To help fight against tax evasion and protect the integrity of tax systems, governments around the world are introducing a new information-gathering and reporting requirement for financial institutions. This is known as the Common Reporting Standard ("the CRS").
To date more than 100 jurisdictions have committed to adopting the CRS. These include countries such as the UK as well as areas that are subject to their own distinct tax regulations such as Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man etc.
The full list of in-scope jurisdictions is available on the OECD website: CRS by jurisdiction - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (oecd.org)
To comply with the CRS, Participating Countries must obtain certain customer information from their Financial Institutions and exchange that information on an annual basis with other Participating Countries.
In the UK, we are required to complete CRS reporting to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 May every year in respect of customers we have identified as Reportable Persons or Reportable Entities.
About tax residence
Under the CRS, we are required to determine where you are "tax resident" (this will usually be where you are liable to pay income or corporate taxes). We will base this on information we have already or we may ask you for additional details.
If you are tax resident outside the country/jurisdiction you may be required to provide details, including information relating to your accounts, to the national tax authority in the country/jurisdiction where your account is held. They may then share that information with the tax authority of the country/jurisdiction (or countries/jurisdictions) where you are tax resident.
Who is affected?
Whether you are an individual customer or you have a business relationship with us, the CRS may affect you. The impact will depend on factors such as:
- where you live or operate as a business
If you have any questions regarding your tax residency, please refer to the rules governing tax residence that have been published by each national tax authority available here.
If you have any specific questions regarding your tax residency, please contact a professional tax adviser, as we are unable to provide tax advice.
Additional information is available:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed rules to be implemented by governments participating in the CRS. For more information please click here.