The Council of Ministers has approved an agreement by which knowledge of the Multilateral Agreement between competent authorities takes automatic exchange of information on financial accounts.
Spain and 52 other states and jurisdictions signed the October 29, 2014, in Berlin, an agreement for the automatic exchange of international tax information. Against the traditional exchange of information “on request”, this Agreement provides for automatic exchange of information on bank accounts and other assets that are abroad. The agreement, described as administrative international agreement is signed under the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in fiscal 1988, and its Protocol of 2010, the Council of Europe and the OECD, using the Common Communication Standard developed by International organization of the latter.
Spain is part of the group of five countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom) that have promoted this Agreement. It will, together with our country has signed with the United States for the application of US law “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” -FATCA- (Act foreign account tax compliance) and the provisions of the European Union applicable to the exchange bilateral information between Member States, that broad international coverage is achieved for the automatic exchange of information on bank accounts, which is extended to the extent that in the near future other jurisdictions, in addition to the 52 who have already done, sign the new agreement.
Identification and account holders
The Agreement provides for the identification of the account numbers of the operators subject to communication, whether natural or legal persons, balances or cash value insurance, interest, dividends and rents and income from the sale of goods.
The implementation schedule for the parties to the Agreement will, first, an exchange of information: in September 2017 regarding the 2016 data; then qualification as existing accounts that are open to December 31, 2015 and finally the application of the rules of due diligence on new from January 1, 2016 accounts, although some jurisdictions for these dates they may postpone until 2018.
Promoters Agreement countries are already working to promote accession of other countries, particularly those in developing countries that have not yet signed.