2015: A New Year And A New Era – Number Of FATCA Compliant Countries Continues To Increase
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), foreign banks, insurers and investment funds must send the Internal Revenue Service information about Americans’ and U.S. permanent residents’ offshore accounts worth more than $50,000. Institutions that fail to comply could effectively be frozen out of U.S. markets. As of this blog posting, the U.S. has entered into Intergovernmental Agreements (“IGA’s”) with 48 countries for the implementation of FATCA.
The 48 countries with IGA’s already in place are:
| Australia | Czech Republic | Isle of Man | Mexico |
| Austria | Denmark | Israel | Netherlands |
| Bahamas | Estonia | Italy | New Zealand |
| Barbados | Finland | Jamaica | Norway |
| Belgium | France | Japan | Poland |
| Bermuda | Germany | Jersey | South Africa |
| Brazil | Gibraltar | Latvia | Spain |
| British Virgin Islands | Guernsey | Liechtenstein | Slovenia |
| Canada | Hungary | Lithuania | Sweden |
| Cayman Islands | Honduras | Luxembourg | Switzerland |
| Chile | Hong Kong | Malta | Turks and Caicos Islands |
| Costa Rica | Ireland | Mauritius | United Kingdom |
Countries that have reached IGA’s in substance and have consented to being included on this list are:
| Algeria | Dominica | Macao | San Marino |
| Angola | Dominican Republic | Malaysia | Saudi Arabia |
| Anguilla | Georgia | Montenegro | Serbia |
| Antigua & Barbuda | Greece | Montserrat | Seychelles |
| Armenia | Greenland | Moldova | Singapore |
| Azerbaijan | Grenada | Nicaragua | Slovak Republic |
| Bahrain | Guyana | Panama | South Korea |
| Belarus | Haiti | Paraguay | Taiwan |
| Bulgaria | Holy See | Peru | Thailand |
| Cabo Verde | Iceland | Philippines | Trinidad & Tobago |
| Cambodia | India | Portugal | Tunisia |
| China | Indonesia | Qatar | Turkey |
| Colombia | Iraq | Romania | Turkmenistan |
| Croatia | Kazakhastan | St. Kitts and Nevis | Ukraine |
| Curaçao | Kosovo | St. Lucia | United Arab Emirates |
| Cyprus | Kuwait | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Uzbekistan |
Click here for progress and developments IRS has made in gathering information from foreign banks and foreign governments.
Federal tax law requires U.S. taxpayers to pay taxes on all income earned worldwide. U.S. taxpayers must also report foreign financial accounts if the total value of the accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. Willful failure to report a foreign account can result in a fine of up to 50% of the amount in the account at the time of the violation and may even result in the IRS filing criminal charges.
Time is running out. The IRS is giving taxpayers one last chance to come forward and voluntarily disclose foreign accounts and unreported foreign income before the IRS starts investigating non-compliant taxpayers.
Don’t let another deadline slip by. If you have never reported your foreign investments on your U.S. Tax Returns or even if you have already quietly disclosed or in 2012 OVDI, you should seriously consider participating in the IRS’s 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (“OVDP”). Once the IRS contacts you, you cannot get into this program and would be subject to the maximum penalties (civil and criminal) under the tax law. Taxpayers who hire an experienced tax attorney in Offshore Account Voluntary Disclosures should result in avoiding any pitfalls and gaining the maximum benefits conferred by this program.
Protect yourself from excessive fines and possible jail time. Let the tax attorneys of the Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and elsewhere in California qualify you for OVDP.
Description: Let the tax attorneys of the Law Offices Of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C. resolve your IRS tax problems, get you in compliance with your FBAR filing obligations, and minimize the chance of any criminal investigation or imposition of civil penalties.
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