Tunisie Valeurs announces that it is FATCA Compliant institution. Tunisie Valeurs may request additional information from its customers under FATCA rules and regulation.
Tunisie Valeurs is in no position to deliver any Tax advice or opinion regarding its clients tax status under FATCA rules.
Tunisie Valeurs is registered with the Internal Revenue Service of the United States as Participating FI not covered by an IGA
(GIIN: MWD7I9.99999.SL.788).
FATCA stands for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. It is a new piece of legislation to help counter tax evasion in the US. Introduced by the United States Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the US Internal Revenue Service(IRS), the purpose of FATCA is to encourage better tax compliance by preventing US persons (see glossary) from using brokers and other financial organisations to avoid US taxation on their income and assets.
A significant number of countries worldwide are expected to sign inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) relating to FATCA compliance with the United States government. These IGAs will result in the FATCA legislation becoming part of these countries’ local laws (please refer to the glossary for IGA definition).
On an annual basis, brokers and other financial organisations will be required to report information on financial accounts held directly or indirectly by US persons.
Tunisie Valeurs is committed to being fully FATCA compliant in all countries where we operate. We will therefore be reviewing our existing customer base to confirm the FATCA statuses of our customers and where necessary we may have to contact our customers for further information and documentation.
FATCA legislation affects both personal and business customers who are treated as a US person (see glossary) for US tax purposes. The FATCA legislation also affects certain types of businesses withUS owners.
The term ‘US person’ includes the following (but is not limited to):
The FATCA legislation became effective on 1 July 2014.
Tunisie Valeurs is committed to being fully FATCA compliant in all countries where we operate, in accordance with the legislative timeline.
To comply with FATCA, Tunisie Valeurs will:
FATCA legislation impacts both personal and business customers who hold an account, policy or agreement with Tunisie Valeurs. Please refer to the appropriate section below for further information.
No. If an individual’s account holds any of the following seven criteria, Tunisie Valeurs may request further information or documentation to determine if you are a US person under FATCA.
If you are considered a US person (see glossary), you may be asked to supply Tunisie Valeurs with additional information or documentation. You may also wish to visit the IRS website: External site: Link opens in an overlay to determine if you need to complete and submit any additional IRS forms.
If you are a specified US person (see glossary), Tunisie Valeurs will be required to report information about you and your account to the local tax authority or the IRS on anannual basis.
Whilst we will correspond with affected customers in due course, Tunisie Valeurs cannot offer any advice relating to FATCA and we recommend that you contact a professional tax advisor to discuss your personal tax situation.
For most customers, FATCA has minimal impact, and there will be no action required.
However, Tunisie Valeurs may still contact you to confirm your status as a non-US person if we have reason to believe you are potentially a US person for FATCA purposes.
FATCA does not replace the existing US tax regimes, it may however add additional requirements and complexity to the existing US tax rules you may already follow. We recommend you contact a professional tax advisor to discuss your personal tax situation.
A joint account which has one US owner is treated as a US account and therefore the entire account is subject to the FATCA legislation.
FATCA is an ongoing process. If your account information changes, we may be required to contact you to obtain additional information or documentation so that we are able to update your account classification under FATCA.
The information reported to the IRS or local tax authority will depend on the FATCA classification of the customer.
This information will typically be of a personal nature (for example, name, address, US taxpayer identification number), and of a financial nature (for example, account number, account balance, amounts paid into the account).We will be communicating with the affected customers in detail on these requirements.
No. The impacts of FATCA are wider than just US companies. Tunisie Valeurs will be reaching out to many business customers globally to determine their status under FATCA. The aim of this exercise is to identify customers which are reportable under FATCA. We will be communicating with customers who will need to take further action.
In order to establish your tax status under FATCA, we may need you to provide additional information or documentation. This documentation could be a Tunisie Valeurs declaration or a US tax form from the IRS. We will be communicating with affected customers that need to complete these forms, detailing when they will need to be completed by.
FATCA does not replace the existing US tax regimes, it may however add additional requirements and complexity to the existing US tax rules you may already follow. Should you need further advice on your tax status or FATCA classification, you should contact a professional tax advisor.
The way in which brokers and financial organisations collect information from their customers in order to confirm their tax status under FATCA may vary. This may mean that in some instances you are asked for different documentation from Tunisie Valeurs than from another broker. Tunisie Valeurs cannot offer advice on your FATCA tax status or classification. If you need further support you should visit the IRS website: External site: Link opens in an overlay or contact a professional tax advisor.
FATCA is an ongoing process. If your account information changes, we may be required to contact you to obtain additional information or documentation so that we are able to update your account classification under FATCA.
The purpose of FATCA is to prevent US persons (see glossary) from using brokers and other financial organisations to avoid US taxation on their global income and assets. Tunisie Valeurs will therefore report information to the IRS or local tax authority on all accounts held directly or indirectly by US persons. In addition, Tunisie Valeurs may also need to report information about customers who do not provide the required documentation to us.
The information reported to the IRS or local tax authority will depend on the FATCA classification of the customer. This information will typically be of a personal nature in relation to the substantial US owners of a business (for example, name, address, US taxpayer identification number), and of a financial nature (for example, account number, account balance, amounts paid into the account). We will be communicating with the affected customers in detail on these requirements.
We will be communicating with the affected customers to provide full details of the information and documentation Tunisie Valeurs needs for FATCA purposes. Documents may include US tax forms (also referred to as withholding certificates or W forms) orself-declarations of FATCA status.
Yes. If Tunisie Valeurs requires further information from you, we will either send you the relevant forms or direct you to a website where you can download them.
In general, customers should supply the requested documentation and information by the date contained within the communication.
Tunisie Valeurs is committed to being fully FATCA compliant in all countries where we operate.
Tunisie Valeurs may not open new accounts or offer additional products and services to customers who choose not to comply with Tunisie Valeurs’ requests for documentation to establish a customer’s status under FATCA.
In accordance with the FATCA regulations, Tunisie Valeurs may exit the relationship with customers who decide not to provide the necessary information and documentation within the regulatory timeframe.
Tunisie Valeurs may need to report information about customers who do not provide the required documentation to us.
In addition, we may also be required to withhold tax on certain US source payments coming into your account (please refer to the glossary for withholding tax definition).
We will continue to review the impact of the legislation for our customers and will correspond with affected customers in due course. For more information regarding FATCA, please visit the IRS website, or contact your professional tax advisor for advice.
Please note that you may receive more than one request for documentation if you have multiple relationships with different members of Tunisie Valeurs. It is important that you respond to all requests, even if you believe you have already supplied the requested information.
Please note that Tunisie Valeurs is unable to offer tax advice. For tax related questions please contact your professional tax advisor or refer to the IRS website: External site: Link opens in an overlay.
FFI is the abbreviation for foreign financial institution. It refers to a non-US financial institution.
The FATCA legislation contains an extensive definition of FFI and includes entities such as banks, brokers, custodian institutions, investment funds and certain types of insurance companies.
FATCA legislation impacts both personal and business customers who hold an account, policy or agreement with Tunisie Valeurs. Please refer to the appropriate section below for further information.
Withholding certificates, also referred to as W forms, are US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms.
The W-9 form is a request for taxpayer identification number and certification.
This US tax form is provided by an account holder to confirm and certify their US status.
The W-8 series forms are currently used by foreign persons (including corporations) to certify their non-US status. The forms establish that one is a non-resident alien or foreign corporation, to avoid or reduce tax withholding from US source income. These forms will permit a non-US customer to self-certify their status under FATCA.
An IGA is an agreement between the US and specific countries to build FATCA compliance into the country’s legal framework so that the country can implement FATCA. An IGA will require financial institutions to provide the information on US accounts which they hold either:
The IRS is the United States government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law enforcement.
An NFFE (non-financial foreign entity) is a non-US incorporated/established entity that does not meet the definition of an FFI (foreign financial institution) and includes:
A US IRS specific term:
Tax identification number.
For an individual this would be their US social security number, for an entity their employer identification number.
The term specified US person means any US person other than:
The term US person means:
The term US citizen means:
A 30% withholding tax applies under FATCA on ‘withholdable payments’ in respect of financial institutions that do not comply with the FATCA requirements and/or customers who do not provide the requisite FATCA documentation. The term withholdable payment means:
Telephone: +216 71 189 600 / +216 71 189 661
Fax: +216 71 949 321
E-mail: fatca@tunisievaleurs.com