5 New IGAs Bring Total to 62 Published by May 5 Deadline for FATCA Registration ! Only 150 to go …

How many IGAs are left to be agreed by Treasury?

The USA recognizes 195 independent states in the world, 67 dependencies of states, and has contacts with Taiwan.

Of the 67 dependencies, some like the French departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion, are included as part of the state, others like Antarctica have no economic relevance.  More important, approximately 16 dependencies have at least enough potential US source income exposure for local financial firms to warrant an IGA, such as Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Hong Kong.  And then there’s Taiwan.

That means approximately 212 states and jurisdictions, give or take a couple, could benefit from an IGA.  62 have one recognized by US Treasury as being in effect as of yesterday May 5.  FFIs in IGA jurisdictions have an extension to register with the IRS – until December 22, 2014 to obtain their GIINs. 

So at least 150 IGAs to go by my count…. 

The May 5th Deadline for these Non-IGA Countries and Jurisdictions

FATCA registration remains open of course, but the deadline for inclusion on the June 2nd participating foreign financial institution list (“PFFI”) passed yesterday on May 5.  Yesterday’s article covered the May 5th deadline (and consequences of passing) that applied to all FFIs in these 150 non-IGA states and jurisdictions (see http://profwilliambyrnes.com/2014/05/05/which-fatca-deadlines-did-treasurys-may-2nd-notice-extend-is-todays-deadline-still-in-place/)

Did all the FFIs register that are in countries and jurisdictions that are not yet included on the list, such as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as the Middle Eastern jurisdictions such as United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia?  What about Russia and Ukraine institutions? What IGA will apply to Crimea?  It is possible that on July 1st an unregistered FFI is considered non-participating (NPFFI) for purposes of withholding, but by example, on August 1st its country agrees an IGA in substance that Treasury announces on its FATCA site and the NPFFI goes back to FFI non-withholding status because of the IGA, at least until the final Dec 22 deadline applying to the IGA FFIs.

56 days remain until the July 1st application of FATCA’s 30% withholding applies to payments from US sources for all these FFIs that missed the deadline.

IGA FATCA Registration Classification

Financial Institutions that are treated as Reporting Financial Institutions under a Model 1 IGA register as Registered Deemed-Compliant Foreign Financial Institutions, whereas Financial Institutions that are treated as Reporting Financial Institutions under a Model 2 IGA register as Participating Foreign Financial Institutions.  

The following jurisdictions are treated as having a FATCA intergovernmental agreement (IGA) in effect. (see the 8 IGA additions and 1 IGA Mexican revision update at http://profwilliambyrnes.com/2014/05/01/iga-list-expands-to-55-mexico-iga-revised/)

jurisdictions that have reached agreements in substance (beginning on the date indicated in parenthesis):

Model 1 IGA = 31 (in red added since my last IGA update)

1. Bahamas (4-17-2014)
2. Brazil (4-2-2014)
3. British Virgin Islands (4-2-2014)
4. Bulgaria (4-23-2014)
5. Columbia (4-23-2014)
6. Croatia (4-2-2014)
7. Curaçao (4-30-2014)
8. Czech Republic (4-2-2014)
9. Cyprus (4-22-2014)
10. Gibraltar (4-2-2014)
11. India (4-11-2014)
12. Indonesia (5-4-2014) <— new
13. Israel (4-28-2014)
14. Kosovo (4-2-2014)
15. Kuwait (5-1-2014)  <— new
16. Latvia (4-2-2014)
17. Liechtenstein (4-2-2014)
18. Lithuania (4-2-2014)
19. New Zealand (4-2-2014)
20. Panama (5-1-2014)  <— new
21. Peru (5-1-2014)  <— new
22. Poland (4-2-2014)
23. Portugal (4-2-2014)
24. Qatar (4-2-2014)
25. Singapore (5-5-2014) <— new
26. Slovak Republic (4-11-2014)
27. Slovenia (4-2-2014)
28. South Africa (4-2-2014)
29. South Korea (4-2-2014)
30. Sweden (4-24-2014)
31. Romania (4-2-2014)

Model 2 IGA = 0

jurisdiction that have signed and entered into a formal IGA

Model 1 IGA = 26

1. Australia (4-28-2014) 
2. Belgium (4-23-2014) 
3. Canada (2-5-2014)
4. Cayman Islands (11-29-2013)
5. Costa Rica (11-26-2013)
6. Denmark (11-19-2012)
7. Estonia (4-11-2014) 
8. Finland (3-5-2014)
9. France (11-14-2013)
10. Germany (5-31-2013)
11. Guernsey (12-13-2013)
12. Hungary (2-4-2014)
13. Honduras (3-31-2014)
14. Ireland (1-23-2013)
15. Isle of Man (12-13-2013)
16. Italy (1-10-2014)
17. Jamaica (5-2-2014) <— IGA published, moved from above
18. Jersey (12-13-2013)
19. Luxembourg (3-28-2014)
20. Malta (12-16-2013)
21. Mauritius (12-27-2013)
22. Mexico (4-17-2014) <— IGA revised
23. Netherlands (12-18-2013)
24. Norway (4-15-2013)
25. Spain (5-14-2013)
26. United Kingdom (9-12-2012)

Model 2 IGA = 5

1. Austria (4-29-2014)
2. Bermuda (12-19-2013)
3. Chile (3-5-2014)
4. Japan (6-11-2013)
5. Switzerland (2-14-2013)

Practical Compliance Aspects of FATCA and GATCA: The LexisNexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance (2^nd Edition) comprises 34 Chapters grouped in three parts: compliance program (Chapters 1–4), analysis of FATCA regulations (Chapters 5–16) and analysis of Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) and local law compliance requirements (Chapters 17–34), including  information exchange protocols and systems.  The 34 chapters include many practical examples to assist a compliance officer contextualize the regulations, IGA provisions, and national rules enacted pursuant to an IGA.  Chapters include by example an in-depth analysis of the categorization of trusts pursuant to the Regulations and IGAs, operational specificity of the mechanisms of information capture, management and exchange by firms and between countries, and insights as to the application of FATCA and the IGAs for BRIC and European country chapters.  

If you are interested in discussing the Master or Doctorate degree in the areas of financial services or international taxation, please contact me http://profwilliambyrnes.com/online-tax-degree/