South China Morning Post Quotes Scott Michel: Tax Evaders Feel the Heat in Havens

Scott D. Michel is quoted by the South China Morning Post regarding increasing pressure on Hong Kong and China to comply with FATCA after the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman Islands began discussing intergovernmental agreements to exchange information on U.S. taxpayers. Plans to comply with the U.S. law to fight tax evasion by the well-known corporate havens will have a significant impact on Hong Kong and the mainland. Most of Hong Kong's offshore business is conducted through the BVI and Cayman Islands, while many mainland firms use BVI and Cayman companies for secrecy. For the complete article, please visit South China Morning Post's website.

Excerpt taken from the article.

The act would require disclosure from financial institutions where accounts were maintained by US taxpayers to individuals or companies where a US person owned more than a 10 per cent interest in the institution, said Scott Michel, president of US law firm Caplin & Drysdale. It compelled financial institutions to disclose information on US taxpayers to the government, on pain of a 30 per cent withholding tax on US-sourced investment income and proceeds from asset sales, he said.