Treasury has invited submissions on the advantages and disadvantages of an intergovernmental agreement between Australia and the US, based on the published US Model, as an alternative to individual agreements between Australian financial institutions and the US Internal Revenue Service.

The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is intended to assist US efforts to improve compliance with US tax laws and will impose certain due diligence and reporting and tax withholding obligations on foreign (non-US) financial institutions and fund managers who deal with US persons.

The Australian Government is exploring the feasibility of an intergovernmental agreement with the US to minimise compliance costs for Australian stakeholders.