Canadian banks to be compelled to share clients’ info with U.S.

“Starting next July, Canadian banks will be required to ask anyone opening a new account if they are now, or ever have been, an American ‘person.’ It comes at the behest of the U.S. government and its efforts to ‘smoke out’ tax dodgers. The Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2010 and comes into force July 1, 2014. The law forces all banks and other financial institutions outside the U.S. to search for customers who have certain ‘indicia.’ Those are markers that show the person may be a U.S. citizen or a former permanent resident who, under U.S. law, must file income tax returns to Uncle Sam no matter where they reside in the world.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-banks-to-be-compelled-to-share-clients-info-with-u-s-1.2437975