FATCA discussions welcomed by FSC

  It is great to hear some talks have begun as this is a major issue. the imposition of the IRS on financial institutions will be an expensive and time consuming exercise. It also raises some issues about confidentiality and privacy.

I am also not sure that how many people are unaware that income from pensions and superannuation funds held by US citizens in Australia are taxable in the US. Even if the funds were entirely funded by Australian earnings.

  It isn't just income from superfunds that is taxable to the account holder, the contributions and earnings are also taxable income on a US tax return.

How do we get superfunds to issue reports on a calendar year basis? Statements straddling two financial years are difficult, if not impossible, to produce, but without them we tax preparers will have to require clients to give us both years of statements, then we have to go through every single transaction, convert the currency and add it all up to go on the tax return. This will make even a simple wage earner return take an estimated 20-30 hours to complete. The fees required to cover costs will make compliance a VERY expensive necessity for taxpayers.