ACA Shares "In Praise of Postponement: What Dutch Banks Tell Us About FATCA"

 

“In Praise of Postponement: What Dutch Banks Tell Us About FATCA” Tax Notes Today International, FATCA Expert, Tax Notes Today Global and Tax Notes Today International, October 3, 2022

Robert Goulder of Tax Notes International recently wrote an article, In Praise of Postponement: What Dutch Banks Tell Us About FATCA. His article highlights the issues facing individuals who are losing foreign banking services due to U.S. legislation; The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act or FATCA. Goulder notes that there are corrective measures to FATCA and echoes ACA's call for 'Same Country Exemption (exclusion)” and replacing the current U.S. tax regime with residence-based taxation. Goulder also proposes having the U.S. adhere to the OECD 'common reporting' standards.

'The ongoing postponements make sense if the long-term plan is for Congress or Treasury to fix FATCA. Off the top of my head, I can think of three reforms that will do the trick:

  • add a same-country exception, which is just common sense at this point;
  • replace citizenship-based taxation with residence-based taxation, which is an established international norm; or
  • better yet, eliminate FATCA altogether and join the OECD-brokered common reporting system that’s relied on everywhere outside the United States.
This is aspirational stuff, but it would produce a blanket approach to automatic exchange of information. The scheme would be globally standardized and globally reciprocal — and probably more durable than our current arrangement.'