Financial Transparency is the new global standard. The OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS) expands the scope of cross board financial account disclosure originally introduced by the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Malaysia is a fully committed member of the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, with 60 exchange relationship where the Malaysia IRBM will send financial data to foreign tax authorities, and 84 exchange relationship where the IRBM will receive financial data on accounts held by Malaysians in countries such as Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland and UK.

In order to counter attempts to circumvent and avoid the CRS, the OECD published on the 9th March 2018 the Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDRs). The MDRs provide the basis on which CRS Avoidance Arrangements are required to be Disclosed and later exchanged with relevant foreign tax authorities.

The purpose of the talk is to discuss and explore the above initiatives and in particular the provisions of the Mandatory Disclosure Rules, ending with a brief update on the status and developments surrounding the US FATCA

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