IGA FATCA Agreements Contain Language Suggested by ACA

ACA continues to combat the negative effects of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).  In meetings with the Treasury Department and in a follow up letter, ACA has pressed for the inclusion in Intergovernmental Agreements with other countries and in the recently finalized FATCA regulations of provisions incentivizing Foreign Financial Institutions, especially so-called local banks, to avoid discriminating against Americans. Treasury has included this language in most of the new IGAs and the provision has found its way into the final FATCA regulations. This provision is not by any means a complete solution, but it is a step in the right direction, and it is an acknowledgment that the problem – shrinking banking services for Americans abroad – is a real one.