Introduced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), FATCA prevents US taxpayers who hold financial assets in non-US financial institutions and offshore accounts from avoiding taxation on their income and assets. Foreign financial institutions agree to report on these U.S. account holders or face 30% withholding on all U.S. income.
CRS
A global reporting standard for the automatic exchange of information (AEoI) set forth by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). More than 96 countries share information on residents’ assets and incomes in conformation with reporting standards. CRS is more wide reaching than FATCA and requires a unified, cross-team effort to ensure readiness and compliance.
Q1. What is FATCA?
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a piece of US tax regulation that aims to combat tax evasion by US persons opening accounts offshore. FATCA became effective July 1, 2014. It enhances due diligence and information reporting requirements for both individual and entity accounts. On 9 July 2015, India signed Model 1 Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the US IRS for implementation of FATCA.
Q2. What are the objectives of FATCA?
FATCA aims to detect and discourage offshore tax evasion by U.S. citizens or U.S. residents by requiring financial institutions to identify and report accounts held by U.S. persons. Where account holders refuse to be identified, financial institutions are required to report them based on information available.