In February 2014 members of the G20 endorsed the OECD’s proposal to introduce a common reporting standard (CRS) a new global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information between tax authorities worldwide. Referred to as the ‘global FATCA’ the CRS requires participating jurisdictions to obtain information from financial institutions (FIs) and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. More than 40 jurisdictions have announced their intention to be ‘early adopters’ of the CRS. The momentum for others to join is increasing rapidly.
What’s happened since then?
Last week the OECD published the detailed commentary outlining how the model should be interpreted within its booklet Standard for automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters. This is designed to promote clarity and consistency...