FATCA and CRS services
The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) affects you if you are a so-called US person (US citizen or US-based entity). IFS must determine whether you meet the criteria, and if so, we must report your account information to the US tax authorities. IFS performs these duties quickly, expertly and with minimum disruption to your affairs.
The OECD has established the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). This was based on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and the Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA) launched by the USA in 2014.
Today, more than 100 jurisdictions worldwide have implemented CRS in their domestic legislation, and agreements are being signed to exchange information on financial accounts between CRS participating jurisdictions automatically. The CRS agreements are effective as of 2016 or 2017 with the first automatic exchange between jurisdictions as per 30th September of the subsequent year. This will have a profound impact on your compliance, reporting, as well as structuring.
FATCA and CRS compliance requirements
Every entity has to be classified as either Financial Institution or Active/ Passive Non-Financial Entity (NFE), with each different compliance and reporting obligations. All entities classified as Financial Institutions (FI) in CRS participating jurisdictions that maintain financial accounts have compliance and reporting obligations under the CRS. The FI’s include not only banks, mutual funds, and hedge funds, but also trusts with corporate trustees, and many offshore Private Investment Companies with a discretionary mandate granted to investment managers, which are to be classified as FI-Investment Entities.
To be compliant, each FI needs to perform pre-described due diligence procedures to identify financial account holders who are tax resident in CRS reporting jurisdictions. The information of those reportable accounts will be annually reported by the FI to local tax authorities and subsequently will be automatically exchanged between CRS reporting jurisdictions. CRS sets out the personal and financial account information to be reported (balance/value, interest, dividends, and sales proceeds), which FI’s need to report and the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered (individuals and entities).
Our FATCA/CRS services
You or your client may hold one or more entities with investment accounts, which under FATCA, the IGAs, or CRS may have to be classified as financial institutions.
At IFS we continuously monitor and stay informed on all these regulations. We are well-positioned with high level AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) knowledge to help you meet all the reporting requirements. IFS can help financial institutions, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and asset and fund managers with all the FATCA and CRS compliance requirements, from FATCA and/ or CRS classification, registration, due diligence on account holders, annual reporting of FATCA and /or CRS reportable accounts up to completing W8 and CRS self-certification forms
Our services include, among others;
• Entity Classification
• Prepare and file W8 Forms and Self-certification forms
• Enrolment/Registration