handbook-tb

Transparency and disclosureIn some cases, efforts to combat corruption prompted the pushfor transparency and disclosure initiatives. Where transparency anddisclosure serve an anti-corruption role, the public release of disclosedinformation can be important. Not surprisingly, the nature and scopeof any public disclosure of taxpayer data has generated debate andobjection in the business community.Although the issue of public disclosure of taxpayer informationhas been raised by some advocates in the context of BEPS (see section3.3.5.4 above), the OECD does not anticipate that Action 13 files wouldbe made available to the public. But corruption concerns have surfacedas a possible factor in the limited collection of income tax in somecountries, and public disclosure of at least some information in themaster file, CbC template and/or local file could play a role in improvingtax enforcement.4.5 Intergovernmental agreements and relateddevelopmentsIn 2010, the United States enacted the Foreign Account Tax ComplianceAct (FATCA). 59 Prompted by the number of United States taxpayersusing offshore financial accounts to avoid United States income tax,the new legislation effectively requires a wide range of financial institutions(foreign and domestic) to provide data to the United Statesregarding its taxpayers who hold accounts at those institutions. TheFATCA legislation imposes due diligence and reporting burdens onthese third-party entities, and failure to comply can result in negativeUnited States tax consequences for the financial institutions’ ownUnited States source income.In an effort to streamline compliance for foreign financialentities required to report under FATCA, and to address variousreporting required by 1 July 2014. See also final United Kingdom regulations,available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3118/made, and finalUnited Kingdom guidance, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-requirements-country-by-country-reporting-regulations-2013-guidance/capital-requirements-country-by-country-reportingregulations-2013-guidance.59United States Internal Revenue Code, sections 1471-1474.553