14 September 2013

Mauritius : Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

On 13 September 2013 the Government of Mauritius agreed to the signing of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) and an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the USA for the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted by the USA in March 2010, and to allow the Financial Services Sector to maintain its global competitiveness. The main objective of FATCA is to identify United States persons behind foreign financial holdings and communicate their investment information, i.e., name, address, account number, account balance and income derived from such investments, to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

The Government of Mauritius will move ahead with a FATCA implementation strategy based on the Model 1 IGA. Under the proposed Model 1 IGA, the Government of Mauritius agrees to direct Financial Institutions (as defined under the relevant legislation and the IGA) in Mauritius to compile the requisite information on United States persons and to electronically transmit this information to the Mauritius Revenue Authority as the Competent Authority in Mauritius for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of FATCA through automatic exchange of such information to the IRS.

According to the International Monetary Fund 2011 Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey and the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey, around USD 12 billion were invested from the USA through Mauritius, and around USD 4.2 billion into the USA through the local Global Business Sector.

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