The Common Reporting Standard – Setting the Benchmark for Global Information Exchange

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a big step towards a globally co-ordinated approach to disclosure of income earned by individuals and organisations.  As a measure to counter tax evasion, it builds upon other information-sharing legislation such as FATCA (the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act often referred to as US FATCA), the European Union (EU) Savings Directive and The Crown Dependencies and Gibraltar Regulations (often referred to as UK FATCA).  In recent years, governments and financial institutions have become much more aware of the large amounts of undisclosed wealth held in offshore accounts.  Governments see a big opportunity to boost revenue by collecting tax relating to these accounts – but only if sufficient data can be obtained from financial institutions around the world.  Read a copy of our Briefing Note entitled The Common Reporting Standard – Setting the Benchmark for Global Information Exchange to find out more.