Business
Bankers Association of St. Lucia announces compliance with FATCA
Over the past few years, financial institutions have been preparing for the new reporting requirements for United States clients which form part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
The act is intended to increase transparency for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with respect to U.S. persons that may be investing and earning income through non-U.S. institutions.
As of July 1st 2014 financial institutions in St. Lucia and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) member countries, now classed as Foreign Financial Institutions or FFIs, are required to adopt new account opening procedures in order to comply with FATCA rules.
The Bankers Association of St. Lucia (BASL) have announced that local financial institutions have for several months been preparing and training employees for the changes and the country’s finance sector is ready to comply by the deadline date. Individual institutions have also issued notifications and information about the new rules to customers.
The Bankers Association understands, however, that educating the public will be an ongoing exercise and encourages all financial institutions to ensure that employees and clients understand the new regulations and also encourages the public to comply and be co-operative during the process.
The banker’s association noted that the ECCU member states have adopted the IGA Model 1 which requires financial institutions to submit all FATCA related information to their respective Inland Revenue Department for onward submission to the US-based IRS.
According to FATCA, financial institutions must provide all information on assets of US$50,000 or more held by U.S. taxpayers, or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold substantial ownership interest.
