictions will become more efficient with the launch of a new online system. The Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) Portal will be launched this month and will be used by Cayman’s financial institutions… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): Even if you’re living in the Cayman Islands, the US tax authorities can come knocking on your door if you are not in compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), US taxpayers residing in the Cayman Islands learned at a free seminar on Wednesday at the… – Continue reading
Ever since the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was enacted in 2010 by the US Congress to target non-compliance by taxpayers using foreign accounts, the hallucination effect has come into force. Banks and financial intuitions are related with US treasury accounts in some way or the other just like… – Continue reading
What is FATCA? The US federal income tax system relies on voluntary compliance by taxpayers to self-report their worldwide income and compute their income tax. It is estimated that billions of dollars in taxes are evaded annually by US persons holding offshore accounts. When voluntary compliance is augmented by third-party… – Continue reading
We are all familiar with the expression “the long arm of the law.” However, few laws’ arms are longer than that of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Administrators of Canadian pension plans and financial institutions that hold or invest pension assets learned this last year when FACTA… – Continue reading
Ministry of Finance Enlists EY and Convey to Develop and Deploy FATCA Model Nassau, Bahamas – The Government of the Bahamas through the Ministry of Finance announced today that it has moved to a new stage in the development and rollout of its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Model… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service’s Large Business & International division has opened a gateway that financial institutions and the tax authorities abroad can use to send information on financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in accordance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. FATCA, which was included as part of the… – Continue reading
In previous updates we have alerted clients to the introduction of Cayman Islands regulations1, which give effect to the automatic exchange of tax information principles established by the US and UK intergovernmental agreements (the “Cayman US Regulations” and the “Cayman UK Regulations”, respectively). While many Cayman Islands entities will be… – Continue reading
In previous updates we have alerted clients to the introduction of Cayman Islands regulations1, which give effect to the automatic exchange of tax information principles established by the US and UK intergovernmental agreements (the “Cayman US Regulations” and the “Cayman UK Regulations”, respectively). While many Cayman Islands entities will be… – Continue reading
MCC interviews three attorneys from Mourant Ozannes. Hayden Isbister is a partner and head of the Corporate practice in the Cayman firm. He specializes in investment funds, general corporate and commercial work. James Burch is a partner and leads the Structured Finance/Banks practice in the Cayman Islands, and Tim Dawson… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION 2015 is with us and looming is the 30 June 2015 deadline for the first reports of FATCA information under the reporting regimes that have been put in place in both Guernsey and Jersey to ensure compliance with the US/Guernsey and US/Jersey Intergovernmental Agreements regarding FATCA (“the US IGAs”)…. – Continue reading
Not long after the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division (“DOJ”) made international headlines in 2009 for its bombshell announcement that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS), lawmakers in Washington, D.C. began reviewing the testimony of hundreds of UBS’s U.S. clients… – Continue reading
Island’s History of Robust Regulation, Rule of Law, Global Tax Treaties and Lack of Bank Secrecy Laws Ought to be Recognised by UK Labour Party HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bermuda’s well-documented financial services regulation, international partnership treaties, and lack of bank secrecy legislation ought to be… – Continue reading
Bermuda’s well-documented financial services regulation, international partnership treaties, and lack of bank secrecy legislation ought to be recognised by the UK Labour Party, the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) said today. The BDA echoed the Bermuda Government’s weekend response to UK Opposition Leader Ed Miliband following a warning letter issued… – Continue reading
After several years of delays, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) finally took effect on July 1, 2014. Congress enacted FATCA as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act in 2010 to stop U.S. taxpayers from evading U.S. taxes through undisclosed offshore accounts and investments. FATCA requires… – Continue reading
The serious doubts expressed by many, most recently Professor Christians of McGill University, as to the Constitutional authority cited by the US Treasury1 in support of each Inter Governmental Agreement (an “IGA”) entered into by it on behalf of the United States government to implement FATCA have been rendered practically… – Continue reading
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has clarified that a foreign financial institution must obtain a customer’s self-certification details when opening a new account, in a new addition to its Frequently Asked Questions on its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) website. The IRS was asked: If a Reporting Model… – Continue reading
On February 2, the Obama Administration released its fiscal year 2016 budget (FY 2016 Budget). The hallmarks of the FY 2016 Budget are proposals that would impose (i) a minimum tax on the current foreign earnings of U.S. corporations and their controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) and (ii) a one-time 14%… – Continue reading
Time is ticking for India to sign its inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with the US under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) after it received a one month extension on the original December 31 deadline. President Obama’s visit to India last week fuelled speculation that the IGA could be signed… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service announced in January that its International Data Exchange Service (IDES) is open for enrollment, and that financial institutions and host country tax authorities will be able to use IDES to securely send their information reports on financial accounts held by Americans to the IRS under the… – Continue reading
Speed read On 16 December 2014, Curaçao and the U.S. signed an intergovernmental agreement (“Curaçao-IGA”) setting out the information reporting and withholding requirements applicable to banks and other financial institutions resident in Curaçao (“FI’s”) under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). By virtue of the Curaçao-IGA, FI’s will be… – Continue reading
Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with United States of America (US) under Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)- Registration Please refer to circular DBR.AML.No.9644/14.07.018/2014-15 dated December 30, 2014, on the captioned subject. 2. In partial modification to the above circular, it is clarified that those RRBs which do not have more than… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a new chapter in the US Internal Revenue Code. Chapter 4 was added by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. It seeks to identify US taxpayers having accounts at foreign financial institutions (FFIs) and attempts to enforce reporting of those… – Continue reading
