USA — Financial Regulatory Jurisdiction

The United States of America is the world's largest financial power and one of the most important jurisdictions in global financial regulation. The USA follows its own approach to international tax transparency: instead of the OECD standard Common Reporting Standard (CRS), it uses its own system FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act).

• Tax authority: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• Financial supervision: SEC (securities), CFTC (derivatives), OCC (banks), Fed, FDIC
• AML supervision: FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network)
• Particularity: USA do not participate in CRS; enforce FATCA as a bilateral instrument
• Citizenship-based taxation: Unique — USA tax their citizens worldwide regardless of residence

The USA has a long history as a global financial centre. The US dollar system has dominated world trade since the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944. US financial markets (NYSE, NASDAQ) are the largest in the world. The US tax system is complex and historically built on resident- and citizenship-based taxation.

In response to tax evasion through foreign accounts, FATCA was enacted in 2010 as part of the HIRE Act. This was a turning point in global tax information exchange. The USA developed FATCA as an alternative to the multilateral CRS standard, which they have not joined — a persistently criticised circumstance in the international community.

US financial regulation extends to:

• Banks and credit institutions: Supervised by Fed, OCC, FDIC and state agencies
• Securities market: SEC supervision, registration requirements for broker-dealers
• Derivatives market: CFTC supervision (futures, swaps)
• International tax obligation: US persons taxable worldwide (Form 1040, FBAR, Form 8938)
• FATCA: Foreign financial institutions must report US account data or suffer withholding tax
• Corporate Transparency Act: Beneficial Ownership Reporting — since March 2025, domestic US companies are exempt from BOI reporting requirements per FinCEN Interim Final Rule; obligation now applies only to foreign reporting companies

Key US regulatory requirements in the international context:

• FATCA reporting: Foreign financial institutions report US account holder data annually to IRS (directly or via IGA authorities)
• FBAR: US persons with foreign accounts exceeding USD 10,000 must file FinCEN 114
• Form 8938: Reporting of foreign financial assets above amount thresholds (FATCA complement to FBAR)
• PFIC rules: Strict taxation of foreign investment funds for US persons
• Qualified Intermediary (QI): Foreign banks can act as QI and manage US withholding tax

2 corrections:
- Bretton Woods date incorrect (1944-07-01 instead of 1944-07-22)
- English text: Incorrect subject-verb agreement ('are' instead of 'is')
1 update:
- Corporate Transparency Act: BOI reporting for US companies suspended since March 2025
1 clarification.