U.S. Issues Final FATCA Regs to Jump Start International Tax Enforcement

  On January 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final regulations implementing the information reporting and withholding tax provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). [1] Enacted in March 2010, FATCA targets non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts.  The issuance of final regulations constitutes a major step in achieving a common intergovernmental approach to combating tax evasion.[2]