The Irish 2013 Budget announced information sharing arrangements with the US. This will impact US taxpayers living in Ireland.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

FATCA is part of a United States effort to combat tax evasion by US persons holding investments in offshore accounts. It requires US taxpayers holding foreign financial assets with an aggregate value exceeding $50,000 to report on those assets, but also requires foreign financial institutions to report directly to the Internal Revenue Service certain information about foreign financial accounts.

Governments in several countries are working towards a Memorandum of Agreement with the US authorities to address this reporting requirement. Minister Noonan announced as part of his Budget Speech that Ireland has concluded its Inter-Governmental agreement on FATCA, and that this would be of benefit to Irish business.

Enabling provisions for the domestic application of FATCA compliance may be required in Finance Bill 2013, to be supplemented by Regulations. Ultimately, the information flow between the US and participating countries will be two way, albeit perhaps with a bias in the volume of information going to the US.

Ireland has a good track record of cooperating with other countries in the management of taxes and the exchange of information. The early conclusion of this FATCA accord contributes further to this track record.

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