‘Database’ of 118 local firms compiled so far under FATCA

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Finance has no clue about number of people covered

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 24: Unconfirmed statistics indicate there are about 13,000 Kuwaitis holding US citizenship and they have the option now to file bank and tax statements and benefit from the tax reconciliation program or make a formal request to the US embassy or consulate in Kuwait to renounce the US citizenship, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to reliable sources the Ministry of Finance has compiled to date a database of 118 companies operating locally, obliged to prepare reports showing their obligations in relation to the requirements of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) for the identification of Americans, who have external accounts (outside the United States) before the set deadline of end of September.

The sources indicated that the US tax authority received date for 2015 which includes more than 24 thousand files. The sources pointed out, the high number of files is a result of the number of companies that have submitted the data of people who have accounts in more than one bank, sometimes in more than one company. As for the number of Kuwaitis who hold dual nationalities (US and Kuwaiti) and the position of the Ministry of Finance in dealing with them legally for holding additional nationality, the sources denied the ministry has any clue about the number of those who will be covered by FATCA as the reports that are filed are encrypted, that is to say only the US authority has the right to review it.

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