FATCA doesn’t change any substantive tax rights that the United States or in the foreign country has in respect of its citizens or residents, nor does it require us to act as a tax collection agent for the United States Internal Revenue Service.
It is a reporting regime to make sure that U.S. persons (and foreign countries with accounts in the U.S.) meet their tax obligations.
By concluding an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States, no individual’s accounts held with New Zealand financial institutions (even those accounts held by U.S. taxpayers) will be subject to the 30% penalty imposed by the U.S. FATCA legislation.
In accordance with the IGA, agreed between the foreign country and the U.S., relevant account information will be collected by financial institutions.
If you’re concerned about whether your information will be subject to FATCA reporting, you should contact your financial institution or tax advisor in the first instance.
Not all accounts held by U.S. taxpayers will be reported on. For example, if a U.S. taxpayer has a ‘standard’ depository account, it will not be reported if it has a balance of less than US $50,000 (after any aggregation) or the equivalent in foreign currency.