All Expats Could Soon Feel the FATCA Pinch

Flickr Photo Credit - Steve Johnson

If you're an American citizen then you may be very aware of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) if you are not an American, now may be the time for you to get educated because the UK and Russia are rolling-out their own versions of FATCA.

FATCA requires American citizens, including Americans living outside of the Unite States, to report their financial accounts held outside of the US. The act also requires foreign banks to report information about their American clients to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Thailand Business Law: Attorneys at Chaninat & Leeds are experts in company registration and business law

FATCA makes life for American citizens living abroad more difficult, so difficult that some Americans have considered giving up their citizenships. It has also recently been reported that American’s are increasingly being denied accounts at international banks as the financial institutions are reluctant to track and report data to the IRS as FATCA requires.

According to Thailawforum, the UK and Russia have recently drawn up their own versions of the tax law based on the American system. All expats should be aware, they too may begin to feel the pinch from their own government tax collection agencies.

Read more here.

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Free Media in Russia Targeted in New Foreign Ownership Regulation

In a move to reportedly counteract the “information war” against Russia, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a regulation requiring all media companies in Russia to be at least 80 percent Russian-owned, according to The Telegraph.

 

Putin signed the law—which critics are viewing as a further assault on independent, liberal, and free press in Russia—in early October to protect Russia’s national security in the information sphere, according to The Telegraph.

Chaninat and Leeds’ Thailand company registration lawyers have been registering limited companies and partnerships for Thais and foreigners since 1997.

The Telegraph reports that Forbes, GQ, Esquire, Vedomosti, and The Moscow Times are a few of the international, foreign majority owned companies producing Russian publications that will have to sell off Russian assets by February 2017 to continue publishing in Russia under the new rules.

Story source:

The Telegraph – Vladimir Putin cracks down on press with new law against foreign ownership

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Russia Retaliates Against Western Sanctions: Bill to Seize Foreign-Owned Assets Reconsidered, Put to Vote

A bill to allow the government to seize foreign-owned assets to pay back individuals and companies impacted by Western sanctions was reintroduced to Russia’s Parliament for deliberation after one billionaire businessman loses his $40 million estate in Italy over Western sanctions, reports the International Business Times.

The U.S. and EU imposed sanctions against Russia in September over its role in the ongoing war in Ukraine. According to IBT the sanctions were intended to target Russian President Vladimir Putin’s close allies in an effort to increase pressure on Putin.

The professional business lawyers at Chaninat and Leeds specialize in company registration in Thailand for Thai and international corporations and startup ventures.

Though the Russian Parliament’s lower house approved the draft bill—called the “Rotenberg Law”—in October, it must pass several more rounds of voting before being signed into law.

Critics of the bill claim, according to IBT, that it would only help the wealthy elite at the expense of the “ordinary Russias,” and could potentially cause more economic harm than good.

Read the full story:
Russian Law Proposes Foreign Asset Seizures To Compensate Those Affected By Ukraine Sanctions

World Bank Competition: BRICS Nations Create New Bank and $100 Billion Reserve

According to the Bangkok Post, the BRICS nation’s leaders introduced their international financial institutions made to rival the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. 

The New Development Bank and $100 billion Contingent Reserve Arrangement are equally backed by each nation—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—regardless of size, population, or GDP. Together these countries represent 40 percent of the world population and a fifth of the global economy.

The Thailand company lawyers at Chaninat & Leeds have decades of experience in business litigation to help companies throughout Thailand achieve a variety of business obligations and needs.  

The bank, which will be headquartered in Shanghai, will help emerging and developing nations mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects, according to the BRICS statement.

The need for these new international financial institutions rose from a need to “increase the representations and voice of developing countries," said Chinese President Xi Jinping, reports the Bangkok Post.

Read the full story here.