About the Common Reporting Standard (CRS)
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a tax reporting instrument that forms an integral part of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI).
The AEOI enables tax administrations to automatically share information with each other to ensure that taxpayers pay the right amount of tax to the right jurisdiction. A key aspect of making tax administrations ready for the challenges of the 21st century is equipping them with the necessary legal, administrative and IT tools for verifying tax compliance.
The CRS is the agreed global standard for AEOI, approved by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in February 2014. Ireland is one of over 100 countries that have signed up to CRS.
The CRS allows tax authorities to obtain information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with other jurisdictions’ authorities on an annual basis. It sets out the financial account information to be exchanged, the financial institutions required to report, the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered, as well as common due diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions.
WHO IS AFFECTED BY THIS?
AEOI mainly affects individuals and entities including companies, trusts, etc. that are not tax resident in Ireland and who hold accounts in Financial Institutions in Ireland. Revenue requires Irish Financial Institutions to identify Account Holders (both individuals and entities) who are not tax resident in Ireland or are US citizens and report certain financial information to Revenue.
Once received by Revenue, the information may be exchanged with the tax authority of the jurisdiction in which the Account Holder is tax resident.
SAVVI CREDIT UNION ACCOUNT OPENING
The first step in AEOI relates to the collection of the information to be exchanged. Financial Institutions are required to carry out specific steps to firstly identify individuals or entities which should be reported and secondly report the information securely to Revenue.
Revenue requires Financial Institutions (FIs) to collect the country of residence and the Tax Identification Number (TIN) for all non-resident customers, not only residents of jurisdictions with which Ireland has an exchange of information agreement.
Revenue will use the country-of-origin code to determine with which partner jurisdictions data should be exchanged and will delete any data which is not exchanged.
(This is provided for in Section 891F of the Taxes Consolidation Act and S.I. No. 583 of 2015.)
Savvi Credit Union collects TIN and Country of Residence information at account opening. This is a self-certification form that is included in the Member Account Opening Form.
SAVVI CREDIT UNION PRE-EXISTING ACCOUNTS
A Pre-existing account is an account that was opened before 1 January 2016. In these circumstances the Financial Institution will review the information they have on file relating to you. The Financial Institution may also contact you for further information, or to verify the information held by them.
You may also be asked to “self-certify” the jurisdiction in which you are tax resident.
SAVVI CREDIT UNION ANNUAL REPORTING
On an annual basis Savvi Credit Union is required to report certain Account Holder information to Revenue which may include some or all of the following:
- Your name, address, foreign Tax Identification Number (TIN), date of birth, place of birth (where) and your Account number
- The account balance or value at year end.
- Payments made with respect to your account during the calendar year.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DATA IS SHARED WITH REVENUE
Only information that is legally required to be reported to Revenue will be included on the return, and Revenue will only exchange that information with another jurisdiction where there is a legal agreement to do so.
The use of information received by tax authorities via AEOI is restricted under the terms of exchange agreements and administrations are required to treat the information in the same manner as if it was received by the tax authority under their domestic laws.
The information exchanged can only be used for tax purposes such as the collection and assessment of tax and disclosed to persons or authorities such as courts or administrative bodies concerned with these functions.
Tax authorities are also required to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure information received pursuant to the agreements remains confidential.
WHAT IF THE INFORMATION IS NOT PROVIDED
Savvi Credit Union is legally obliged to obtain specific information from Account Holders when accounts are being opened. If this information is not provided, Savvi Credit Union is not in a position to open an account.
WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION
Check out the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) portal on the Irish Revenue website or contact Revenue at aeoi@revenue.ie.
The Irish Revenue website also has information to help determine tax residency.
You can find further information on the OECD website about the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI).