LOC18:52
15:52 GMT
KUWAIT, April 22 (KUNA) -- All countries that are signatories to the FATCA agreement are committed to provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States with all required information by next September, said the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.
Any tardiness in providing the information will be a matter between the Ministry of Finance and the IRS, the ministry said in a statement.
The local committee in charge of concluding the FATCA agreement with the IRS was working hard to meet any IRS deadlines in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank, the Capital Markets Authority, the Union of Banks, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, it added
The committee, once done with official procedures and protocols regarding FATCA, would have to get constitutional approbation and lawmakers' endorsement before a final agreement was reached with the IRS, said the statement.
Any bank or financial institution that did not comply properly with the requirements of FATCA would be subject to financial fines and punitive measures, said the statement.
The Ministry of Finance encourages all banks and financial institutions to register on the IRS website as required by the FATCA Agreement.
FATCA is a US law which requires world banks and financial institutions to send to the US Treasury information about accounts they hold that belong to US citizens whose income earnings exceed USD 50,000 in any given year. Banks that do not supply that information will be exposed to penalties. FATCA applies to banks, financial firms, and insurance companies. (end)
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