The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an information-gathering and reporting requirement for financial institutions in participating countries/jurisdictions, introduced to help fight against tax evasion and protect the integrity of tax systems.
A substantial number of countries and jurisdictions across the globe have entered into agreements to implement the CRS, an international framework developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the automatic exchange of financial account information.
These agreements, known as Competent Authority Agreements (CAAs), require participating jurisdictions to collect financial data from financial institutions and exchange it with the tax authorities of other jurisdictions annually. As a result of these CAAs, CRS provisions have been incorporated into the local laws of the signatory countries. For instance, the UK Government, among many others, has committed to CRS implementation, facilitating the exchange of financial information with other participating jurisdictions, enhancing transparency, and combating tax evasion on a global scale. This has been incorporated into UK law though the International Tax Compliance Regulations, SI 2015/878.
