Introduction
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS), developed in response to the G20 request and approved by the OECD Council on 15 July 2014, calls on jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. It sets out the financial account information to be exchanged, the financial institutions required to report, the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered, as well as common due diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) applies in the European Union under the Council Directive 2014/107/EU amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.
Legal framework
The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors approved a specific series of measures for the new global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information on tax matters in September 2014.
The measures aim at tax compliance to combat tax evasion.
Implementation of framework
The financial institutions must:
- Identify and collect relevant information regarding their customers’ tax residency and status (for entities).
- Report this information to the competent local tax authority of the Reporting Financial Institution every year.
Information reported to the tax authority
The local tax authority exchanges the information collected from the financial institutions with the tax authority where the clients are tax residents. This information includes:
- Full name / Corporate name
- Address
- Tax identification number (TIN)
- Account details and balance
- Interest
- Dividends
- Tax regime
To determine the tax residence and CRS status (for entities) regarding the CRS and the European Directive of Administrative Cooperation (DAC2), we ask you to fill in special self-certification forms and submit them along with the necessary supporting documents:
- Self-certification form for individuals.
- Self-certification form for entities.
- Self-certification form for controlling persons.
Additional information about the CRS
Given that we cannot offer tax advice, you can get more information on the CRS and the list of jurisdictions / countries that have signed the agreement on automatic exchange of financial account information from:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - http://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/about-automatic-exchange/
- The Luxembourg Inland Revenue (ACD) - https://impotsdirects.public.lu/fr/echanges_electroniques/CRS_NCD.html
- Your tax advisor.
Implementation of the CRS
The CRS applies in Europe by virtue of the European Directive of Administrative Cooperation (DAC2) and in the OECD member countries that have signed the multilateral agreement on automatic exchange of financial account information.
Financial institutions must collect information regarding the tax residency of their customers in compliance with:
Law of 18 December 2015 on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), published in Mémorial A – No 244 of 24 December 2015.
Collection and processing of your personal data under the CSR
Any information we collect based on your self-certification documents is transmitted to the competent tax authorities for the fulfilment of Viva Payments’ legal obligation, in accordance with the applicable legal framework on the CRS. For information on the processing of your personal data by Viva Payments in accordance with the EU Regulation 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation transposed in Luxembourg with the Law of 1st August 2018) you can refer to Viva Payments’ Privacy Policy.