IMBO Magazine Issue 33: One Love | Page 89

" O X F A M E S T I M AT E D T H AT US $18.5 TRILLION WAS H I D D E N A W AY B Y W E A LT H Y P E O P L E I N TA X H A V E N S . " of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2010. The Act only came into effect in 2014 and requires foreign banks to disclose the identity and details of Americans with foreign accounts of over US $50,000. Non-compliance faces the sanction of being frozen from the United States market, a potentially apocalyptic blow to financial institutions. According to Forbes Magazine over 145,000 financial institutions have now registered through the US Internal Revenue Service FACTA system, with the United States now having 110 intergovernmental agreements either signed or agreed to in accordance with FACTA. South Africa itself agreed to put FACTA into effect during June of last year. It might be premature to predict that the days of tax havens are numbered. What is clear is that governments have realised how, by working together and sharing information with one another - they stand a better chance of catching those who stop them from receiving their proportional piece of the cake. After all, death and taxes have to come from somewhere… right? 89 IMBO/ ISSUE 32/ '14