KPMG Hosts Over 200 At FATCA Forum
KPMG in Bermuda hosted over 200 attendees at a Bermuda FATCA Forum on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.
Following closely on the heels of the eagerly awaited FATCA proposed regulations that were released by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday, February 8, 2012, the interactive session asked the question “Are you ready for FATCA?” and provided insights into the newly released Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) proposed regulations and their Bermuda implications.
KPMG FATCA experts Charles Thresh, Catherine Sheridan Moore, James Berry, Will McCallum and Mindy Schmidt led the discussion, with participation on the Q&A panel by John Foxon of HSBC, considering the operational impact that the IRS guidelines might have on the Investments, Banking, Fund Administration, Trust and Insurance industries in Bermuda.
During the forum, KPMG in Bermuda discussed their three-phase methodology for delivering a structured, pragmatic and cost effective approach towards FATCA compliance, with participants being given the opportunity to pose industry specific questions to the KPMG panel, and receiving a Bermuda client’s approach to FATCA compliance from HSBC.
Discussion covered a wide range of topics, including who should own a Bermuda company’s FATCA programme; which aspects of a company’s business model should be reviewed or changed; which key business players should be involved in implementations; and, sign-off issues.
The updated FATCA compliance timeline was also a key component of the panel discussion with consensus being reached that the time for Bermuda companies to act on FATCA is now.
Since FATCA’s enactment in March 2010, the IRS has issued several rounds of guidance, but the most recent release has been much anticipated by taxpayers affected by the proposed FATCA withholding regime.
The proposed regulations act as guidance concerning information reporting by foreign financial institutions (FFIs) for U.S. accounts, and withholding on certain payments made to foreign financial institutions and other foreign entities under FATCA.
For further information on FATCA compliance or the proposed regulations, please visit here.
FATCA is an important component to the development and completion of THE NEW WORLD ORDER . It is an insidious threat to the autonomous governence of each countries control of their own economy .
Every jurisdiction that has any American investment must comply with what can only be described as a direct outtake of ‘George Orwell’s 1984′ . Good luck Bermuda .