FATCA STATEMENT

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was introduced by the United States of America (US) and became law as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act on March 18th, 2010.
Its aim is to tackle offshore tax evasion by US taxpayers by increasing the transparency for the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with respect to US persons that may be investing and earning income through Non US institutions. To this end, it requires Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) such as the First Citizens Group (the Group) to provide information annually on US accounts which it holds either directly to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or through a local competent authority.

How has FATCA impacted on Trinidad and Tobago?
On the 19th August, 2016 Trinidad and Tobago entered into a Model 1A Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the US and brought same into the our local laws by passage of the Tax Information Exchange Agreements (United States of America) Act, 2017 (TIEAA).
By virtue of the TIEAA, all reporting financial institutions within Trinidad and Tobago are required to provide the competent authority with the required account information on US persons for the purpose of FATCA reporting. The Board and Inland Revenue (BIR) has been designated the competent authority. In this regard, the BIR would forward information received from the Group on the reportable US accounts and submit same to the IRS.

What does this mean to the First Citizens customer?
Notwithstanding the advent of FATCA, The Group remains committed to preserving its customer information in the strictest manner. In our response to the competent authorities we would continue to abide by our local privacy rules to ensure customer confidentiality.
It is also important to note that pursuant to section 13 of the TIEAA the Group is not required to obtain customer consent prior to meeting its reporting obligations under FATCA.

How does FATCA and the TIEAA impact on First Citizens Bank Limited?
The First Citizens Group intends to meet all of its legal obligations imposed by FATCA and the TIEAA. This includes providing reports to the competent authority on an annual basis commencing September 30th, 2017 on accounts held by:
• US Persons
• US Entities
• Non-US Entities with substantial US ownership
• Passive Non-Financial Foreign Entities with substantial US ownership; and
• Non-Participating Foreign Financial Institutions
• The Group will also be required to report on recalcitrant customers who have failed to provide sufficient information or declare their status as a US person.
Who is a “US Person”?
• Citizens and residents of the United States of America, including green card holders
• Corporations and partnerships created under the laws of the US
• Estates and trusts created under the laws of the US

As a customer of the Group you will be required to declare whether or not you are a US Person by completing our Customer Declaration Form (to be signed in presence of Bank Officer). You will also be required to notify the Group whether there are any changes affecting your status as a US Person.
If you are unable to determine if you are a US Person, we recommend that you seek advice from an independent tax advisor.

Where can I get more Information?
For further information on FATCA, please click on the following www.irs.gov/FATCA or email us at info@firstcitizenstt.com.

We will also keep you informed by posting updated information on our website.
In light of the above, we urge you to co-operate with us to avoid the consequences of non-compliance.

FATCA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

What is FATCA?

FATCA refers to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It is a United States of America (US) piece of legislation which was signed into US law on 18 March, 2010 and became effective 01 July, 2014.

What is the purpose of FATCA?

FATCA was enacted to tackle offshore tax evasion by US persons. To this end, it requires Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI(s)) to provide information on US Reportable Accounts held with the FFI to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

How has FATCA impacted on Trinidad and Tobago?

On the 19th August, 2016 Trinidad and Tobago entered into a Model 1A Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the US and brought same into our local laws by the passage of the Tax Information Exchange Agreements (United States of America) Act, 2017 (TIEAA).
Pursuant to the TIEAA, the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) was appointed the competent authority for the purpose of FATCA reporting. All reporting financial institutions within Trinidad and Tobago are required to provide the BIR with information on US Reportable Accounts held by US persons.
In addition, pursuant to S.13 of the TIEAA, a financial institution may forward to the BIR sensitive personal information on an account holder in respect of a reportable account for FATCA purposes without the consent of the account holder. The BIR upon receipt of this information must then forward same to the IRS who is the competent authority in the US.

How does FATCA and the TIEAA impact on First Citizens Bank Limited?

Under the terms of both FATCA as enforced by the TTIEA, First Citizens Bank Limited (the Bank) is required to provide reports to the BIR on an annual basis effective 30th September, 2017 on accounts held by:

  • US Persons
  • US Entities
  • Non-US Entities with substantial US ownership
  • Passive Non-Financial Foreign Entities with substantial US ownership; and
  • Non-Participating Foreign Financial Institutions

How does FATCA and the TIEAA affect customers of First Citizens Bank Limited?

All customers of the Bank are required to declare whether or not they are a US Person. This is done by way of signing the Bank’s Customer Declaration Form. Customers are also required to notify the Bank immediately of any changes which may affect their status.

Who are US Persons?

Citizens and residents of the United States of America (green card holders included)
Corporations and partnerships created under the laws of the United States of America.
Estates and trusts created under the laws of the United States of America or where :
(a) a court within the United States of America would have authority under applicable law to render orders or judgments concerning substantially all issues regarding administration of the trust; and
(b) one or more US Person has the authority has the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or an estate of a decedent that is a citizen or resident of the United States of America.

How will the Bank be able to identify US Persons?

While evidence of one or more of the following does not necessarily mean that a customer is a US Person the Bank may be able to determine whether a customer is a US Person by the following US Indicia:

US person citizenship (lawful permanent resident/ green card holder);
A US place of birth/ incorporation;
A US address i.e. residence address or mailing address in the US (including US post office box);
A US telephone number;
Standing order instructions to transfer funds to an account maintained in the US or directions regularly received from a US address;
A US “in-care-of” or “hold mail” address that is the sole address the FFI has identified for the account holder;
A power of attorney or signatory authority granted to a person with a US address.

What is the impact of a customer having US Indicia?

Where a customer has US Indicia and is in fact a US Person the customer is required to declare same to the Bank. Where the customer may have met one of the US indicia requirements but claims they are not a US Person the customer must provide documentation in support of this claim.

What is the consequence of failure to declare status as a US Person or to provide documentation to refute the assumption of being a US Person?

In accordance with the Model 1IGA requirements, where an existing customer fails to declare their/ its status as a US Person, the Bank will be obligated to report such a customer as ‘Recalcitrant’ to the US via the BIR.
A recalcitrant account holder is someone who does not consent to providing information or does not comply with reasonable requests for information that is necessary to determine whether their account is a reportable account.

What is a ‘US Reportable Account?’

A US Reportable Account is a financial account maintained by the Bank which has been identified as reportable after the application of set due diligence procedures and held by one or more US Person or by a Non-US entity with one or more controlling person that is a US Person.

Is there a threshold amount for account reporting?

The current threshold amount for the total balance of all accounts held by a US person is USD$50,000.00 (or its equivalent in other currencies). In the case of accounts operated by US-Entities, the threshold amount is USD$250,000.00. Please note that these threshold amounts are subject to change.

Does FATCA apply to personal accounts only?

No- FATCA applies to many other types of accounts: business accounts, investments and brokerage accounts as well.

I have a US Account – will that be reported?

Reporting is only influenced by your US Person status and not by the account currency.

I am a joint account holder with an individual identified as a US Person, how does this affect me?

A joint account which has one US Person as an owner is treated as a US Reportable account and the entire account shall be subject to reporting.
Where the joint account has more than one US Person as an accountholder ,each holder will be attributed the entire balance or value of the account.

Does the Bank need my consent to share my information with the BIR?

As stated earlier, pursuant to S 13 of the TIEAA the Bank is not required to obtain the customer’s consent prior to meeting its reporting obligations under the TIEAA.

Where can I get more Information?

Further information on FATCA can be found @ https://www.irs.gov/FATCA.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is for general information purposed only and NOT intended as legal advice. First Citizens Bank Limited, its staff, officers, directors nor any of its subsidiaries and its affiliates accepts no responsibility any loss to any person acting on the information contained herein.

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