Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act: What It Could Mean for the Future of Financial Privacy and International Law

Authors

John S. Wisiackas

Abstract

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a U.S. regulation enacted for the primary purpose of combatting tax evasion and terrorism financing. FATCA attempts to achieve this objective by requiring the financial information of all individuals the Act defines as 'U.S. persons' to be reported to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. While FATCA strives to abate financial criminality, it is mired with legal issues affecting U.S. law, the laws of foreign nations, and international law as a whole. This Comment argues that FATCA needs to be challenged in domestic courts of law and on the international stage. This Comment further argues that if FATCA does not face legal opposition, or is at least not given further scrutiny, it has the potential to end financial privacy and calls into question the traditional process by which a domestic law can become international law.

Recommended Citation

John S. Wisiackas, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act: What It Could Mean for the Future of Financial Privacy and International Law, 31 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 583 (2017).
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol31/iss4/4