Two Canadian women mounting a legal challenge to FATCA have expanded their action to include the Minister of National Revenue as a defendant. Gwen Deegan, a graphic designer from Toronto, and Ginny Hillis, a retired lawyer from Windsor, claim the Canadian federal government doesn’t have the constitutional authority to comply… – Continue reading
Asian financial institutions could come under closer scrutiny by US authorities that are seeking to expand a probe into offshore tax avoidance activities across more jurisdictions, according to consultancy firm AlixPartners. The US government has stepped up efforts to counter tax evasion activities by its citizens in recent years. Last… – Continue reading
Both the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and Mindtree, a global technology services company, have pointed out the immense global compliance costs and issues posed by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to the financial services industry. Enacted by the US Congress in 2010, and effective from… – Continue reading
Oct. 7 — The IRS is working to finalize rules aimed at curbing the ability of foreign investors to skirt the withholding tax on dividends under tax code Section 871(m) by the end of 2014, an Internal Revenue Service official said. The IRS has “a team of people” dedicated to… – Continue reading
The relationship between the IRS and Canadians is not great. Groups like the Alliance for the Defense of Canadian Sovereignty want relief from the horrendous double filing and higher taxes Ameri-Canadians often face. Add to that the Canadian suit to block Canada’s FATCA deal with the U.S. It adds up… – Continue reading
(CS) As part of a European tour organised by Republicans Overseas, US Senator Mike Lee on Tuesday visited Luxembourg to rally support for the repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, more commonly known as FATCA. Luxembourg and the US signed FATCA as an inter-governmental agreement in March this… – Continue reading
In view of the frenzy in the profession over compliance with the new FATCA rules, it seems appropriate to take an overview of how FATCA applies to a major source of inbound investment by foreign individuals – “FIRPTA” investments in U.S. real property. This commentary considers the extent to which… – Continue reading
FATCA threatens Russia’s financial system – official Putin signs law on providing information by Russian banks under FATCA statute State Duma adopts bill on providing information by Russian banks under FATCA statute Finance Ministry to help banks reduce risk of sanctions related to FATCA MOSCOW, October 7 (RAPSI) – Scammers… – Continue reading
(CS) As part of a European tour organised by Republicans Overseas, US Senator Mike Lee on Tuesday visited Luxembourg to rally support for the repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, more commonly known as FATCA. Luxembourg and the US signed FATCA as an inter-governmental agreement in March this… – Continue reading
Accountingweb.com reported on 24th September, 2014 quoting a fraud alert of the tax agency as “Scammers are posing as IRS and are trying to solicit foreign financial organizations for account-holder identity and financial account details under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).” IRS says that these illegal solicitations are… – Continue reading
American NRIs who invest in India are up in arms that since April this year a large number of Indian mutual funds have stopped accepting investments from them. Some mutual funds’ websites explicitly say so, while others have opted for quietly discouraging any such investors that turn up. And this… – Continue reading
Fund managers the world over are facing the reality of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), encountering requests from U.S. withholding agents for FATCA documentation from funds and inquiries from potential investors regarding the status of FATCA compliance. A fund manager, tasked with assessing the FATCA status and… – Continue reading
The cost of renouncing US citizenship has gone up with the introduction of the new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) tax reporting rules. Many US expats are unhappy with their government because of special tax rules. The US is one of few nations to tax expats on their worldwide… – Continue reading
A federal crackdown and a new act make life tougher for lawyers and accountants. Criminal tax attorney Robert Fink views the conviction and sentencing of his client Dr. Michael Canale—on tax fraud charges in New York state federal court in 2012—as representative of everything that’s wrong with the government crackdown… – Continue reading
The United States and Brazil have signed a “Model 1” intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) with respect to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). The Brazilian IGA is intended to simplify FATCA information reporting and reduce compliance burdens for Brazilian financial institutions.
On September 24, 2014, the government of Brazil announced it had signed an intergovernmental agreement with the United States as part of its adoption of the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The agreement was signed on September 23 by Finance Minister Guido Mantega and U.S. Ambassador… – Continue reading
FATCA, or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, has been in effect for several months. The global tax law is aimed at rooting out Americans living outside of the United States who are not paying their U.S. taxes. But many expatriate Americans in Canada are fighting back. There are more… – 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
Now some in the financial services industry, as well as some consumers, are being warned that they could get a call one day from a fake IRS agent seeking bank account information. We’ve heard about the con artists who pretend to be from the Internal Revenue Service and demand immediate… – Continue reading
Thousands of Americans abroad are giving up their citizenship as the implementation of a complex new tax law causes banks to shut down accounts for US expatriates Angry Canadians are rare. But Patricia Moon qualifies. Until 2012, Moon was actually an American – albeit one who had lived in Canada… – Continue reading
Members of the public will be able to give feedback on the draft income tax regulations and a draft FATCA e-Tax guide. SINGAPORE: A public consultation has been launched on proposed regulations to help financial institutions comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). In a joint statement… – Continue reading
On 30 June 2014, the British Virgin Islands (“BVI“) government signed a Model 1B (i.e. non-reciprocal) intergovernmental agreement with the United States (the “US IGA“). The US IGA provides a framework for the implementation of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA“) in the BVI. The BVI government had,… – Continue reading
All is likely to be revealed on whether New Zealand will be an early adopter of the multilateral follow up to the controversial United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in November, with late adoption something that would please the local banking sector. Either way it’s a question of… – Continue reading
In a move tied to budgets, Canada’s Revenue Agency is cutting its top staff focused on international tax evasion. Cuts to experienced personnel who ferret out aggressive tax planning appear to be deepest, despite comments by MP Gerald Keddy that “the CRA is not reducing the number of auditors, nor… – Continue reading
Platforms could be hit with a £10m bill in order to make sure they comply with new EU tax rules, the Tax Incentivised Savings Association (Tisa) has warned. Tisa technical director Jeffrey Mushens said the incoming EU VAT law, which goes live in January 2015 and is aimed at online… – Continue reading
Over the past six years, the United States has become increasingly concerned that Americans are stashing money offshore, essentially evading U.S. tax. The IRS has increased filing requirements around foreign assets through the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which requires financial institutions around the world to report activities of… – Continue reading
Indictment demonstrates the strength of US law enforcement efforts to combat offshore fraud and is the first to charge a FATCA violation. On September 9, 2014, in US v. Robert Bandfield, et al., federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York announced the indictment of a US citizen and… – Continue reading
On Monday the 11th of August, an appeal was filed with the Federal Court of Canada in Vancouver seeking a declaration that the enforcement by the Canadian Government of the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) on Canadian soil is unconstitutional. Under FATCA financial institutions enter into an… – Continue reading
Criminal fines imposed on corporations should not be tax deductible, but tax rebates could be claimed on illegally gained profits that a court has ordered a company to pay back, the Swiss government advised on Friday. The cabinet was responding to a parliamentary motion to clarify the situation in light of a… – Continue reading
Although the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) went “live” July 1, 2014, guidance continues to fall into place. On July 16, the IRS issued instructions for the requester of various Forms W-8 and continues to update its FAQ website. The Cayman Islands Tax Information Authorityissued regulations effective July 4, 2014 addressing the… – Continue reading
Financial institutions outside Switzerland may be tempted to think that the U.S. Department of Justice’s focus and pressure on Swiss banks in recent years leaves them in the clear. And, indeed, the DOJ has had great success in targeting these institutions far from U.S. shores. It has levied monetary penalties… – Continue reading
Withholding on US source income under FATCA started on 1 July 2014. The withholding will apply to gross “proceeds of sale” of securities bearing US source income (which includes repayment of principal on a loan to a US borrower) and, potentially, to “foreign passthru payments” from January 2017. Now that… – Continue reading
Outsourcing the responsible officer (RO) function under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) offers limited value to Cayman-Islands’ domiciled fund managers.The Model one Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Cayman Islands and the US does not stipulate that a responsible officer is required. The responsible officer title is a feature… – Continue reading
EVEN MORE Philippine companies have complied with a US tax law since a July 1 deadline, after which foreign financial institutions (FFIs) not yet registered with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) faced penalties. A list published by the IRS earlier this month showed that a total of 197 Philippine-based… – Continue reading
UBS AG (UBSN) asked a Paris appeals court to overturn a $1.4 billion bail looming over the Swiss bank as France steps up a two-year-old tax evasion probe. The hearing dragged on for nearly three hours as the parties argued the case. The court said it would decide on the… – Continue reading
On July 21, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters. The report contains the OECD’s model competent authority agreement (CAA), the common standard on reporting and due diligence for financial account information (CRS) and commentaries on both the CAA and CRS.The… – Continue reading
With the Canadian government’s decision to comply in July with a Washington tax crackdown on “U.S. persons” around the world, many Ameri-Canadians are feeling rising anger, fear and even hatred toward their powerful country of origin. That said, the self-identities of Americans in Canada have been more ambiguous than they… – Continue reading
SUMMARY As per estimates, about 1-2% of the existing industry AUM of Rs 10 lakh cr comes from Canada and US-based investors. Indian AMCs have to register with the US SEC to market their funds in the US and follow SEC regulations to take fresh investments from the US citizens… – Continue reading
Fund houses have started asking foreign investors and distributors to furnish necessary details to comply with Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Fund houses have started collecting necessary information from foreign investors about their tax residency status in order to comply with the requirement of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act… – Continue reading
The Indian government’s bid to unearth black money stashed away in hidden offshore accounts is starting to pay off. The government believes around £350 billion is hidden in undeclared bank accounts and investments outside the country and wants to bring the tax owed on the money back to India. Nine… – Continue reading
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has conducted consultations in Baku on the application of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). The Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes informs that Service’s representatives were received by Deputy Taxes Minister Natig Amirov. “Consultations concerned the issues of information security in the process of… – Continue reading
An ex-Attorney General believes the financial services industry will survive even if the automatic exchange of tax information becomes the global standard, warning that this nation “can’t stand apart” from the initiative. #John Delaney, now managing partner at Delaney Partners, said the Bahamas’ resilience in withstanding previous global tax/regulatory initiatives… – Continue reading
More Swiss banks are dropping out of the U.S. banking program that the IRS supposedly uses to prevent American citizens from stashing cash overseas to avoid taxes. Known for 100 years as the original tax haven, free from the prying eyes of governments around the world, Swiss banks have provided… – Continue reading
Australian banks are stalling on a deal that will help expose tax evaders to global authorities. The information sharing deal, part of the G20 talks in Australia this year, requires banks to pass on information about their customers to the Australian Tax Office. The deal has been signed by more… – Continue reading
Americans living in Canada are in a rush to renounce their citizenship in the face of Washington’s invasive tax grab. OTTAWA – Thomas Jefferson is famously believed to have defined the price of freedom as eternal vigilance. The price of freedom from Uncle Sam is a lot steeper. Faced with… – Continue reading
The fee for individuals to renounce U.S. citizenship is jumping to $2,350 as of Sept. 12—more than five times the current charge of $450. The U.S. State Department, in its explanation for the increase, said that documenting a renunciation is “extremely costly” and requires a minimum of two intensive interviews with… – Continue reading
PRWEB.COM NewswireWashington, D.C. (PRWEB) August 28, 2014 A new trend in the offshore banking regime has emerged. Many banks located around the world are sending letters to their accountholders seeking personal information to confirm whether the account holder is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident. In the letters,… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, August 28 (RIA Novosti) – A number of Russian banks have received fake US tax service requests, demanding the disclosure of information about their American clients and their accounts in accordance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), Kommersant newspaper reported Thursday. The newspaper obtained a letter… – Continue reading
This article was first published in the 2nd quarter 2014 edition of Personal Finance magazine. Most people accept that they have to pay taxes in their country of residence. But citizens of the United States and green card holders who live outside that country – even if they have never… – Continue reading
BEIRUT: Some bankers have said that European states are expected to follow the example of the United States and ask their citizens abroad to disclose their bank accounts to European financial authorities in a bid to combat tax evasion. “It’s not official yet but we expect some European countries to adopt similar… – Continue reading
