FATCA Just a Band Aid for Latin American Tax Evasion Emilio Godoy - Inter Press Service
go to original July 6, 2014

Major Banks Help Clients Hide Trillions in Offshore Tax Havens (TheRealNews)

MEXICO CITY - The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is unlikely to contribute much to combating persistent tax evasion in Latin America, which will require more national and multilateral instruments, experts say.

FATCA, as it is better known, was approved in March 2010 and finally came into force on Jul. 1 after a number of delays. It is a reciprocal agreement, which means that other countries may learn which of their citizens have accounts in the United States.

The law requires governments and financial institutions worldwide to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) financial information about U.S. citizens who are resident or have assets abroad.

“The limiting factor for developing countries is that it is bilateral. Mexico, for example, would benefit from receiving information about its residents who have accounts in the United States, but these residents may also have accounts in other jurisdictions,” analyst Andrés Knobel of the London-based Tax Justice Network told IPS.

Read the rest at Inter Press Service

TackleTaxHavens.com is a global campaign designed to raise public awareness of tax havens: what they are, the damage they do and how we can tackle them together. (Tax Justice Network)

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