Conshohocken, PA -- (SBWire) -- 08/08/2017 --Sterling Trustees, a leader in trust administration services, is always at the forefront of the latest news and developments regarding trusts. Antony Joffe, president of Sterling Trustees, along with Mary Akkerman, law partner at Lindquist and Vennum, recently explained the differences between the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in a recent article published in the STEP Journal (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).

In this piece, Joffe and Akkerman define and list the differences between these two approaches, which aim to combat and eliminate cross-border tax non-compliance. Since the article was published, the authors completed a whitepaper. You can download a copy of "Everything you need to know about CRS…but were afraid to ask."

The CRS is a new approach created through the collaboration of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union. Under this approach, different countries in which this convention is in effect automatically exchange all relevant information pertaining to a financial account including beneficial holder's names, addresses and dollar amounts.

FATCA, passed in 2010 by the United States Congress, ensures foreign financial institutions follow the same reporting standards as United States financial service providers when providing data about their clients who are United States residents or citizens. Although rejected by many foreign governments, intergovernmental agreements with FATCA compliance are in effect with more than 100 countries, resulting in countries changing their laws.

Although the CRS and FATCA both impose strict penalties for non-compliance and have similar reporting requirements, the CRS requires that tax residency and place and date of birth for account holders to be reporting conditions. It also does not require any minimum thresholds such as FATCA. It remains to be seen whether or not the United States will adopt CRS or go it alone with their own FATCA regulations.

Interested parties can learn more about the CRS, FATCA and this South Dakota trust company by calling 605-593-8950 or visiting their website online at http://sterlingtrustees.com/.

About Sterling Trustees
Sterling Trustees is a South Dakota-chartered trust company located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. By working independently, the firm allows its clients to avoid the extra costs and conflicts of interest associated with large financial institutions. Sterling Trustees' main goal is to keep assets safe while remaining objective.

For more information, please visit http://www.sterlingtrustees.com.