William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

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During the first quarter of 2010, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2847, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act. “The act provides incentives for job creation, but in order to pay for the incentives, the act also contains significant changes that will affect foreign financial institutions that choose to do business with U.S. persons.” [1] Half of the “U.S. Congressional Record that contains the act” is “dedicated to foreign account tax compliance.” [2]

Therefore, “although the act is commonly referred to as the HIRE Act for its focus on job creation, one of its main purposes is to target tax dodgers’ use of foreign accounts.” [3] The act is basically a model of the 2009 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) which was introduced by the Senate.   “The act incorporates substantially all of FATCA, with one important exception: FATCA would have imposed reporting requirements on material advisors, including attorneys, accountants, and other professionals, who advise on acquisitions or formations of foreign entities.” [4]

Read the entire article at AdvisorFYI.