Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is happy that every bank account holder subject to the FATCA legislation will be notified by their financial institution that their information will be transferred to the Board of Inland Revenue for transmission to the US Department of Treasury.
This was one of the clauses the Opposition ensured would be part of the amended legislation which was unanimously passed in the House on Thursday.
“This provides account holders with a right to know and to make sure that correct information has been transferred,” Persad-Bissessar said in a statement yesterday.
The legislation enables local financial institutions to provide information on US citizens’ accounts to the US IRS.
This will be done through T&T’s BIR. The legislation operationalises an inter-governmental agreement between T&T and the US.
The legislation, which came after five months of debate and contention by Government and Opposition, had to be approved by month-end.
The FATCA system must be operationalised by September. Finance Minister Colm Imbert had said FATCA affected two per cent of accounts.
After passage in the House of Representatives, the legislation must now be passed in the Senate. Debate is expected after Carnival.
Yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said Opposition members worked to ensure that citizens’ rights were better protected via amendments which were made to the legislation.
“The Opposition has always maintained our commitment to passing good law, which is why we stood firm in our resolve that the bill be examined by a Joint Select Committee. During that process, several errors and conflicts were discovered and fixed,” she said.
“As a result of the JSC’s work and important amendments submitted by the Opposition, we were able to pass a substantially amended and improved bill. It’s important that we all understand how these procedures are expected to operate, as the legislation changes the way banks operate locally.”
In the amended legislation, she said, neither the Minister of Finance nor any politician will have the right to request sensitive financial information from an account holder’s bank.
Account information will also not be shared with countries other than the US.
An annual report will also have to be laid in Parliament about the accounts/people (without naming people) information transferred to the US under FATCA. All guidelines and agreements required to operationalise the FATCA legislation must now be laid in Parliament.
“This means the public will be informed on the details of the system to transfer their sensitive financial information,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar also said penalties for misuse/breach of confidentiality of personal financial information have been increased to deter wrongdoers.
Any future changes to the US Inter-Governmental Agreement must be laid in Parliament before the changes take affect.