Some brief information regarding international agreements concerning automatic information exchange

Norway has entered into agreements with other countries concerning the automatic exchange of information in order to combat tax evasion and international tax crime. Under these agreements, the Norwegian Tax Administration will receive information concerning Norwegian taxpayers' financial capital and assets held in foreign financial institutions from foreign tax authorities. The agreements are often referred to as 'CRS' (Common Reporting Standard) and 'FATCA' (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act).

Reporting to the Norwegian Tax Administration

Financial institutions must report account information to the Norwegian Tax Administration, which will then automatically forward the information to the relevant foreign tax authorities.

For many financial institutions the agreements mean that they must examine whether individuals, companies and other entities are resident or domiciled abroad, and report account information to the Norwegian Tax Administration. The Norwegian Tax Administration will exchange the information with the tax authorities in the person's home country in accordance with the relevant international agreement.

The reporting obligation in Norway

The reporting obligation concerns financial accounts held with financial institutions. In Norway, the obligation means for example that banks, investment firms, mutual funds, alternative investment funds and life insurance companies are typically covered by the rules. The reporting obligation applies i.a. to deposit accounts, financial instruments and other financial products which are held in accounts, deposits in mutual funds and alternative investment funds, cash value life insurance agreements and annuities.