On January 17, 2013, the US Treasury Department (IRS) released final regulations to implement the US reporting and withholding rules originally enacted in 2010 and frequently referred to as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. Beginning on January 1, 2014, the FATCA rules generally impose a 30 percent withholding tax on many types of payments of US-source income to a foreign entity (“withholdable payments”) unless the foreign entity reports certain information about any US account holders or owners it possesses. The FATCA rules apply directly to withholding agents, foreign financial institutions (FFIs) and non-financial foreign entities (NFFEs), but their indirect impact is far broader and often affects unsuspecting parties.
Jerome Walker, a member of Dentons’ Corporate practice, co-authored this article.
