Asia and South America Notably Absent in US FATCA Agreements
On February, 14 2013, the US and Switzerland signed a bilateral agreement to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). In addition, on January 23, 2013, the US and Ireland signed their own bilateral agreement to implement FATCA. The US is averaging about one bilateral FATCA agreement signed per month. While this seems like…
DetailsFATCA: final regulations clarify the definition of depository accounts
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires foreign financial institutions and US persons who hold certain foreign accounts to report these accounts to the US. One of the most common types of account that must reported is the depository account. However, the definition of depository account changed significantly from the proposed regulations to the final regulations.
DetailsUS Citizenship: Absolutely or Maybe
During 2012 US citizenship and, more particularly, the tax consequences of US citizenship became a major source of anxiety for US citizens living in Canada. Widespread reports in the media of increased US enforcement of tax and financial account reporting obligations of US citizens living outside the United States created considerable anxiety. They also spurred…
DetailsDefining Intellectual and Intangible Property
Before delving headfirst into the taxation of intellectual property, it is important to understand what constitutes intellectual property and how it relates to intangible property. Intangible property is any property that has no physical substance, and intellectual property is intangible property created by individual(s). While these terms are often used interchangeably, some types of intangible…
DetailsThe Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issue Final FATCA Regulations
On January 17, 2013, the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the release of the final FATCA regulations (Regulations). The Regulations become effective on January 28, 2013, and diverge significantly from the current temporary regulations. While there are numerous changes in the Regulations, we highlight just some of the significant changes:…
DetailsUnited States and Spain sign Protocol to Bilateral Income Tax Treaty
The US Department of Treasury announced that the US and Spain signed a Protocol to their bilateral income tax treaty (the Treaty). The Protocol includes twenty-six pages of addenda and revisions to the Treaty. The Department of Treasury highlighted some of the Protocol’s changes to the Treaty: 1) the Protocol provides for “exclusive residence-country” taxation…
DetailsFATCA Timeline Guide
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and its subsequent regulations have created a dizzying array of implementation deadlines for taxpayers, financial institutions, and withholding agents. The accompanying chart organizes the key dates related to FATCA implementation. Please note that because of the complexity of FATCA it was not practical to include all implementation dates…
DetailsFinCen further delays FBAR filing requirement for certain accounts
After publishing final rules regarding people reporting their signature authority over foreign financial accounts, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) received questions and comments about reporting for certain types of accounts. In response FinCen delayed the reporting requirement for individuals with signature authority over these types of accounts until June 30, 2012. The most problematic…
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