The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging taxpayers with previously undeclared foreign bank accounts to enter into its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, but there are now choices between a new streamlined version of the OVDP and the regular program that will require careful consideration and advice from practitioners. Since March 26,… – Continue reading
Financial institutions including fund managers will need to up the ante on client due diligence and bolster investor reporting following the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) agreement on the automatic exchange of information. The OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) will force national authorities in the 51 signatory states… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Indian entities having businesses in the US risk higher penal taxes in the US on any fund transfer to the country if New Delhi fails to endorse a pact for information exchange by December 31 on grounds of confidentiality. New Delhi will find it difficult to sign the… – Continue reading
Offshore Incorporations Limited (OIL), a division of OV Group, a company formation and corporate service specialist focused on serving the financial and professional intermediary sectors, has released its fifth annual market research report “Offshore 2020”. This year, over 300 global senior industry stakeholders were surveyed, highlighting major trends and providing… – Continue reading
On Wednesday, when the Supreme Court accepted and handed over the sealed envelope from the government carrying the Swiss bank account details of Indians to the special investigation team, what seems to have won is the concern over the double taxation avoidance treaty (DTAT) and many such agreements that the… – Continue reading
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Convey Compliance Systems recently expanded its Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Management Services to include Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) verification. This update allows users to manage client GIINs by comparing them against the most recent IRS published list. The new GIIN Verification capabilities are… – Continue reading
October 29: The IRS today issued transmittal message as a reminder that new versions of the following information returns (in the Form 1099 series) and instructions have been finalized for 2015. The IRS specially noted that each of these information returns has been updated for purposes of FATCA reporting. Form… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court’s directive on sharing the names of overseas account holders has raised worries about India’s commitment to the confidentiality clause in various tax treaties and may impact remittances from the US. Any move to make the names public without prosecution may hamper signing of the Foreign… – Continue reading
Furious at what it sees as the Modi government’s flip-flops on the black money issue and selective revelation of names of Indians holding foreign bank accounts, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered it to disclose by Wednesday the names of around 800 holders of accounts abroad. A bench led by… – Continue reading
(BERLIN) – The finance ministers of around 50 countries meet in Berlin on Wednesday to sign a deal they hope will put an end to banking secrecy and aid the worldwide fight against tax fraud and evasion. “Banking secrecy, in its old form, is obsolete,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble… – Continue reading
(CNSBusiness): The Cayman Islands government joined more than 50 countries Wednesday, when it signed the latest agreement to tackle global tax evasion. Wayne Panton, the financial services minister, signed on the dotted line of the OECD’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) in Berlin, the latest worldwide standard for automatic exchange… – Continue reading
Here’s a quick update on the legal challenges to Canada’s agreement with the U.S. regarding the controversial FATCA law. The group behind the suit, the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty, says it has retained U.S. legal counsel to challenge in Washington whether so-called “Accidental Americans” resident in Canada… – Continue reading
* Leumi says working with NY State regulators on settlement * Says too soon to estimate final amount of deal * Bank rejects $300 mln settlement offer from NY State * Leumi has provisioned 950 mln shekels for final settlement * Share price falls 1.9 pct in Tel Aviv trading… – Continue reading
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, has had to set aside Sfr1.84bn (or £1.2 billon / $1.9 billion) in legal provisions to pay for possible fines and to settle regulatory investigations. It has also warned shareholders that these costs are likely to be “at elevated levels” for the “forseeable future”. The Swiss… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a new web site for financial institutions required to make reports about US taxpayer clients under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) laws. The online portal offers advice and access to a reporting hub for financial managers sending information about their… – Continue reading
New York’s banking regulator will ask for more than $300 million to settle an investigation into whether Bank Leumi Le-Israel (LUMI) BM helped Americans evade taxes, a person familiar with the matter said. Benjamin Lawsky, head of the state’s Department of Financial Services, is seeking more than what the bank… – Continue reading
October 27: The IRS today announced that a new “frequently asked question” (FAQ) has been posted with information concerning a search for the name and GIIN of a branch on the foreign financial institution (FFI) list. The new FAQ is posted under the “Branch/Disregarded Entity” category of topics on the… – Continue reading
Here in America, tax collectors know when you earn interest on your bank deposits. That’s because U.S. banks are obliged to collect such information and report it to the IRS. This makes it impractical for would-be tax evaders to purposefully underreport their interest income for tax purposes. They’d be easily… – Continue reading
Finance ministers from at least 37 countries will take the biggest step yet in fighting tax evasion at a conference this week hosted by Germany’s Wolfgang Schaeuble, German officials said. Fifty states and jurisdictions are sending representatives to Berlin to sign an agreement on Oct. 29 on the automatic exchange… – Continue reading
There is nothing illegal about tax planning. Yet some things are legal while others are not, and the lines can sometimes get fuzzy. Add to that the fact that some people go to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying taxes, and it can be a recipe for disaster. Increasingly, if you… – Continue reading
73 per cent of Americans who live outside the U.S. are tempted to give up their U.S. passports in response to the introduction of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), reveals a new survey by one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations. The findings come as Federal Register… – Continue reading
The number of Americans renouncing U.S. citizenship increased 39 percent in the three months through September after rules that make it harder to hide assets from tax authorities came into force. People giving up their nationality at U.S. embassies increased to 776 in the third quarter, from 560 in the… – Continue reading
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
(Reuters) – Lawyers representing 73 Swiss banks seeking to avoid a tax-evasion probe by U.S. authorities wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice raising questions over a dozen demands, including the banks’ cooperation with other nations. In the letter dated Oct. 21, the lawyers questioned the terms of… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Council has launched a consultation on legislation for the unilateral application of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Standard on the Exchange of Information to all double tax agreements that are not already in line with this model. The legislation would only involve the exchange… – Continue reading
With the announced end of banking secrecy for non-residents, the time has come to make use of favourable repatriation schemes, such as the voluntary disclosure regime in Italy. Despite increasing pressure for fiscal transparency and exchange of information, beneficial owners still have a choice: move the capital out (of Luxembourg),… – Continue reading
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 – The BVI Advantage was the theme of a feature presentation at the recent China Offshore Summit. The summit was held from October 15-16 in Shanghai, China. Global Head of BVI Practice at Maples and Calder, Mr. Michael Gagie presented on behalf of the BVI International… – Continue reading
On June 18, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service introduced significant changes to both its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and its Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures (Streamlined) and posted updated Frequently Asked Questions on its website.1 These changes apply to new OVDP “submissions” (which most practitioners believe refer to the Offshore… – Continue reading
Democratic House and Senate candidates seem likely to lose the votes of a large constituency they rarely think about over a law that most Americans have never heard of. The issue is FATCA — the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act — passed by Congress and signed into law in 2010…. – Continue reading
The lower house of Parliament has approved legislation that allows the exchange of information about banking accounts with other countries. The bill is a prerequisite for the implementation of the FATCA agreement with the United States which will require Czech financial institutions to inform US authorities about account owned by… – Continue reading
Oct. 20 — U.S. insurance companies don’t like the extra reporting burdens their overseas operations are facing under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act combined with existing requirements. The industry is asking the Internal Revenue Service to lighten that burden, asserting that the layers of reporting now being imposed could… – Continue reading
As of July 1, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has implemented several changes to the streamlined filing procedures for offshore compliance, as well as the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). These programs provide taxpayers with offshore assets an avenue to bring their tax obligations into compliance. The expanded programs… – Continue reading
Background The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, commonly known as FATCA, was signed into law on March 18, 2010. FATCA generally requires U.S. withholding agents to withhold tax at a 30 percent rate on certain U.S. payments to a foreign financial institution (“FFI”) unless the FFI has entered into an… – Continue reading
If you are a US taxpayer with overseas bank accounts or investments, you need to take immediate steps to show you are reporting your overseas earnings to avoid tax penalties under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Now FATCA is in full swing with foreign financial institutions filing reports on… – Continue reading
In recent years, the United States has increased initiatives to counter tax evasion committed by U.S. persons who are not reporting and paying U.S. income tax on earnings derived from foreign financial assets. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) represents the latest major initiative in this regard, having been… – Continue reading
Nearly 105,000 financial institutions are listed on the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) database of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) organisations complying with the tax reporting rules for US citizens. The latest list was published on October 1, 2014 by the IRS and shows 104,344 financial organisations have signed… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Emailftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. Trustees of private family trusts are being urged to register with the US tax… – Continue reading
What is FATCA? The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) is a complex reporting and withholding regime enacted by the U.S. government in March, 2010 that is expected to become operational on July 1, 2014. FATCA was designed to combat tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers holding assets through non-U.S. financial… – Continue reading
KUWAIT, Oct 15 (KUNA) — The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) will help the US put pressure on foreign banks to declare the accounts of their US clients abroad, said a leading Audit firm specialist. Kuwait was one of the first nations to have stepped up and have… – Continue reading
October 15: The IRS posted a draft version (as of October 14, 2014) of the general instructions for certain information returns—Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, and W-2G—for the 2015 tax year. The 29-page draft instructions [PDF 500 KB] note that new for 2015 are the following items: FATCA… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION In a recent publication1, the LMA have announced a change of approach to the allocation of FATCA withholding risk in certain of their precedent facility agreements. Previously, the LMA had not adopted a definitive stance in this area, recognising that borrowers and lenders may wish to allocate the risk… – Continue reading
The presentation on October 17, 2014 will discuss how FATCA has changed the world and provide perspectives for financial institutions and expatriates SHANGHAI, China, Oct. 14, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via PRWEB – As of June 30, 2014 China has signed Model 1 IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement) in cooperation with FATCA… – Continue reading
A million Canadians are migrating to the southern United States for the winter. Before you cross the border, buy travel medical insurance. Learn how U.S. income tax rules affect you if you stay in the U.S. for more than four months. Buy travel medical insurance coverage before leaving Canada for… – Continue reading
Oct. 10 — Withholding agents and foreign financial institutions will be given extra time to comply with requirements for determining an account holder’s foreign status, the IRS said. The Internal Revenue Service, in Notice 2014-59 issued Oct. 10, said withholding agents, foreign financial institutions and payers have until Jan. 1,… – Continue reading
Fund managers dealing with funds in Model 1 IGA countries must start focusing now on the application of FATCA to these funds. The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) is becoming a reality. Fund managers around the world over are facing requests from U.S. withholding agents for FATCA documentation… – Continue reading
In the history of the old west when gun fighters survived a gun fight they might put a “notch” in their pistol as a badge of honor. Well the U.S. Department of Justice can put another notch in its weapon of choice, threat of prosecution” because Deutsche Banks’ Swiss unit… – Continue reading
The IRS announced its intention in Notice 2014-59 to amend temporary regulations it issued under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on March 6, 2014, to modify the effective dates of (1) the standards of knowledge that apply to a withholding certificate or documentary evidence to document a payee… – Continue reading
This week brings a wealth of news in the FATCA arena, which we summarize in today’s post. First, former acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller speaks out against FATCA and suggests that the benefits of the new information reporting regime imposed by FATCA may not outweigh its costs. An article published… – Continue reading
For a large majority of the ever-increasing number of British expatriates with pensions which remain in the UK, a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) provides a viable and sometimes integral role in retirement planning. This counts for those now residing in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, however arguments… – Continue reading
On October 8, 2014, Swiss officials announced that they intend to negotiate a reciprocal Model 1 FATCA IGA to replace the Model 2 IGA that they signed in 2013. The motivation for the change is unknown, but the automatic exchange of information under Model 1 is more in line with… – Continue reading
