What’s the Common Reporting Standard.

The CRS (Common Reporting Standard) is an agreement created by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) that facilitates the exchange of financial account information between participating countries. Canada, along with over 100 other countries, has agreed to comply with CRS, to reduce tax fraud and tax evasion on a global scale.

Canada incorporated CRS into our Income Tax Act on December 15, 2016. As a reporting Canadian financial institution, Vancity complies with all CRS requirements, as outlined by the Government of Canada.

How it works.

All Canadian financial institutions are required to identify clients with tax residency outside of Canada and report these clients and their account information to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Similarly, financial institutions around the world report the tax residency status of their clients to their own country’s governing tax body, so these agencies can share relevant information with each other to help maintain the integrity of their federal tax systems by making it more difficult to conceal investments through foreign financial institutions.

What changed.

As of July 1, 2017, Vancity was required to ask our members (both retail and business banking – also known as “entity” – accounts) to self-certify tax residency during the account opening process, and when making changes to personal information. In compliance with federal regulations, Vancity discloses this information to CRA so it can be shared with relevant countries. Vancity does not directly report information to foreign tax authorities.

FAQs.

Ensuring member privacy is a top priority for us. As a Canadian financial institution, we comply with applicable Canadian laws and regulations while maintaining our members’ privacy. If you have a privacy concern or complaint, please call 604-877-8479 to speak with the Privacy Office.

For more information on CRS, including FAQs and resources, please visit Canada Revenue Agency’s enhanced financial account information reporting page.

If you are a United States reportable person (a United States citizen or United States tax resident), the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) may have an impact on you.

 

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