The End of Bank Secrecy?


News from Panama / Monday, May 19th, 2014

Get ready, “know your customer” will become even more strict at banks overseas but remember, the OECD and FACTA enforcers are after tax evaders and money launderers, not honest expats.  Compliance is the buzzword!!

All of the OECD countries and others such as Costa Rica have agreed to the automatic exchange of tax information.

From a statement issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD ):

Paris, May 6, 2014

Bank secrecy for tax purposes is coming to an end because countries, along with major financial centers have committed to the automatic exchange of information between jurisdictions.

The Declaration on the Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax Matters was adopted by the 34 member countries of the OECD during the annual Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris. Other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and South Africa also adopted the Declaration.

The Declaration commits countries to implement a new single global standard in automatic exchange of information. The standard was developed by the OECD and was accepted by the finance ministers of the G -20 in February.