FATCA Answer Book Released

The Practising Law Institute has released the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Answer Book 2015, a new Q&A guide that provides information on FATCA.

Written and edited by Matthew D. Lee, a former Justice Department trial attorney who now works at the law firm Blank Rome LLP Lee advising financial institutions on compliance issues involving FATCA and other regulatory regimes, the guide walks readers through various aspects of the new requirements. The book explains FATCA terms and concepts, identifies which foreign financial institutions are covered by the Act (over 80,000 to date), and describes the obligations placed upon FFIs under the Act.

The book provides guidance on the myriad obligations imposed by the new law, including due diligence, withholding, and reporting. FATCA Answer Book 2015 also addresses how financial institutions register with the Internal Revenue Service to become FATCA-compliant and design comprehensive compliance programs now required by FATCA. 

“In 2008, the U.S. government undertook an aggressive effort to dismantle Swiss bank secrecy laws in the hopes of discovering those who were evading U.S. taxes,” Lee wrote in his introduction to the book. “The U.S. government’s victory over Swiss banks was not the end of the story, however, as a new U.S. law—the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act—became effective on July 1, 2014. The arrival of FATCA represents a new era with respect to offshore banking and investing by U.S. taxpayers and arms the U.S. government with a powerful new tool to detect offshore tax evasion.”

For more information on the book, visit PLI’s Web site here.

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