Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

() (): On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee's Report 140: Treaty tabled on 13 May 2014: Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America to Improve International Tax Compliance and Implement FATCA—interim report.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

Today I present the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties Report 140, an interim report on the committee's inquiry into the agreement between the government of Australia and the government of the United States of America to improve international tax compliance and implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA.

The agreement is an unusual treaty action in that it has been negotiated to assist Australian businesses in complying with a United States tax law.

FATCA comes into effect on 1 July 2014.

To ensure the agreement and its related legislation is in place by that date, the Treasurer, the Hon. Joe Hockey MP, wrote to the committee to request that the committee expedite its consideration of this agreement.

If the 1 July deadline is not met, Australian financial institutions with interests in the United States will be faced with either significant compliance costs associated with FATCA or a withholding tax of 30 per cent on income derived in the United States.

The committee, despite reservations about the agreement, appreciates that it must make the best of a less than satisfactory situation.

Accordingly, the committee resolved to support the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America to Improve International Tax Compliance and Implement FATCA and recommend that binding treaty action be taken.

The committee will table a final report on its inquiry into this agreement in due course.

On behalf of the committee, I commend the report to the House.