FATCA (metro)

silentkiller

I have had a letter from Metro Bank saying I need to fill in a self certification FATCA form with my tax code etc.

I have tried doing some research and it all seems to relate to having a foreign account, not being a resident or something like that.

I am British, I have never not been in Britain living and do not have any foreign accounts. I am really confused by this.

I did speak to my bank repeatedly who have told me it's just something they do and send out to selected people. I tried ringing my CAB but they are always engaged and I have tried ringing HMRC who say I will get a call in 48 hours.

Have I done something wrong?

System

It's basically to confirm you're not a 'US person'

The US tax their citizens and permanent residents on their worldwide income and has been cracking down on those people keeping funds abroad.

The UK doesn't do this with all the non-dom and other freeloading leeches.

silentkiller wrote: »

I have had a letter from Metro Bank saying I need to fill in a self certification FATCA form with my tax code etc.

I have tried doing some research and it all seems to relate to having a foreign account, not being a resident or something like that.

I am British, I have never not been in Britain living and do not have any foreign accounts. I am really confused by this.

silentkiller

So it's nothing to worry about and I should just fill it in as normal?

gagahouse

silentkiller wrote: »

So it's nothing to worry about and I should just fill it in as normal?

Nothing to worry about if you're not a 'US person'. Stupidly, our governments agreed to be unpaid tax information collectors for the US government and the burden falls on individuals and financial institutions to certify everyone globally on behalf of the US IRS.

Archi_Bald

gagahouse wrote: »

Stupidly, our governments agreed to be unpaid tax information collectors for the US government and the burden falls on individuals and financial institutions to certify everyone globally on behalf of the US IRS.

It wasn't a stupid agreement, it is part and parcel of the G20 agreement to share information that is needed to control / eliminate tax evasion.

Metrobank, being owned by some American, is probably at the forefront of chasing things for the IRS, alongside the likes of Citibank.

OP, I would just return the form after having scribbled on on something like "I am not a US citizen and have no assets or investments in the US" (assuming this is the case).

henm2

For useful advice about FATCA and filling in the forms see this link from First Direct
http://www1.firstdirect.com/1/2/fatca

EdSwippet

Archi_Bald wrote: »

It wasn't a stupid agreement, it is part and parcel of the G20 agreement to share information that is needed to control / eliminate tax evasion.

Nope. The concentration on, and specific questioning about, US 'taxable person' status is a unilateral US law, enforced on non-US banks and countries by the financial equivalent of gunboat diplomacy on the part of the US. The UK was indeed craven enough to instantly capitulate, and as a result UK and other non-US banks will pay compliance costs that far exceed any extra tax collected (solely by the US, I should add).

The G20 common reporting standard is something separate, and altogether more sensible since it drops the requirement to track citizenships, concentrating instead on the international norm of taxing by residency. Notably, the US has not signed on to that one. One can only speculate why (perhaps Delaware and Nevada themselves being two of the largest tax havens could have something to do with it).

stclair

I've had a letter regarding this from first direct today.

EdSwippet

stclair wrote: »

I've had a letter regarding this from first direct today.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-scout-troop-told-fill-8619095

Welsh Scout troop told to fill in US tax form before it can open UK bank account
...
Monmouth MP David Davies said: “I am amazed that British citizens are being forced to fill out forms for the US revenue service."

Mr Davies really should not be amazed. Not even surprised. His government passed the legislation that requires exactly this.

teamwork

I received this same form today 9th March - bizarrely the letter is dated 9 March so Metrobank seem to future date their letters as it was posted on 6 March.

Full name is "Tax Compliance - International Exchange of Information Agreement - Individual Self-Certification."

The USA is the only country that taxes its citizens who live abroad on income that they earn while living abroad. A famous high-profile case was Boris Johnson who paid Capital Gains Tax on a property he sold to the UK HMRC and then had to pay it again to the US IRS because he had a US passport.

What a waste of British resources and time for every customer to have to fill this in - Metrobank has about 250,000 accounts and they have to write to everyone and waste our time writing back to them.

colsten

teamwork wrote: »

The USA is the only country that taxes its citizens who live abroad on income that they earn while living abroad.

I got news for you - the USA is not the only country that does this. I perosnally know of a German national who has been a resident (for tax purposes) of the UK for 34 years and has diligently been paying all their taxes, on their worldwide income, in the UK for the last 34 years. This didn't stop the German tax authorities to suddenly start, in 2013, demanding tax returns and sending the sort of threatening letters only tax authorities, the M a f i a and ISIS manage to send. Never mind double-taxation agreements or the EU, national tax authorities are relentlessly going after every penny they could possibly squeeze out of their citizens.

I suppose it will be increasingly common that ordinary Joe Bloggs people will be pursued by the authorities of their native countries for taxes.

I don't envy people caught up in the midst of these tax demands. It will be interesting to see what will eventually prevail - the greed of national tax authorities or the right of people to keep a reasonable %age of their gross income in whatever country they happened to have a legal employment in.

Good luck to those lucky enough to have to fight the taxman in their country of birth!:D