Regulatory Analysis

Posted April 25, 2017 by Sovos
Ohio issues new instructions for filing a Withholding Tax Application for Refund

The Ohio Department of Taxation (ODT) recently published new instructions which modify the way businesses request a refund when there is over-withholding. ODT still uses the Withholding Tax Application for Refund (Form WT-AR), but now limits the circumstances in which filers may use the form to request a refund. Generally, if over-withholding occurs, it […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
Jersey Publishes Practical AEOI Guidance and CRS Information

Jersey’s tax authority has published Practical AEOI Guidance ahead of this year’s filing season in order to clarify certain issues and provide updates regarding account reporting and transmittals. The Practical Guidance addresses the following specific topics: • The release and change over to the US FATCA v2.0 schema • New elements in the US […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
Mexico Updates Electronic Nil Reporting Guidance and Security Protocols

The Mexican Tax Administration Service has published an updated version of its electronic nil reporting guidance. The revised version makes clarifications on some matters addressed in the original publication. Additionally, the Service has updated its presentation on security protocols for creating XML files. The post Mexico Updates Electronic Nil Reporting Guidance and Security Protocols […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
Malta Publishes Revised Guidelines for CRS Implementation

The Maltese Inland Revenue Division has published an updated version of its CRS implementation guidelines for Financial Institutions. There is only one significant change of which filers should take note – regarding trustee-documented trusts: During 2017, consolidated reporting by trustees will only be supported through the upload of CRS XML data files using an […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
Liechtenstein Releases Additional XML Specifications

The Liechtenstein Tax Administration has released a document containing additional XML specifications, which will supplement the FATCA XML Schema v2.0 and CRS XML Schema that Liechtenstein FIs will use to report account information and receive notifications. Reporting Financial Institutions needs to be mindful that their own jurisdiction is allowed to implement their own changes to […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
Italy Enacts FATCA Order and Modifies Deadline

The Italian Internal Revenue Service has published a newly enacted order relative to the implementation of FATCA for this year’s filing season. This order updates the technical annexes, replacing the previous ones that were used for the last year’s filing. The new specifications are intended to reflect the changes to the IRS FATCA XML […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
IRS Announces IDES Testing Session Dates

The IRS has announced that IDES will be open for the testing of FATCA files from Monday, June 19, 2017 at 8:00 AM EST until Friday, July 14, 2017 at 5:00 PM EST. The test session will be open to users who have completed IDES enrollment by Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 5:00 PM EST. […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
Bahamas Announces Registration and Reporting Dates for 2017

The Bahamas Ministry of Finance has released information regarding the timeline for portal registration and reporting for this year’s filing season. The TIE Portal will open for registration and reporting on July 17, 2017 at 9:00am EST and will close on August 25, 2017 at 5:00pm EST. As a general reminder, FIs were required […]

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Posted April 24, 2017 by Sovos
IRS Publishes New Technical FAQ on TIN Reporting Format for Tax Year 2017

    The IRS’s International Data Exchange Service (IDES) has published an answer to a Frequently Asked Question regarding TIN reporting in 2018 – for Tax Year 2017 information. Beginning in 2018, Model 1 FFIs will no longer be permitted to […]

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Posted April 21, 2017 by Sovos
Cayman Island Publishes List of Reportable Jurisdictions, Updates Participating Jurisdictions

The Tax Information Authority for the Cayman Islands has published its list of Reportable Jurisdictions in the Cayman Islands Gazette (beginning on page 15). This list is important because it instructs Reporting Financial Institutions which foreign account holders must be reported. In addition, Cayman’s list of Participating Jurisdictions has also been updated. The post Cayman […]

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Posted April 21, 2017 by Sovos
Sweden Updates FATCA Technical Guidance

Sweden has released a new version of the SKV 260 which provides a technical description of the XML file for FATCA should be formatted. The new guide applies to reports made for this year’s reporting. The format largely follows the IRS’s XML v.2.0 as outlined in the Publication 5124. However, Sweden has mandated that certain […]

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Posted April 21, 2017 by Sovos
IRS Publishes Additional FATCA Compliance FAQs

The IRS has published additional Frequently Asked Questions that address general compliance issues related to FATCA obligations. Specifically, the FAQs touch upon Foreign TIN and Date of Birth requirements. A withholding agent must obtain a foreign TIN for: • A foreign person claiming a reduced rate of withholding under an income tax treaty if […]

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Posted April 19, 2017 by Sovos
Cayman Islands Releases CRS Guidance and Extends FATCA Deadline

Recently, the Cayman Islands published its version 2.0 for CRS Guidance. The Guidance is a very important document for CRS reporting as it contains important information for due diligence and reporting requirements. In particular, Cayman will require Reporting FIs to send separate reports for each of its jurisdictions where it maintains reportable accounts. Moreover, it […]

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Posted April 17, 2017 by Sovos
Germany Releases FATCA Schema Files & Guidance

Germany’s BZSt released both FATCA schema files (XSD files are provided in the [zip file|www.bzst.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/FATCA_downloads/ELANKOM_Schema_FATCAXML2.0_230317_zip.zip?__blob=publicationFile]), and guidance ([Communications Manual Part III, version 2.0|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Kommunikationshandbuch/Kommunikationshandbuch_FATCA_Teil_III.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]). Both provide important information on how to properly create FATCA returns. Information about the releases can be found in the latest [Infobrief|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Infobrief/Aktuell/Infobrief_Aktuell.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]. In addition, Germany published guidance on notifications (“[Verarbeitungsprotokolle […]

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Posted April 14, 2017 by Sovos
SSA Releases 2017 Draft Form W-2 and Form W-2c Specifications

SSA has released Draft Form W-2 and Form W-2c Specifications for TY2017 Reporting. There are a number of changes from the previous revisions of the two form specifications. Form W-2 Changes Form W-2 has a new box 12 Code FF money field, Permitted Benefits Under a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (Code […]

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Posted April 13, 2017 by Sovos
West Virginia Has New Guidance on Business Registration

West Virginia’s State Tax Department has released a new publication TSD-100, “West Virginia Business Taxes.” The publication provides guidance to Business who need to register for business tax purposes. The six page document is merely instructive and does not function as a legal document. The last time West Virginia published a similar document was November, […]

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Posted April 12, 2017 by Sovos
IRS Releases Updated Publication 1281, Backup Withholding For Missing and Incorrect Name/TIN(S)

The IRS has released an updated version of Publication 1281, Backup Withholding For Missing and Incorrect Name/TIN(S). There are a couple of changes from the previous revision: • Form 1099-G payments made under IRC 6041 and 3406(b)(3)(A), which include taxable grants and agricultural payments, are now subject to backup withholding o New code for […]

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Posted April 5, 2017 by Sovos
Singapore Releases Nil Return Form

Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority has released a paper form that Reporting Financial Institutions may use to file a nil report. Nil reports are required whenever an FI does not have any U.S. Reportable Accounts. A Singaporean FI may elect to file an electronic nil through the IDES Gateway, as it would a typical FATCA return. […]

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