On 17 January, the US Treasury Department released the final regulations implementing the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The final regulations make significant revisions to the proposed regulations released in February of last year, addressing concerns raised by commentators. The final regulations narrow the application of FATCA, coordinate the US rules with intergovernmental agreements and also extend the grandfathering period for certain obligations. Some questions remain unanswered, and additional developments are expected in 2013. However, with the final FATCA regulations in place, the way is clear for FATCA withholding to begin on 1 January 2014.
