Russian, U.S. tax officials to discuss financial info sharing

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian and U.S. tax officials will meet in Paris next week to discuss financial information sharing, Russia’s Finance Minister said, according to RIA Novosti.

“We have a few reservations on the Russian side. There are still some points to agree on with our American counterparts,” Anton Siluanov said.

Russia began discussions last year to join the United States’ 2010 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which is aimed at reducing off-shore tax evasion.

The law requires foreign banks and financial institutions to report data on clients who are American taxpayers to U.S. authorities.

The provisions, slated to come into force at the end of June, have been agreed to by 14 countries, according to the Treasury Department’s website.

The Russian Foreign Ministry in November objected to the imposition of American law on Russian banks, but supported the idea of “mutual and balanced” information sharing.

The act, which enables the United States to force foreign banks to remit tax payments from accounts owned by American taxpayers, also has a provision for reciprocity with countries that sign an intergovernmental agreement.

Earlier reports indicated that Russia’s Central Bank was planning on postponing accession until 2016, but in November Alexei Simanovsky, a head official at the bank, said the agreement would come into force this year.

The United States is one of only a handful of countries that levy taxes on the worldwide income of their citizens even if they live abroad.