Articles
Gain deeper insight with articles that give our considered opinion and predictions of where the industry will go next.
Muinmos and TConsult ink deal over digital investor tax self-declarations
Muinmos and TConsult have signed an agreement to integrate TConsult’s Investor Self-Declaration platform (ISD) into Muinmos’ Client Onboarding Platform, enabling Muinmos’ clients, typically financial institutions, to automatically obtain ISDs instead of using multiple paper tax certification forms to document the tax status of their clients.
Training: The QI’s Achilles’ Heel
Training is an essential component of your obligations as a QI. In this article we explore what the QI Agreement says about training and how we can help you to deliver cost-effective training to everyone in your firm with a role in QI compliance.
Announcing the Tax Compliance Toolkit Training Academy
We are delighted to officially announce the launch of the Tax Compliance Toolkit Training Academy with our debut course: QI Essentials.
This course provides a foundation level understanding of the U.S. qualified intermediary regime and the role you play in helping your firm to be compliant with the terms of the QI Agreement. Find out how you can access the training...
Argentina becomes latest jurisdiction to sign an IGA with the USA
The latest FATCA news is that Argentina has signed a Model 1A IGA with the US. We consider what this means for Argentine financial institutions.
The New QI Agreement 2023: What it means for you (Webinar Recording)
A new QI Agreement is due to be released in January 2023, including new obligations for qualified intermediaries that allow their clients to own interests in publicly traded partnerships.
We hosted a webinar on 8th December for financial institutions in Taiwan and Hong Kong to explain the implications of these proposed changes. Watch the recording now...
Saudi Arabia KYC Rule Approval: What it means for you (Webinar Recording)
Saudi Arabia’s KYC rules were approved by the IRS earlier this year, which means that all Saudi Arabian financial institutions are now eligible to apply for QI status.
We hosted a webinar on 30th November for financial institutions in Saudi Arabia to explain the benefits of becoming a QI. Watch the recording now...
DTC 1042-S Announcements
The DTC has recently launched a new service called the 1042-S Announcement service.
This article is an opinion editorial (op-ed) providing our personal interpretation of the impact of the new service.
Periodic Review and Certification: QIs in Taiwan Take Note
Many financial institutions in Taiwan became qualified intermediaries in 2018 and 2019 and are now approaching their first periodic review.
Find out what you need to consider when selecting a reviewer…
Are AML and CFT Based Practices for Validation of Tax Residency Inadequate for AEoI CRS Purposes?
Marco Zawar shares his views on why Anti Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorsism related due diligence measures in Hong Kong are insufficient to meet financial institutions’ AML/KYC requirements under AEoI/CRS…
CorpActions2018 (London)
September 24, 2018TConsult's chairman, Ross McGill, will be appearing as a panelist at CorpActions2018 in London on Wednesday 3rd October alongside Mariano Giralt from BNY Mellon and Paola Deantoni from SG Securities Services to discuss tax and reporting, including inefficient withholding tax collection procedures, communication flow issues across cross-border capital markets, tax evasion regulation, where the responsibility for failures lies, and entitlements.Read more
Tax Congress for Financial Institutions (London)
September 17, 2018TConsult's chairman, Ross McGill, will be appearing as a panelist at the Tax Congress for Financial Institutions in London on Wednesday 19th September alongside Peter Grant from KPMG and Kevin Custis from Rathbones to discuss KYC, AML, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion in the Digital Age.Read more
FATCA Failures: Holistic compliance or just full of holes?
July 9, 2018In the last eighteen months we’ve conducted compliance reviews in five countries on twelve Tier 2 and Tier 3 financial institutions. In this post, we unpick the strategies we have seen firms use to approach their QI and FATCA obligations, and highlight the problems we have observed when firms fail to take a holistic approach to compliance.Read more
Your ‘Bible’ to Compliance
May 31, 2018The road to compliance is never ending and the IRS have certainly given us some interesting scenery to admire as we traverse the QI regulatory landscape. In this post we discuss the importance of a living compliance program, and highlight some of the IRS announcements that need to be reflected in your policies and procedures if you want to remain fully compliant.Read more
Validating W-8 Forms: Cultivating an Eye for Detail
March 12, 2018We are often asked what constitutes a consequential or an inconsequential error when validating a W-8 form. Some errors are obviously consequential, but what happens if an error appears relatively trivial, such as an incorrect date format? In this post, we explore how you can assess the risks involved and make a judgement about whether to reject or validate a W-8 form.Read more
I speak English, French and FATCA
February 8, 2018Acronyms have two main uses: to facilitate efficient communication between professionals within a given discipline where the long form of technical terms would be unwieldy, and to create a barrier to communication - a secret language that you can only understand if you are within the profession. In this post, Ross McGill gives a quick guide to the acronyms of FATCA.Read more
GATCA: A Practical Guide to Global Anti-Tax Evasion Frameworks
December 8, 2017TConsult's subject matter experts Ross McGill, Chris Haye and Stuart Lipo have written a new book providing a practical guide to global anti-tax evasion frameworks. In this post, Stuart describes the context for the book...Read more
Are FATCA’s Dissenters Tilting at Windmills?
November 8, 2017Like Don Quixote, FATCA’s dissenters may have misidentified their enemy. So what is the problem with FATCA and what might happen if the anti-FATCA movement succeed in getting it repealed?Read more
The Challenges of GATCA
November 8, 2017The global anti-tax evasion frameworks that comprise GATCA have as many commonalities as they have differences, so it makes sense to approach regulatory compliance in a holistic fashion. In this post, we explore how smaller firms are responding to the pressures of compliance...Read more
FATCA Misconceptions
November 8, 2017For some within the industry, the mere mention of ‘FATCA’ is enough to spark compliance-nightmare flashbacks. The ever unpopular FATCA regulations have now been with us for seven years. But, despite its relative longevity, there are a surprising number of misconceptions surrounding FATCA....Read more
