FATCA stands for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which is a United States law aimed at identifying U.S. persons who may not have met their U.S. tax obligations, by investing through foreign (non-U.S.) accounts - either directly or indirectly using foreign entities such as corporations and trusts. FATCA is a law that was passed March 2010 to focus on tax non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts.

FATCA may apply to both financial and non-financial operating companies, as well as individuals. FATCA impacts almost all non-U.S. entities, directly or indirectly, once there is proof of receiving U.S. source income, including gross proceeds from the sale or disposition of U.S. property, which can produce interest or dividends.

U.S. indicia are indicators that suggest that the account is owned by a client who is a U.S. person. These include the following:

• U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident (green card) status;
• A U.S. place of birth
• A U.S. residence address or a U.S. correspondence address (including a U.S. P.O. box);
• Standing instructions to transfer funds to an account maintained in the United States, or directions regularly received from a U.S. address;
• A U.S. telephone number that is the sole telephone number with respect to the client.
• An “in care of” address or a “hold mail” address that is the sole address with respect to the client. This is applicable to:-
  • New accounts opened at July 1, 2014
  • Pre-existing accounts having balances greater than US$1 million.
• A power of attorney or signatory authority granted to a person with a U.S. address.
• A company incorporated or organized in the U.S.
• A company with substantial owners (majority shareholders with more than 10% ownership) who are U.S. persons.
• Having one of these indicia does not mean that the account is owned by a U.S. person. You will be required to provide documentary evidence to indicate your status. If you are unsure of your U.S. tax status, please contact your tax advisor for further details.

No, unless there is an indication/ indicia on your account that you are a U.S. person. However, if there are U.S. indicia (citizenship, nationality, telephone number et al) on your account and you are not a U.S. person you are asked to provide documentary evidence to a JMMB representative. Once JMMB Group of companies has conducted the relevant due diligence checks and is sufficiently convinced that you are not a U.S. person, no reporting on your account will be necessary. If the proof requested is not provided to the respective JMMB company, then reporting on the account will be done.

FATCA should have no impact on you if you are not a U.S. person. However, there may be changes in the JMMB Group of Companies’ procedures as a result of FATCA which may require additional documentation even if you are an existing client.

If you are a U.S. person, you should complete the relevant documentation required by any representative of the JMMB Group of Companies. You may also be asked to provide additional information, such as the completed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) which will be kept on file by the respective JMMB company. Information about you and your account will be reported on an annual basis to the local tax authority of the corresponding JMMB company or the IRS depending on the IGA accepted. If you have complied with all of your U.S. reporting obligations, there should be no additional U.S. tax liability. You are reminded to consult your personal tax situation with your tax advisor for further guidance.

The documentation required will depend on whether you or a joint account holder is a U.S. person. The U.S. indicia table outlines the additional documentation which will be required based on the indicia on your account profile.

Download the Individual Indica table here

Clients who are considered U.S. persons/ entities may be required to complete forms in compliance with FATCA regulations. These forms may be accessed on the IRS website here

Yes. A U.S. citizen who lives outside the U.S. falls within the definition of a U.S. person for U.S. tax purposes. Foreign (non-U.S.) financial institutions (FFIs), including the JMMB Group of companies, will be required to identify the accounts of U.S. persons and identify them annually to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the local tax authority of the respective JMMB company to which you are a client. You should consult with a tax advisor to understand your U.S. reporting obligations and discuss your options.

Yes, a joint account that has one or more U.S. person(s) is treated as a U.S. account, and the entire account is subject to reporting, regardless of which client funds the account.

All clients with U.S. indicia on our records as at January 1, 2014 will be considered to be U.S. persons. However, if you are not a U.S. person and you provide the requisite form and documentary evidence your FATCA status can be changed. If you do not provide the required documents, your account is reportable to the local authorities.

FATCA took effect on July 1, 2014, and affects new and existing clients of financial institutions.

US $50,000. However, if there is a U.S. indicia (such as citizenship, nationality, telephone number et al) on your account then further examination will have to be made to that account. The threshold of US$50,000 (or its equivalent in other currencies) is applicable per account holder, which means that it is across accounts and the accumulated amount per account holder. This threshold may change in the future.

If you are a U.S. person and the accumulated balance on all your accounts meets the US$50,000 (or its equivalent) threshold at any time during the reporting period starting July 1, 2014, any JMMB company of which you are a client, will be required to report on your accounts in keeping with the law. This means that all accounts owned by you, jointly or otherwise, irrespective of the currency, will be reported once the accumulated value of the accounts is equivalent to US$50,000 or more at any time during the reporting period.

The JMMB Group of companies will continue to serve you with love and the highest level of client care that you have come to expect. The JMMB Group of companies will be required to address FATCA requirements for account identification and documentation, withholding and reporting. Some new processes will be introduced by the JMMB Group of companies in order to facilitate FATCA requirements as a compliant non-U.S. financial institution. JMMB Group of companies will make information regarding any changes to our procedures available to you. We do encourage you to discuss your personal tax situation with your tax advisor, for further guidance.

No, however, most of the companies with the exception of Capital and Credit Remittance Limited (CCRL)/ Reggae Money Express are impacted by FATCA. Therefore, regulations governing FATCA are applicable across all other JMMB Group of Companies in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Dominican Republic, as a financial institution with operations outside of the U.S. FATCA Law will, therefore affect the following JMMB companies:

In Jamaica

• Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited ( JMMB) JMMB Merchant Bank Ltd.
• JMMB Fund Managers Ltd
• JMMB Insurance Brokers Ltd
• JMMB Securities Ltd.
• Capital & Credit Securities Ltd.

In Trinidad & Tobago

• JMMB Bank (T&T) Limited
• Intercommercial Bank Trust & Merchant Bank Limited
• JMMB Investments (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited
• JMMB Securities (T&T) Limited

In Dominican Republic

• JMMB Puesto de Bolsa

Yes, FATCA applies to all types of financial accounts, including life insurance policies with a cash value and annuity contracts.

The JMMB Group of companies is expected to conduct additional due diligence on clients with indicia and reporting will only be required if it is confirmed that the account is held by a U.S. person.

Each JMMB company will need to undertake its own due diligence with its clients in respect of FATCA; and will maintain client documentation separately at this time. You may, therefore be asked to provide information related to FATCA to each JMMB company of which you are a client. We appreciate your patience.

For the 2014 calendar year (which are reported in 2015), JMMB Group of Companies will share the following information on reportable accounts:

• Name, address, and U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the U.S. person
• In the case of a U.S.-owned foreign entity the following will be reported: the name of the entity, address of the entity and TIN (if any) of the entity, and the name, address and TIN of each substantial U.S. owner, the account numbers and account balance/s or value at the end of the year (or immediately prior to account closure) of the substantial U.S. owner.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website provides additional information on FATCA, you may visit their website here

For advice on FATCA clients are encouraged to speak with a tax advisor or an attorney with expertise on tax matters.

JMMB Group of companies takes our clients' privacy and our commitment to maintaining this seriously while seeking to comply with privacy rules in all jurisdictions. All disclosures if any, will be within what is permissible by local laws and regulations.

IGA stands for Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs), which is an agreement between the local authorities and the U.S. allowing for non-U.S. financial institutions to report U.S. persons to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through a local authority.

Financial institutions will be required to identify and report accounts held by U.S. persons, or held by certain foreign entities in which U.S. persons hold a substantial interest. Foreign financial institutions (FFIs) will comply with FATCA in one of three ways:

• In countries without an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), FFIs will enter into agreements with, and report directly to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS);
• In countries with a Model 1 IGA, FFIs will comply under local legislation and report to their local tax authorities. In turn, the local tax authority will exchange information with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS);
• In countries with a Model 2 IGA, FFIs will comply with local legislation to enter into agreements with, and report directly to, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The JMMB Group of companies will be using one or a combination of one of the ways outlined to comply with FATCA requirements.

Most major financial institutions around the world are impacted by FATCA. The JMMB Group of Companies in its commitment to uphold its principles of integrity, will comply with the regulations stipulated by the law.

• In non-IGA countries, a 30% U.S. withholding tax will be deducted from U.S.-source payments (and potentially non-U.S. source payments in future) received by foreign financial institutions (FFIs), if they do not enter into FFI Agreements with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This includes payments received by FFIs either on their own account, or on account of their clients.
• In countries with IGAs, FFIs will be required under local legislation to comply, subject to the guidelines provided by the Law.

A company is considered to be a U.S. Person if there are indicia of U.S. status on JMMB Group of companies’ records. The following indicators on a company’s profile/ account have been identified as indicia for FATCA which would result in it being classified as a U.S. entity:

• U.S. Place of Incorporation or organization
• Account holder is a Specified U.S. Person
• Substantial/ beneficial owner(s) for the entity is a U.S. citizen or resident

The documentation required will depend on whether the company is a U.S. company or its substantial owners are U.S. persons. The U.S. indicia table –Company outlines the additional documentation which will be required based on the indicia on the company’s account profile. Download the Company Indicia table here

No, your account information will not be reported as you are a not deemed a U.S. person.

No, the company will not be subject to FATCA reporting. However, your individual account may be subject to reporting for FATCA purposes as you would be deemed a U.S. person.

Yes, you and your company are subject to FATCA reporting. The respective JMMB company of which you are a client will be required to collect the relevant information including your name, address, TIN for reporting this information to the local central authority (where applicable) that has established in which the specific JMMB company operates.

2 A substantial U.S. owner generally refers to a U.S. person that has 10% shareholding or greater in a company (NFFE). However, where the entity is an investment vehicle (e.g. a hedge fund) any U.S. owner is considered a substantial U.S. owner.

The company will only be impacted by FATCA if you are one of the beneficial/substantial owners of the company.

For the 2014 calendar year (which are reported in 2015), each JMMB company is required to report the following information regarding the accounts of U.S.-owned foreign entities, who are our clients:

• Name of the entity
• Address of the entity
• TIN (if any) of the entity,
• Name, address and TIN of each substantial U.S. owner
• Account number/s
• Account balance or value during the reporting period