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Click here to find out moreThe Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) broadly requires U.S. persons to report their foreign financial accounts to the IRS. The Act also requires foreign financial institutions around the globe to search for accounts they maintain that are, or may be, held by Americans, and then report all such accounts for the benefit of the IRS. The Act has largely been implemented throughout the world via two types of Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) signed (or agreed-to in substance) by most of the world’s major countries, including China. (Russia has not agreed to an IGA, but has nevertheless passed legislation enabling compliance with FATCA.) FATCA’s global reach has effectively eliminated banking secrecy for US taxpayers in countries like Switzerland, because foreign financial institutions that do not to comply with FATCA are hit with ruinous fines, effectively cutting them out of U.S. financial markets. This program examines the core FATCA regime and the text and intent of the IGAs. It also looks ahead to the impending globalization of FATCA via the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard.
