Scott Rauland, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America, and Sergei Nalivaiko, Minister of Taxation, signed an intergovernmental agreement today between Belarus and the United States of America to implement the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The agreement signed today provides the necessary legal framework for Belarusian financial institutions to report information about U.S. account holders to the Belarusian Government, which will in turn relay that data to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“We appreciate Belarus’ commitment to enhancing our bilateral cooperation to improve international tax compliance,” said Charge Rauland. “We are impressed by the efforts of the government, especially the Tax Ministry, to make the necessary domestic legal adjustments to allow us to sign the FATCA agreement today.”
Enacted by the United States Congress in 2010, FATCA targets tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers who use foreign financial accounts by encouraging transparency and obtaining information on accounts held by them in other countries. The U.S. has signed, or is in negotiations to sign, FATCA agreements with more than 100 countries and jurisdictions worldwide.
Belarus and the U.S. hope to continue discussions to improve international tax compliance.
Further information on FATCA is available at www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/treaties/Pages/FATCA.aspx
