The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) CRS is a big step towards a globally coordinated approach to disclosure of income earned by individuals and organizations. As a measure to counter tax evasion, it builds upon other information sharing legislation, such as FATCA (the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) and the European Union (EU) Savings Directive.

Aiming to reduce tax evasion through transparency, the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) builds on the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), collectively AEOI, to take another step towards a globally coordinated approach to the automatic exchange of financial account information of non-resident customers and investors. 

This means that financial institutions around the globe are faced with significant additional identification and reporting responsibilities, which may vary in detail and timing by jurisdiction. Crucially, they need to be able to collect and track complex, varied customer information quickly and easily to report domestically in each jurisdiction where they operate. There are both reputational and financial risks to getting AEOI wrong. 

The ambitious time frame to be compliant is stretching resources and the lack of clear guidance means organizations have no certainty – much less consistency – in how the rules will apply across all of their operating markets. Many organizations are now struggling to understand how they should prepare for the AEOI. 

To move forward with confidence in the midst of uncertainty, KPMG has developed a suite of services to support clients’ compliance with evolving rule sets across and within jurisdictions. KPMG’s tools offer a blend of technology based services, project accelerators, tax technical advice, communications and training methods, and process and control planning.

KPMG's teams of highly-experienced professionals include former regulators, tax authorities and industry executives that helped develop model IGA agreements, negotiated bilateral and multilateral instruments (including the CRS), and have drafted US regulatory guidance under FATCA are here to support you. The team are in regular dialogue with the tax authorities and local government officials and are active contributors on a number of
advisory and industry FATCA and CRS committees.