On August 25, 2015, Federal Decree No. 8506/2015 was published in the Official Gazette. This decree enacts the treaty signed in Brasilia on September 23, 2014, between Brazil and the United States to improve international tax compliance and implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA").

This Decree enacted an agreement of cooperation between Brazil and the United States to provide financial information on the citizens or companies of these countries. The sole purpose of the agreement is to identify and fight tax evasion, particularly in relation to US citizens and companies. In order to achieve the purpose of the agreement, it will be mandatory for financial institutions to file an annual return.

FATCA creates an obligation applicable to non-US financial institutions to report to the IRS financial information related to US citizens and companies as well as citizens and companies that appear to be from the United States. As mentioned above, the return will have to be submitted every year and contain information such as account number, account balance and all other data contemplated by the decree.

In the event of noncompliance with the agreement, a penalty will be applied to noncompliant financial institutions, consisting of the  withholding of 30 percent of any payment that may be subject to US withholding tax made by a US source to any nonparticipating financial institution.

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Founded in 2001, Tauil & Chequer Advogados is a full service law firm with approximately 90 lawyers and offices in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Vitória. T&C represents local and international businesses on their domestic and cross-border activities and offers clients the full range of legal services including: corporate and M&A; debt and equity capital markets; banking and finance; employment and benefits; environmental; intellectual property; litigation and dispute resolution; restructuring, bankruptcy and insolvency; tax; and real estate. The firm has a particularly strong and longstanding presence in the energy, oil and gas and infrastructure industries as well as with pension and investment funds. In December 2009, T&C entered into an agreement to operate in association with Mayer Brown LLP and become "Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown LLP."

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This article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.