Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

FATCA law was implemented by USA congress on March 18, 2010, and has been effective since January 1, 2013. The objective of FATCA is to prevent the cases of tax-avoidance of US citizens by financial operations via foreign financial institutions.

It obliges all non-USA financial institutions (including all RA banks) to identify their customers and provide information about their accounts to the US Internal Revenue Service. In the case of non-compliance of the Bank or the Bank customers to the FATCA requirements sanctions will be implemented.

“Unibank”  CJSC (from hereafter – the Bank) has signed the agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service and has received the following Global intermediary identification number (GIIN number) - 7E4JN9.99999.SL.051.  According to the agreement between the Bank and IRS, the Bank must comply with the FATCA demands, and up to March, 2015, present reports on the individual and juridical persons (entities) that are USA taxpayers (tax residents).

To find out the fact of  individual (including S/E) or juridical person (entities) being a USA taxpayer, the Bank implements additional information collection from the customers.

Determining the US tax resident

1. USA taxpayer- individual person (including S/E) is considered a US citizen or US tax resident.

The customer may be regarded as a US tax resident if he/she complies with one of the following criteria (indicia):

• Birth place is USA
• is a USA citizen or a holder of a “Green” Card
• has been physically present in the USA for at least 31 days in the current year, and 183 days within three years (including the current year and immediately preceding two years, including all days of being present in the USA during the current year, 1/3 of the days being present in the USA in the first preceding year, and 1/6 of the days of being present in the USA in the second preceding year).

I.E. During 2013 you have spent 130 on the USA territory, during 2012 – 120 days, during 2011 – 120 days. Therefore your calculation will commence as follows: (130+120*1/3+120*1/6)=190. As the day count exceeds 183 days, and during the current year you have spent more than 31 days in the USA, therefore you shall be considered as a USA tax resident (Substantial Presence). 

• Other (as per FATCA law requirements)

2. USA taxpayer juridical person is considered a US tax resident juridical person, which complies with one of the following criteria:

• is registered in the USA (has been founded according to the US legislation)
• the founder/founders hold 10 and more percents of the company’s shares, and comply with one of the criteria of point 1.
• Other (as per FATCA law requirements)

3.  Recalcitrant customers/accounts  are considered to be the customers that refuse to provide information to the Bank regarding the possible fact of them being a USA taxpayer, or refuse that the Bank provides information/reports on them, their accounts and incomes to the US Internal Revenue Service. In the case of recalcitrant accounts USA originated incomes (interest payments, dividends, rent payments, royalties, salary, annuity, profits and other incomes, that have originated in the USA or effectively connected with business or trade conducted in the USA) are taxed by 30%.