U.S. and Switzerland Amend Intergovernmental Agreement under FATCA

The Swiss Government announced that it has entered into an agreement with the United States to amend the Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") between Switzerland and the United States to reflect the extension of FATCA deadlines announced by the United States in July 12, 2013. The Swiss IGA that was signed on February 14, 2013, reflected the original January 1, 2014, effective date for FATCA withholding and registration. In July 2013, the United States postponed the effective date for most obligations under FATCA to July 1, 2014. This amendment changes the effective dates of the IGA and its Annexes to conform to the new July 1, 2014, effective date. The Swiss IGA is a Model 2 form agreement whereby Swiss financial institutions must register with the IRS and provide certain account information directly to the IRS. Under the amended IGA, registration of Swiss financial institutions must be finalized by July 1, 2014.

See: Amendment to U.S.-Swiss IGA.Related News: UK Issues Revised Guidance Notes under FATCA (August 27, 2013); Cayman Islands Concludes FATCA IGA and New Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the United States (August 14, 2013).