恒生銀行有限公司 Hang Seng Bank Limited
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
Important: This document must be read with the Disclaimer which forms part of
it.
Disclaimer
1. This document is intended solely for the customers of Hang Seng Bank Limited (“Hang Seng Bank”) to whom it is provided and not for any
other person. It is a summary
f
or information purposes only and general in nature. It should not be considered as tax or legal advice. Hang
Seng Bank makes no guarantee of
its
accuracy
and completeness and is not responsible for any errors, nor shall Hang Seng Bank be liable
for any loss that results from reliance upon this information based on FATCA
legislation as at 22 August 2014.
2. You are advised to refer to the US IRS website (http://www.irs.gov/) for details in respect of FATCA.
3. You are fully responsible for confirmation of your FATCA status and submission of relevant documentation
.
4. Hang Seng Bank is unable to offer any tax and legal advice. For related questions, please contact your professional tax and legal advisors.
5. The Chinese translation is for reference only. In case of any discrepancy between the English version and the Chinese version, the English version
shall prevail.
I. Background
There are a number of substantial changes being made by financial regulators, governments and banks to ensure the protection and long-term
safety of both the financial system and your interests. One of these changes is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which has
been introduced by the US government as part of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (together with regulations made under the
Code). The purpose of FATCA is to report financial assets owned by United States persons to the United States tax authorities.
How does FATCA
affect Hang Seng Bank and you?
Every year banks and other financial organisations will be required to report information on financial accounts held directly or indirectly by
US Persons.
Hang Seng Bank has made a commitment to being fully FATCA compliant in all countries and territories where we operate. This means we have
to report affected customers’ income and profit details to the US tax authorities. In order to do so, we will need to obtain additional information
from you to identify US Persons (USPs) and Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs). There may also be other customers who we have to identify for
this purpose.
Where we are not able to obtain the required information or documentation from you, we may be required to apply U.S. withholding taxes in
respect of certain types of payments we make to you or your accounts and these are known as ‘withholdable payments’. We may also be required
to end relationships with you.
In order to identify whether reporting under FATCA applies to you, we need to match you against certain categories set out in the FATCA
legislation.
Who does Hang Seng Bank need to report under FATCA?
We are required to report certain information on accounts held by Specified US Persons. This includes accounts held by U.S. citizens and U.S.
residents, certain corporations or partnerships created or organised in the United States, as well as accounts held by certain passive entities
(please see the section on Passive Income and the section What is meant by a passive entity (Passive NFFE) under FATCA?) with shareholders
who are U.S. citizens or U.S. resident persons. We will also be required to report certain information on customers or financial counterparties who
do not provide us with documentation to establish a FATCA status.
What is a withholdable payment?
In the simplest of terms, a withholdable payment is a payment of either: US source income that is fixed or determinable, annual or periodical
(FADP) income; or, after 2018, gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition (including redemption) of property that can produce US source
interest or dividend income. This definition is subject to change and may be widened in the future. Withholding on these different types of payment
is phased in over a period to 1 January 2019.
II. FATCA Status
Does this apply to you?
Whilst most FATCA categories set out in the legislation are not reportable, some may be applicable to you. In order to make sure that we are able
to match you against the FATCA categories, we are asking you to provide confirmation of your FATCA status, review the conditions that apply,
and confirm that they are satisfied.