Pushback in Canada Against U.S. Banking Disclosure Rules

Presumptuous and snoopy

It's meant to be a law that finds the offshore assets of US taxpayers but the legislation has caused a storm in Canada where one party is trying to put a stop to the new legislation.

The country's Green Party is urging the Canadian government to resist the demands of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) which would compel Canadian financial institutions to hand over the account details of any American customers.

Increasing numbers of countries are signing up to the law, mainly via an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) which would help protect their institutions from breaking their own laws, such as privacy and data protection, in order to comply.