The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") was enacted in 2010 by Congress to target non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts. FATCA requires foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to report to the 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. FATCA obliges all U.S. paying agents to withhold tax, at a rate of 30 per cent, from payments of U.S. source income to non-U.S. persons who are classified as FFIs unless that FFI is located in a country which has entered into an intergovernmental agreement ("IGA") with the IRS to report information on relevant account holders to the IRS.
An IGA is a bilateral agreement with the U.S. to simplify reporting compliance and avoid FATCA withholding. Under a Model 1 IGA, FFIs in partner jurisdictions report information on U.S. account holders to their national tax authorities, which in turn will provide this information to the IRS. Under a Model 2 IGA, FFIs report account information directly to the IRS.
Since the implementation of FATCA, the IRS has permitted numerous jurisdictions to benefit from having status as IGA, even if they did not have a finalized IGA in force. Notice 2013-43 (2013-31 I.R.B.113) provided that a jurisdiction that had signed but not yet brought into force an IGA was treated as if it had an IGA in effect as long as the jurisdiction was taking the steps necessary to bring the IGA into force within a reasonable period of time. Announcement 2014-17 (2014-18 I.R.B. 1001) and Announcement 2014-38 (2014-51 I.R.B. 951) provided that jurisdictions treated as if they have an IGA in effect also include jurisdictions that, before November 30, 2014, had reached an agreement in substance with the United States on the terms of an IGA as long as the jurisdiction continued to demonstrate firm resolve to sign the IGA as soon as possible. Notice 2015-66 (2015-41 I.R.B. 541) announced that FFIs in partner jurisdictions with a signed or "agreed in substance" Model 1 IGA that had not entered into force as of September 30, 2015, would continue to be treated as complying with, and not subject to withholding under, FATCA so long as the partner jurisdiction continued to demonstrate firm resolve to bring the IGA into force and any information that would have been reportable under the IGA on September 30, 2015, is exchanged by September 30, 2016, together with any information that is reportable under the IGA on September 30, 2016.
In Announcement 2016-17, however, the IRS pressures jurisdictions that have been lagging on this process to substantially complete it by year-end, or risk their FFIs to be subject to the 30 percent withholding in coming years. Specifically, the Announcement provides that, on January 1, 2017, Treasury will begin updating the IGA List to provide that certain jurisdictions that have not brought their IGA into force will no longer be treated as if they have an IGA in effect. Each jurisdiction with an IGA that is not yet in force and that wishes to continue to be treated as having an IGA in effect must provide to Treasury by December 31, 2016, a detailed explanation of why the jurisdiction has not yet brought the IGA into force and a step-by-step plan that the jurisdiction intends to follow in order to sign the IGA (if it has not yet been signed) and bring the IGA into force, including expected dates for achieving each step. In evaluating whether a jurisdiction will continue to be treated as if it has an IGA in effect, Treasury will consider whether: (1) the jurisdiction has submitted the explanation and plan (with dates) described above; and (2) that explanation and plan, as well as the jurisdiction's prior course of conduct in connection with IGA discussions, show that the jurisdiction continues to demonstrate firm resolve to bring its IGA into force.
This Announcement reflects the IRS's eagerness to gather information on U.S.-owned bank accounts in foreign jurisdictions, which has been repeatedly delayed due to the complexities that arose in the implementation of FATCA. The risk of the substantial withholding tax under FATCA for FFIs in non-IGA jurisdictions may incentivize lagging jurisdictions to speed the process along.
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