FATCA in Luxembourg

As of 28th March 2014, Luxembourg signed the Model 1 IGA with the U.S. Treasury known as the “Luxembourg IGA.” The council of Government adopted the FATCA bill on 6 March 2015. This adopted bill was officially submitted to the Luxembourg Parliament on 27 March 2015 which was exactly one year after the signature of the Luxembourg IGA.

It is quite interesting to note that the submitted bill did not only include a copy of the signed Luxembourg IGA but also a copy of an updated version that was not officially signed.

Indeed, the signed Luxembourg IGA actually made a reference to the Protocol signed in the year 2009, on 20th May between Luxembourg and the U.S and amending article 28 of the 1996 double tax treaty to align it with the international standard on exchange of information which is known as the “Protocol.” Whereas Luxembourg ratified the Protocol as of 17th March 2010, the U.S. did not do the same simultaneously and the same seemed quite unlikely at that moment. The additional unsigned version of the Luxembourg IGA has not been included in this reference, but the same refers to the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters of 1988.