The consequences of the "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act" FATCA - The case of Luxembourg

Abstract

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as FATCA, has been enacted by the American government in 2010. The aim was to pursue and furthermore put an end to tax evasion. To do so, the government demanded the participation of third parties, namely the foreign financial institutions. Naturally, due to the unilateralism and invasiveness of the law, it was a real bombshell among the financial sector over the world. No other regulation had been going so far in the fight against tax havens. Literally, the U.S. government is asking for confidential information, aiming for a perfect tax transparency. This was phenomenal for the business. Therefore, this report is going to evaluate the consequences of FATCA. Throughout this paper, we will establish and assess the pros and cons of the regulation. Furthermore, a practical approach will be applied to the case of Luxembourg. For that purpose, we carried a survey among the financial institutions established in the country, excluding the U.S. institutions. Based on that study, it appeared that FATCA caused some troubles to foreign institutions that had to bear significant costs and administrative constraints. Besides, the U.S. regulation generated some political problems with respect to international laws. Eventually, with the results, it is difficult to come to a final conclusion, namely FATCA is either a good or a bad thing. Indeed, the advantages and disadvantages we found out seem to balance each other. In fact, even if FATCA works for a noble cause by fighting tax evasion, its invasive and unilateral characteristics lead the opponents to claim the repealing of the regulation. This paper will thus apply itself to try shedding light on the debate.