American officials brush off concerns that information-sharing might undermine data security
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act was passed by America’s Congress in 2010, it was overshadowed by the jobs bill into which it had been shoehorned as a revenue-raising provision. But of the two,packed the stronger punch. The law, designed to stop Americans stashing money abroad to evade tax, ushered in a global revolution in financial transparency. It forced banks worldwide to start coughing up, via their tax agencies, information on clients with links to America.
A woman known only as Jenny, represented by Mishcon de Reya, a British law firm, is trying to raise £50,000 on a crowdfunding site to challenge the right of, Britain’s tax authority, to pass her information on to America’s Internal Revenue Service .
’s objective—to catch tax evaders—because she earns less than $104,000 and thus qualifies for an income-tax exemption under American rules.. A group called the Association of Accidental Americans brought a case in France, but it was dismissed. An anti-lawsuit in America, backed by Rand Paul, a Republican senator, was tossed out in 2017 on the ground that America’s constitution provides no expectation of privacy regarding financial records.
Mr Noseda sees Jenny’s claim as an important test case which, if successful, could spawn others. Another client of Mishcon de Reya has complained to Britain’s data-protection regulator about. The law firm has also been instructed by a European company to look at ways of challenging national public registers of corporate ownership. With registers “it’s the same argument but more so, since the information is shared not just with tax authorities, but everyone,” says Mr Noseda.
Anti-corruption campaigners pooh-pooh such efforts, which they view as doomed rearguard actions by a tax-averse elite. But Mr Noseda insists it is about more than minimising tax bills: “There is a big tension between transparency and privacy, and we need to find the right balance.”section of the print edition under the headline
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Sales Tax Rules Take Effect This Week In More Than A Dozen StatesChanges in sales tax compliance laws for remote sellers and marketplace in more than a dozen states kicked in beginning October 1, 2019.
Read more »
Carrie Lam invokes emergency laws in Hong KongThe emergency laws allow the chief executive to issue “any regulations whatsoever” in case of “emergency or public danger”
Read more »
DOJ to Weigh In on Challenge to New York Allowing Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented ImmigrantsThe U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to weigh in on a legal challenge to a New York state law that allows illegal immigrants to apply for a driver’s license.
Read more »
Supreme Court to hear Louisiana abortion case in first test for conservative majorityBREAKING: Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The case will be the first involving abortion for the court's new majority of justices.
Read more »
Powell says economy in good place but it's facing some risks and challengesFederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday sounded upbeat about the economy, but noted it's facing some risks and challenges. 'Overall [the...
Read more »
Islamophobic extremist group ACT for America to hold annual gala at Trump's Mar-a-LagoACT for America—which calls itself as 'the nation's largest national security grassroots organization'—was described as 'the face of bigotry' by the New York Civil Liberties Union in 2017.
Read more »