Questions FIs Should Ask External FATCA and CRS Service Providers
OECD Guide Offers Financial Institutions Advice on FATCA and CRS Hiring External Service Organizations to Handle Compliance While financial institutions (FIs) have final responsibility for compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standards (CRS), many engage outside service providers. Advice on establishing agreements with the providers and on how to […]
How to Ensure FATCA and CRS Stakeholder Collaboration
OECD Report suggests compliance regime elements for FIs and Stakeholders Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standards (CRS) stakeholders are key to financial institutions’ (FIs) successful implementation, compliance, and maintenance efforts. These activities require funding, monitoring and approval. A pilot group of tax administrations of Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the […]
How Tax Administrations Handle FATCA, CRS Non-Compliance
OECD Report Details Preventative and Corrective Measures for Financial Institutions’ FATCA and CRS Non-Compliance Tax administrations can use a combination of detective, preventative and corrective measures to assess and treat Foreign Account Tax Compliance (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) non-compliance, according to the “Guide on Promoting and Assessing Compliance by Financial Institutions” (the Guide). […]
Debunking Five Myths About Cryptocurrency
A surge in cryptocurrency prices this year created many crypto paper millionaires and brought millions into the game. But the digital currency market is a rollercoaster ride. As a result, many of those fortunes have already evaporated as crypto prices fell precipitously. Whether or not crypto will transform the nature of money remains to be […]
How Tax Administrations Can Monitor FIs’ FATCA and CRS Compliance Training
Governance and Implementation Compliance Hallmarks for FIs A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says that tax administrations can assess financial institutions’ FATCA and CRS compliance by monitoring their staff training initiatives. The report, “Guide on Promoting and Assessing Compliance by Financial Institutions” (the “Guide”) offers questions for tax administrators […]
IRS Security Summit Offers Tips on How to Prevent Identity Theft and Tax Fraud
Two-factor Identification is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to prevent tax fraud. As Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) we suggest many other safeguards to our clients. As Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE) my firm has long helped clients untangle webs of taxpayer, identity and data theft. Now, with data theft rising steeply, the IRS Security […]
FinCEN to host second ‘exchange’ on preventing ransomware
The United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will hold a second FinCEN Exchange in August to discuss ways to combat increasingly sophisticated cyber and ransomware attacks. The FinCEN Exchange is a voluntary public and private partnership that convenes stakeholders, law enforcement and financial institutions (FIs.) As part of their Compliance functions, financial […]
What is Backup Withholding Tax and Who Has to Pay It?
When it comes to taxes, mistakes can cost you more than money. That’s especially true with Federal backup withholding taxes. In simplest terms, 24 percent backup withholding is demanded of both payers and payees who either mistakenly or intentionally supply incorrect or incomplete information about 1099 or W2-G income. The IRS requires both businesses and […]
The IRS Is Cracking Down On Cryptocurrency Tax Reporting
If you’ve engaged in cryptocurrency or other virtual currency transactions worth $20,000 in any one year between 2016 and 2020, the IRS wants to hear from you. The IRS believes thousands of taxpayers are not telling the government about their income and investment gains from cryptocurrency transactions via Cryptocurrency tax reporting. In a soft warning […]
2021 “Green Book” Introduces Comprehensive Financial Account Reporting
The “Green Book” is a US Treasury Department document that presents detailed explanations of an Administration’s revenue proposals in support of a President’s annual budget request. On May 28, 2021, the Biden administration released its “Green Book” titled “General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals”. The Green Book was last issued in […]
Upcoming Virtual Currency FBAR and FATCA Reporting Enforcement
Under current FinCEN regulations, a foreign account holding virtual currency is not reportable on the FBAR. However, FinCEN in its FinCEN Notice 2020-2, proposes amending reports of foreign financial accounts (FBAR) regulations to include virtual currency accounts as a type of reportable account. FATCA requires foreign financial accounts reporting as well. For individuals, FATCA applies […]
THE TAX GAP TO RISE TO APPROXIMATELY $7 TRILLION
The US Treasury reports that it is expecting the tax gap to rise to approximately $7 trillion over the course of the next decade if left unaddressed. In May 2021, the US Department of the Treasury issued the “THE AMERICAN FAMILIES PLAN TAX COMPLIANCE AGENDA” describing the Biden Administration (Administration) initiatives for restoring IRS enforcement […]
