IMA proposes 'local exemption' to bypass US tax hit

Last week the deadline passed for responses to the second notice from the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) on FATCA, or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, designed to prevent offshore tax evasion.  Stephen Lynam, the head of tax at the IMA, said the association is lobbying for changes which would see funds that use local distributors exempt from the rules. He said the latest notice on FATCA from the IRS outlined a potential exemption for local banks. “We are saying, why limit it to banks that are only selling to locals? Why not widen it out?” The IMA’s submission to the IRS reads:...