Mauritius Sets FATCA Reporting Deadline
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 accounts held by US persons to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or otherwise face a 30 percent withholding tax on certain payments of US-sourced income.
To ease FATCA compliance for MFIs, the Mauritian Government concluded a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States, which was signed on December 27, 2013. Model 1 IGAs provide for FIs to report account information relating to US persons to their relevant domestic tax authority – in Mauritius’ case, the MRA – which, in turn, shares this information with the IRS.
A reporting MFI must, in respect of the 2014 reporting year (FATCA’s first) and in every following calendar year, prepare and provide to the MRA a return setting out the required information in relation to every US reportable account that is maintained by the MFI at any time during the calendar year in question.
In that respect, MFIs have been requested to register with the tax authority, as FATCA reporting will only be possible through MRA’s e-Services platform.
