The IRS issued a reminder today re: FATCA RO certifications. "For the certification period ending December 31, 2019 (generally entities that were initially approved in 2016), FATCA Responsible Officer (“RO”) certifications are due no later than December 15, 2020. If an entity that is required to certify does not submit its certifications by the due date, the entity will not be in compliance with its obligations under FATCA. The consequences of being non-compliant may include

In the midst of the U.S. Presidential campaign, came positive economic and diplomatic news as members of the Trump administration brokered deals this summer and fall between Israel, Serbia and Kosovo; Israel and Bahrain; Israel and UAE; and Israel and Sudan. One practical question arising from these arrangements is what is the impact on U.S. companies’ antiboycott compliance? While scholars will likely write lengthy articles if not books on this chapter of Middle East relatio

The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation’s (DITC) new portal is now open. The DITC has also issued its 43-page DITC Portal – User Guide and 46-page new CRS Guidelines Version 4.0 dated November 6, 2020. CRS Guidelines Version 4.0 replaces the previous Version 3.0 issued March 15, 2018. DITC Portal : https://ditcportal.secure.ky/login DITC Portal – User Guide : https://www.ditc.ky/wp-content/uploads/DITC_Portal_User_Guide.pdf CRS Guidelines Version 4.0

The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) announced its new portal will open in early November 2020 and the new deadlines are as follows: New Entity Registration December 16, 2020 CRS Reporting & CRS Filing Declaration December 16, 2020 FATCA Reporting December 16, 2020 CRS Compliance Form March 31, 2021 Account Activation Email For those that had a User Account in the former AEOI Portal, keep an eye out for account activation emails from the addr

Recently the Cayman Islands launched its new website with the promise that the new portal would be launched in Q3 2020. However, the Cayman AEOI Portal Team at the Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) has moved out the launch time frame to Q4 2020. Currently, the FATCA/CRS reporting deadline for the Caymans is November 16, 2020. Given that the portal will open October 1, 2020 at the earliest, the reporting deadline may change. This is especially likely given th

The Bahamas Competent Authority has announced an additional extension to FATCA/CRS reporting. Instead of closing the portal on September 30, 2020, the portal will now close on Friday, October 2, 2020 at 5 PM EDT. As we have seen in past years, the Bahamas Competent Authority is prompt in closing its portal so ensure you complete your reporting well in advance. For assistance, please contact me via my contact page or at elizabeth@elizabethmcmorrowlaw.com .

The Bahamas FATCA/CRS portal will be offline for maintenance on Saturday September 19, 2020 from 4 AM to 1 PM EDT . The portal is scheduled to reopen at 1 PM EDT on September 19 . The portal will close for 2020 on September 30, 2020 at 5 PM EDT. As we have seen in past years, the Bahamas Competent Authority is prompt in closing its portal so ensure you complete your reporting well in advance. For assistance, please contact me via my contact page or at elizabeth@elizabethmcmo

We have learned many great techniques for communicating during COVID which may have been previously handled through international business travel. We will likely retain some video conferencing after an effective vaccine is launched but we will also return to in-person meetings with international colleagues and business partners. When that day comes, will your employees be able to get through the airport check-in? Or will their passport have been revoked due to “seriously deli

The new BVI portal is back on line and open for FATCA and CRS reporting. The deadline for CRS (where extensions were previously granted upon receipt of valid reasons) and FACTA is September 30, 2020. Reset your portal bookmark to BVIITA.VG because BVIFARS.GOV.VG is no longer in use. For assistance, please contact me via my contact page or at elizabeth@elizabethmcmorrowlaw.com .

The deregistration of an entity from the IRS FATCA portal may be necessary as a result of the sale, liquidation or other termination of an entity. However, simply clicking on “Agreement – Cancel” is not the end of the story. You may be required to submit a Certification of Preexisting Account (COPA) or Periodic Certification within six months of cancellation. IRS Certifications Certain entities may register in the IRS FATCA portal and, upon registration approval, receive a

The Caymans has launched its new fresh looking website which covers: CRS, FATCA, Economic Substance, Exchange of Information, and CBCR. Next up in Q3 will be the launch of the new portal: https://www.ditc.ky/ . For assistance, please contact me via my contact page or at elizabeth@elizabethmcmorrowlaw.com .

In the world of acronyms, nothing is more frustrating than the use of the same acronym for two completely different action items – especially when both requirements apply to the same industry. The acronym world implodes when one of your employee’s tells her manager the company received a SAR and the manager responds without further information, “We don’t receive a SAR, we file a SAR.” Not necessarily! For those in the finance arena, the appropriate response should be, “Are y

FATCA 2014. CRS 2016. Your organization has studied the rules for these regimes and employees know exactly what needs to be done. You’re thrilled that everyone has been doing their jobs well over the past years. But did you document these processes and update them? If not, you may still be subject to penalties. FATCA v CRS FATCA and CRS seek to create transparency in taxation across jurisdictions. The local tax authority collects certain information from Financial Institution

You may have seen the television show Hoarders and thought, “How could anyone get to that point of hoarding? Why can’t they see the damage they are doing by keeping all of that stuff!?” You may even be sitting on your couch watching as you “clean” out your work in-box by putting everything in Saved. It is time to look through that Saved box and (please say you are not still printing everything) your paper files and your organization’s overall file retention practices to avoi

Despite the United Kingdom's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) recent decision, elements of FATCA and CRS reporting may violate local jurisdiction privacy laws including GDPR. Jenny’s Case A dual UK / U.S. citizen brought a case in the UK claiming that HMRC sharing her personal data with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was a breach of the European Union’s (EU’s) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The trail of personal data under FATCA plays out like this

There are a number of factors to consider when selecting the site for a foreign office not least of which is researching the level of corruption. Corruption can be a significant impediment to a company in obtaining government contracts, product licenses, business visas, etc. The jurisdiction assessment process can be time consuming. However, there are some resources that you can use to increase your understanding of target jurisdictions. PUBLIC PERCEPTION Information from peo

Join me on June 17, 2020 at 10 AM ET for #WebinarWednesday when I will discuss: What Does Controlling Person Mean for the Unsuspecting Executive? ​​David Mesa, Head of Sales at Trans World Compliance has invited me to speak and I selected this topic based on my most popular blog post of the same name . It may be surprising for an executive to discover that she may be required to provide sensitive personal information as part of the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and

Guernsey Guernsey announced it has extended both the FATCA and CRS reporting deadlines to September 30, 2020 . However, Guernsey made clear that filings submitted after September 30, 2020 may be subject to enforcement action. You should not put off all Guernsey preparation until later this summer as you must ensure that all of your Reporting Guernsey Financial Institutions (RGFIs) are registered in IGOR (the online Guernsey portal) by June 30, 2020 . There is a potential fina