The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act explained

Gareth James, technical marketing manager, AJ Bell, asks how the FATCA will affect UK investors.

Most will be familiar with the phrase “better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t”. We all know it is often wiser, and easier, to deal with something you are familiar with, and problems you know about, than step into the unknown. The investment industry sits in a landscape that is heavily regulated by the UK government. Those regulations are subject to frequent change, and this can sometimes be time-consuming and frustrating. In spite of our frustrations, the regulatory framework is at least a devil we know. Developments from the US mean we may be forced to deal with a ‘devil we...