FATCA Information Note

The USA has established legislative provisions on the tax compliance of foreign accounts (FATCA). According to the provisions, any individuals that pay taxes in the USA and maintain assets in financial institutions outside the USA may have to produce tax documents and be taxed in the USA.

L. 4493/2017 on Tax Compliance of Foreign Accounts validates the memorandum of understanding, the agreement between the Governments of Greece and the USA concerning the improvement of international tax compliance and the implementation of FATCA, the agreement of the respective authorities together with the relevant application provisions.

According to FATCA, the financial institutions outside the USA:

• Shall report to the US tax authority the assets of their customers that reside in the USA for tax purposes.
• May withhold and pay tax equal to 30% to the US tax authority (Internal Revenue Service – IRS) for a specific type of payments and transactions in case the customer is uncooperative in providing the required data / evidence.
• Shall collect data and specific information about their customers that reside in the USA for tax purposes, such as:
  • Full client name / Name of the Legal Entity
  • Address
  • Tax ID No. (TIN)
  • Account details and balance
  • Interests – dividends
• Shall report every year the above data and information to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR).

The Customers are asked to complete special forms and submit the following together with the necessary supporting documents:

Form W9.
Form W-8BEN for natural persons (instructions for completion).

Form  W-8BEN for legal persons (instructions for completion).

As the Bank may not provide tax consultancy services, you can further be informed by the following entities about FATCA and the details you have to provide:
 

• US Internal Revenue Service – IRS.
• Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR).
• Your tax consultant