The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) have published joint guidance for insurers and financial advisers on the tax information requirements for new customers following the implementation of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the UK. The new requirements require life insurers to know the tax […]

The Swiss Council of States has adopted a bill forwarded on from the Federal Council with modifications, implementing the revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations. Lawmakers increased the tax threshold for a case of tax evasion to be deemed to be a serious tax offence, from CHF200,000 (USD229,164) to CHF300,00. Furthermore, they agreed to […]

1. The Banking (Depositors Compensation) (Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 2010 came into force on 10 February 2010.  The Regulations amend the Banking (Depositors Compensation) (Jersey) Regulations 2009 to impose restrictions on the disclosure of information received under the Regulations. 2. The Companies (Amendment No. 4) (Jersey) Regulations 2009 came into force in part on 10 December […]

DOJ program for Swiss banks can mean trouble for U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts – A few days ago, it was reported that a full one-third of Swiss banks (some 106) sought to join the Department of Justice (DOJ) program which offers a non-prosecution agreement to the banks that opt in, in exchange for […]

We have reported on the Justice Department’s program offered to Swiss banks and targeted to identifying U.S. taxpayers that have not disclosed foreign accounts to the IRS. [See prior posts here, here and here]. It has now been reported that one-third of all Swiss banks applied to the program. [See Swiss Banks Seek Tax Amnesty […]

Under FATCA, non-US financial institutions (which include banks, stockbrokers and investment funds) are given a choice. Either they become FATCA-compliant, which involves registering with the IRS and reporting on US account-holders, or they risk being subject to a 30 per cent. withholding tax on certain payments with, or attributable to, a US source or connection. […]

Financial institutions in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) will soon be obliged to automatically provide information to the tax authorities relating to the financial affairs of UK resident clients in respect of 2014 onwards. This is sometimes referred to as ‘UK FATCA’, as it is based on the US’s FATCA […]

The new requirements for getting TRC in Mauritius need to be handled carefully. In the early ‘90s, with the opening up of the Indian economy for foreign investment, the island nation of Mauritius benefitted massively as it became the hub for directing foreign investment into India. Not surprisingly, the Indian revenue authorities have, over the […]