Recognizing the practical and logistical problems faced by US withholding agents and foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”), and the uncertainty faced by many FFIs and foreign governments about whether an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) will be in effect by January 1, 2014, US tax authorities on July 12, 2013, issued Notice 2013-43. Notice 2013-43 states that the US Treasury Department and US Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) will postpone by six months, to July 1, 2014, the start of withholding required by the so-called Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or “FATCA,” and make corresponding adjustments to various other time frames provided in the final regulations. The Notice states that its goal is to allow for a more orderly implementation of FATCA. The Notice gives affected entities more time to adjust to FATCA; it generally does not, however, relax the long-term, substantive withholding and reporting obligations imposed by FATCA.
Jerome Walker, a member of Dentons’ Corporate practice, co-authored this article.
