In the years since the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and then the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) were implemented as Parts XVIII and XIX of the Income Tax Act, respectively, Canadian financial institutions have worked hard to develop and implement systems, policies and procedures to ensure they comply with these complementary information reporting regimes. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is ready to start auditing that compliance and recently provided an update on its audit plans.
Although we have known that FATCA and CRS audits were on the horizon, we now have a more definitive timeline. The CRA has been open in sharing information with the financial services industry, effectively providing a roadmap for successfully dealing with a CRA audit. Financial institutions should take action to ensure that they are FATCA and CRS compliant.
Read more in this PwC Tax Insights.