Cayman mostly FATCA compliant

The Cayman Islands Banking Association (CIBA) says almost 15,000 of Cayman’s financial institution have registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States.

This, ahead of the Unites States Foreign Accounts Compliance Tax Act (FACTA), that will take effect on Tuesday.

CIBA says many of the 14,800 financial institutions opted for early registration. This was to make sure they were compliant by 1 July. A CIBA statement says:

“This figure represents approximately 19% of global FATCA registrants and is a good indication that Cayman financial institutions have either completed or close to completing their preparations for the reporting requirements of FATCA that start in 2015.”

Under the law, financial institutions will be required to report to the IRS information about U.S. customers’ accounts worth $50,000 or more. Any institution withholding information would receive a 30% non-compliance penalty.