FATCA and CRS Solutions
At Waystone, international tax is an area of increasing focus due to its growing complexity.
What is FATCA?
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is legislation in the U.S. which aims to combat tax evasion by U.S. persons. The intent behind the law is for Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs), i.e. non-U.S. financial institutions to identify and report any U.S. persons that hold assets abroad to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Currently, a large majority of FFIs in the Middle East region are seen to be adhering to FATCA requirements (either by entering into a FATCA agreement directly with the IRS or by complying with the local Intergovernmental Agreement) as a result of the potential commercial, reputational and financial risks (which include withholding and regulatory penalties) of non-compliance.
In regard to CRS, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) created an initiative for global tax transparency which is now known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). This is a significant reporting regime that focuses largely on the intergovernmental approach to the implementation of FATCA. The CRS states that all financial institutions that are resident in a participating jurisdiction, must identify and report any reportable accounts (typically persons tax resident in a CRS participating jurisdiction). Over 100 jurisdictions as of May 2018 have signed or committed to sign the CRS and this includes including Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
How can Waystone help?
The Waystone International Tax Compliance Group provides customised solutions, designed to meet our clients’ FATCA/CRS obligations. To help achieve this, our team uses its market-leading, proprietary tax information technology to ensure that Reporting Financial Institutions have the tools required to seamlessly fulfil their ITC obligations.
Our ITC Group specialises in providing support for Directors, Responsible Officers, Principal Points of Contact or any other governing body of investment funds and other reporting financial institutions in matters of regulatory compliance and AEOI reporting.
Key AEOI Services
Waystone provides the following key services:
- A customised solution that simplifies compliance
- Expert technical knowledge, provided by our dedicated, in-house team
- Cost-effectiveness and efficiency to ensure delivery is on time and on budget
- Access to our database of global best practice responses to tax compliance initiatives.
We provide a full suite of FATCA/CRS services, designed to manage any material risks and achieve compliance in your jurisdiction.
To find out more how Waystone can help, please reach out to your usual representative or contact us below.