Did you place your first order to open a register with Legg Mason TFI SA in the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 November 2015? Please provide us with your U.S. tax residency declaration to avoid the freezing of your assets in December 2016.
What is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)?
The FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) is a U.S. legislation aimed at preventing U.S. tax evasion. It is on its basis that the United States of America has signed agreements with many countries in the world on reporting information about accounts and incomes of those who, under U.S. laws, are U.S. taxpayers. Such information is intended to improve the process of verification whether tax due has been correctly remitted to the U.S. tax revenue service.
Such an agreement was also entered into with Poland and its performance is governed by the Polish Act of 9 October 2015.
You can find more details in the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the United States of America and the Polish Act on the Performance of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the United States of America to Improve International Tax Compliance and to Implement FATCA.
What institutions are required to report information in the light of the Polish FATCA Act?
The obligation lies, first of all, with Polish financial institutions (including investment fund management companies and investment funds), which are required to identify reportable U.S. accounts, including by obtaining U.S. tax residency declarations from their customers (FATCA declarations) and reporting relevant information to the minister responsible for public finance, who, in turn, further reports such information to the U.S. tax revenue service.
What obligation lies with investment fund management companies?
An investment fund management company and its investment funds are required to collect and report tax information about their customers within the scope of the FATCA legislation and report relevant information to the minister responsible for public finance. Therefore, some customers of the management company and fund participants are required to submit a relevant declaration by 1 December 2016, or else face criminal liability for submitting a false declaration.
Does the obligation to submit a FATCA declaration apply to me
The obligation to submit a written declaration applies to all the customers who placed an order for their first purchase of assets in Legg Mason funds between 1 July 2014 and 30 November 2015. You should, however, bear in mind that anyone who has submitted a false declaration may face criminal liability.
Effective from 1 December 2015, investment funds have been normally collecting FATCA declarations from each customer at the time of their placing of the first order to purchase assets in Legg Mason funds.
Whereas, if the details of a customer who placed the first order to purchase assets in Legg Mason funds before 30 June 2014 suggest that he or she may be a U.S. tax resident, then he or she may be requested to submit a FATCA declaration.
What happens if I ignore the obligation to submit a FATCA declaration?
If you fail to submit a FATCA declaration or Legg Mason TFI S.A. does not receive one by 1 December 2016, we are required, under the applicable legislation, to freeze the assets in your registers within three business days after that date. A freeze will mean that you will not be allowed to dispose of or use any of the assets in your registers within the investment funds managed by Legg Mason TFI SA. If you submit a FATCA declaration after that date, your assets will get unfrozen.
How to submit a declaration to Legg Mason?
For your convenience, you can submit a FATCA declaration:
- by phone, using the hotline for Fund participants at 022 640 06 40 or 801 12 22 12 (Mondays to Fridays, 8 am to 6 pm; you will be charged at your operator’s rates); or
having printed out, completed and signed a FATCA declaration (see the links below), you may send it:
- as a scan by email to the following email address: LeggMasonCOK@pekao-fs.com.pl;
- by fax to 022 640 06 43;
- by mail to: Legg Mason TFI SA, Skrytka pocztowa 30, 02-696 Warszawa 113.
- for individual customers:DOWNLOAD THE FORM
- for corporate customers:DOWNLOAD THE FORM