Significant numbers of people are continuing to renounce their U.S. citizenship or end their long-term U.S. residency. There are 776 names on the Treasury Department list published Friday for the third quarter of 2014. That’s the third highest quarterly figure ever, according to Andrew Mitchel, an international tax lawyer in… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s financial institutions have been urged to assess whether their Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (ORSO) retirement schemes are required to comply with the requirements of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which aims to prevent tax avoidance by US residents, according to law firm Deacons. ORSO schemes… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, December 8 (RAPSI) – The world’s four largest audit firms, which provide services under the FATCA norms, have provided contradictory consultations to their Russian clients, Kommersant newspaper writes on Monday. The Big Four are the four largest international professional services networks, offering audit, assurance, tax, consulting, advisory, actuarial, corporate… – Continue reading
Global regulators need to standardise the mechanisms by which financial institutions exchange tax information on their clients amid concern the number of tax information exchange agreements between various countries is spiraling out of control. This comes as a number of countries and global regulatory bodies introduce their own tax reporting… – Continue reading
The exchange of information between tax authorities worldwide is about to enter into a new phase of an active gathering and reporting of data. The eradication of tax evasion has now been elevated to a matter of priority amongst OECD states. There has been an unprecedented push to expand the… – Continue reading
Reversing earlier moves taken this summer and fall, a major international bank is ending its cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to prevent investors from investing money in foreign countries with more amenable tax structures and policies, such as Ireland or Switzerland. During a Zurich speech, Barclays bank executive… – Continue reading
President Putin’s surprise amnesty allowing Russians with cash stashed abroad to bring it back home with no penalty may be a windfall, but then maybe not. The US, Mexico, Italy, Kazakhstan, and many others have tried it with varied success. When financial crises hit, governments have tried to reel in… – Continue reading
BEIRUT: There is no threat to Lebanon’s banking secrecy, despite the mounting pressure from the international community to disclose the accounts of Lebanese with dual passports, bankers said. “The United States and some European countries, which are seeking the full cooperation of other states in disclosing the bank accounts of… – Continue reading
Under transitional relief, certain non-U.S. investment funds, including Cayman Islands funds, that qualify as foreign financial institutions (FFIs), have been permitted to certify their status under the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) without registering with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN)…. – Continue reading
PwC Nigeria, a leading professional services firm, has challenged financial institutions operating in Nigeria and the sector’s regulators on the need to develop a regulatory framework to drive the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the country. Andrew S. Nevin, a partner at PwC Nigeria and… – Continue reading
What Managers of U.S. and Non-U.S. Investment Funds Should Do Today FATCA1 went into effect on July 1, 2014 and will be phased in through January 1, 2017. During that period, varying compliance deadlines apply to different types of U.S. and foreign funds. Several important deadlines will occur in December… – Continue reading
Donald Grove, Contributing Editor, The Casey Report Implementation of the infamous Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) got underway in earnest on July 1, 2014. A cacophony of protests and warnings could be heard as that date approached, and it has only grown louder as more and more people realize… – Continue reading
The mayor of London’s refusal to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) by paying his American taxes has been labelled “noble” by Nigel Green, chief executive at deVere. Green said Boris Johnson’s claim that it is “outrageous” for the US to tax expat American citizens, made in… – Continue reading
The Position to Date In July 2014, the Cayman Islands government issued The Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (United States of America) Regulations, 2014 (the “US FATCA Regulations”), The Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (United Kingdom) Regulations, 2014 (the “UK FATCA Regulations”) and the Guidance Notes on the… – Continue reading
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has provided guidance with respect to jurisdictions that have been treated as if they had a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) intergovernmental agreement (IGA) in existence, although that agreement has remained unsigned. Under previous US transitional FATCA rules, IGAs reached in substance… – Continue reading
London & Capital’s US family office has seen its assets under management (AUM) surge by 226% to £750 million and managing director Daniel Freedman sees no signs of this growth slowing. The company has been a clear winner in this specialist field after many wealth managers and banks withdrew their… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands currently has in place an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with each of the United States and the United Kingdom and has passed domestic legislation to make compliance with the IGAs a matter of Cayman Islands law (Cayman FATCA). The Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (TIA) issued Guidance Notes… – Continue reading
BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Dec. 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via PRWEB – Foreign banking and foreign assets has been under intense scrutiny and the Foreign Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) passed in March 2010 has complexities many US taxpayers do not quite understand. As an account holder with foreign financial institutions taxpayers… – Continue reading
Complying with USA FATCA and UK/EU Data Protection Requirements The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), passed by Congress in March 2010, was finally implemented in July 2014. The Act makes the US the only large economy to tax its nationals on all of their earnings anywhere in the… – Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG – It has been quite difficult to keep up with the flurry of regulatory reforms in the financial services industry. Apart from the introduction of tax-free savings accounts next year and the fact that certain retirement reform regulations have been postponed, a number of other changes are also in… – Continue reading
The refusal by the Mayor of London to pay his American taxes has been hailed as “noble” and “brave” by the CEO of independent financial advisor, deVere Group. The comments from Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, which operates in 100 countries and has $10 billion under… – Continue reading
The founder of a prominent wealth management firm says the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is noble and brave to refuse to pay his US tax bill under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca). Johnson, who was born in New York, has a US passport as well as a… – Continue reading
It feels like FATCA has been around for years already, yet some companies are still coming to terms with its implications. However, as Kirsten Morel explains, impending deadlines are now creating a real sense of urgency It’s four years since US Congress enacted the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA),… – Continue reading
Reminder: All Cayman Islands funds are likely to be caught by the FATCA legislation – regardless whether the fund has any USA investors. With the end of 2014 in sight, Cayman Islands funds must check for compliance with the obligations imposed under the FATCA / tax information sharing regime. For… – Continue reading
Even as Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said a heavy tax regime was responsible for black money, his ministerial colleague M Venkaiah Naidu told parliament amidst uproar that BJP had never promised to bring back black money stashed aboard in first 100 days of power. Reading BJP manifesto, Naidu,… – Continue reading
With the Opposition targeting the government on the black money issue, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the identity of 427 foreign account holders has been established, of which 250 have admitted to having these accounts. Replying to a debate on the issue, Jaitley said… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Financial Services has floated for consultation a draft bill aimed at providing a framework for the implementation of the agreement which was signed on November 3, 2014 between The Bahamas and the United States (U.S.) to implement the provisions of the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
The direct taxes international automatic information exchange bill harmonises the Estonian laws with the FATCA agreement. The FATCA agreement is based on the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which aims to collect information about persons obliged to pay tax in the USA, to prevent tax evasion. The bill… – Continue reading
Love him or hate him, you have to say that Boris Johnson makes a very good point about FATCA. Having been hit with a US tax bill due to his unwanted dual citizenship, Johnson – who is as British as they come in all fairness – says he will not… – Continue reading
A former HM Revenue and Customs Policy Advisor delivered an insightful and informative talk during a seminar held by PwC at the Manx Museum. Phil Morris, Senior Manager at PwC Isle of Man, introduced guest speaker Neil Higgins, who delivered a timely presentation on the introduction of Common Reporting Standard… – Continue reading
On 21 November, the States of Guernsey Income Tax (ITO) published bulletin 2014/1 to update the most recent iteration of the draft guidance notes issued jointly by the crown dependencies on 28 July 2014 regarding the implementation under domestic law of FATCA-based reporting. The bulletin provides clarification in response to… – Continue reading
RBC Wealth Management has announced plans to discontinue its private wealth management business in the Caribbean. The strategy to “realign certain businesses within [its] international operations” was presented to staff in an internal memorandum last Thursday. It is not clear whether the business will be closed or sold. Paul French,… – Continue reading
The Government of Barbados and the United States have signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) to facilitate compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, which was enacted by the US Congress in 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2014, is intended to ensure that the US… – Continue reading
“Miserable.” That’s how Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen described the upcoming tax season to a group of tax practitioners at the AICPA National Tax Conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this month. Citing concerns about extenders, increased responsibilities due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Foreign Account… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): Following the G20 summit in Brisbane last week questions remain over how much the latest talks on global tax transparency will impact Cayman and other offshore jurisdictions. Despite the bluster from international politicians in the build-up to the summit over clamping down on multinational corporate tax dodging, illicit… – Continue reading
UK resident non-domiciliaries (RNDs), who have offshore bank accounts and interests in non-UK structures, are currently not required to provide any information about those accounts/structures to HMRC, provided that they claim the remittance basis of taxation in the UK, those accounts do not hold assets which produce UK source income… – Continue reading
The Government of Barbados and the United States have signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) to facilitate compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, which was enacted by the US Congress in 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2014, is intended to ensure that the US… – Continue reading
Each U.S. citizen and permanent resident must report worldwide income to the IRS even when paying taxes elsewhere. Moreover, you must file an annual FBAR (now called FinCEN Form 114) disclosing your foreign bank accounts if their aggregate value exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year. The penalties for… – Continue reading
Boris Johnson has a point about his U.S. tax bill, but he should still cough up. The London mayor objects to the fact that his dual UK and U.S. citizenship means he has been issued with an American tax bill, and he says he won’t pay. Though many U.S. expats… – Continue reading
* Asian, Gulf banks in talks about obtaining Jersey licence * 18 percent of Jersey banking deposits from Asia, Mideast * Jersey Finance custodian of 1.2 trillion pounds DUBAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Jersey Finance, the island’s financial centre which acts as custodian of 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.88 trillion), is… – Continue reading
When FATCA was signed by Barack Obama in 2010, many commentators were quick to argue that such ‘breathtakingly extra-territorial’ provisions would never come to fruition. Fast-forward only a few years and those five letters, FATCA, have become etched in the minds of exasperated US taxpayers (many of whom are queuing… – Continue reading
Jamaican banks and other financial institutions affected by the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) will have to bear the cost to implement the programme, says the Jamaica Bankers Association (JBA). “Though no formal research has been undertaken by the JBA to ascertain the cost implications for its members… – Continue reading
The FATCA Readiness Self-Assessment Survey indicates companies are not as prepared for the new regulation as they should be. As part of an initiative to better understand client requirements in accordance with FATCA regulation, software development company, Blue Bison recently conducted a FATCA Readiness Self-Assessment Survey among financial institutions across… – Continue reading
People curious to know the amount of “black money” stashed by Indians in foreign banks may be in for yet another disappointment after the Supreme Court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT), submits its findings. After six months in office, the Narendra Modi Government has not been able to lay its… – Continue reading
The Central Bank says it is only a matter of time before this country becomes fully compliant with the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which was enacted by the US Congress in March 2010. FACTA is a US law designed to prevent tax evasion by US citizens… – Continue reading
A recent Internal Revenue Service ruling now allows certain individuals to move after tax contributions from a 401(k) or IRA to a Roth IRA on a tax free basis. Fatca has caused local banks to document which of its clients are US citizens or residents and who are not. And… – Continue reading
Small- and medium-sized firms are unprepared for tough new US tax reporting legislation, a survey has found. Software firm Blue Bison, part of the Ignition group of companies, found that more than half of respondents to its readiness survey admitted that understanding the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
Barbados has agreed to share information with the U.S. under a new law aimed at preventing offshore tax evasion by American citizens. One of the most controversial laws of the Barack Obama administration, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires financial firms to report information on U.S. account-holders to… – Continue reading
Backbench MHK John Houghton’s antics in the House of Keys have been branded ‘outrageous’ by the Chief Minister. Mr Houghton was ordered to leave the Keys last week after refusing to apologise for questioning the honesty of the Treasury Minister. Chief Minister Allan Bell said: ‘It seems the election is… – Continue reading
Thirty-five-year-old Rocky Martin travelled from his home in Sundre, Alta., to Tijuana, Mexico to get rid of his U.S. citizenship. And he saved himself about $1,800 by doing so. Martin, born in Canada, inherited U.S. citizenship from his mother, who registered him as an American born abroad when he was… – Continue reading
