Friday, June 22, 2012


U.S. Works with Japan, Switzerland to Combat Global Tax Evasion

By MacKenzie C. Babb
Staff Writer
Washington - The U.S. Treasury Department has issued bilateral statements with both Japan and Switzerland expressing mutual intent to pursue cooperation in international tax compliance.
The Treasury Department on June 21 welcomed Japan's and Switzerland's willingness to strengthen their cooperation with the United States in combating tax evasion.
The cooperation offers a new model for implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) "in a way that addresses domestic legal impediments and reduces burdens on financial institutions," according to acting Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy Emily McMahon.
The FATCA, enacted by Congress in 2010, requires foreign financial institutions to report to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest.
Under the new model, McMahon said, foreign financial institutions will report certain tax information directly to the IRS, with additional information exchanged government-to-government upon request.
The original model for implementing FATCA envisions the reporting of information by foreign financial institutions to their respective governments and the automatic exchange of that information with the United States. The original model was contemplated in a joint statement the Treasury Department signed in February with France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The department said both intergovernmental models for implementing FATCA represent important steps toward addressing legal impediments to financial institutions' ability to comply with the law. The department will use the models in the United States' work with other countries in tax compliance.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. ) 

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