U.S. Enacts Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

On March 18, 2010, President Barack Obama signed new jobs legislation, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act which includes many requirements for foreign banks to report and disclose accounts with U.S. owners. The new law will bring important changes not only for banks, but for the entities and their agents who handle international payments. Most importantly, the new law has, as a pay-for, the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). On March 18, 2010, both House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass) said the bill would crack down on offshore tax evasions. This discussion is limited to the law’s compliance and enforcement aspects...more...