Canada Signs FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement With The United States

Canada and the United States announced on February 5, 2014, that they had signed a long-awaited intergovernmental agreement (Canada–U.S. IGA) that dramatically expands the sharing of tax-related information between the countries. The agreement modifies the U.S. tax reporting and withholding provisions commonly referred to as the "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act" (FATCA) as these provisions apply to Canadian financial intermediaries. The Canada–U.S. IGA must be ratified by Canada to come into force. Canada also released draft legislation on February 5 that would ratify and implement the Canada–U.S. IGA. Comments on this legislation are being accepted until March 10, 2014.

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