What a difference a few years can make.

短短几年时间就能带来巨大的变化。

For decades U.S. tax authorities did little to enforce laws on offshore accounts. Some people felt free to hide assets abroad in a web of secret accounts, and many U.S. citizens living abroad didn't bother to file returns with Uncle Sam as long as they paid local taxes.

数十年来，美国的税务机构几乎没有对海外账户采取过法律行动。有些人无所顾虑地通过一批秘密账户在海外藏匿资产，同时许多旅居海外的美国公民只要在当地缴了税，也就懒得再向山姆大叔申报纳税了。

All that changed in 2009, when U.S. officials began an intense campaign against undeclared accounts after UBS AG admitted that it helped U.S. taxpayers hide money abroad. The Swiss bank paid $780 million and turned over more than 4,000 names to avoid criminal charges.

美国资产转移出境小贴士这一切都在2009年发生了变化。在瑞士银行(UBS AG)承认协助美国纳税人在海外藏匿资金后，当年美国官员针对未申报海外账户启动了密集的打击行动。瑞银为此支付了7.8亿美元罚金，并上交了4,000多名客户的身份信息以逃脱刑事指控。

Now, international tax lawyers like Henry Christensen are telling clients with offshore accounts that 'tax havens where people can hide money are a thing of the past.' Mr. Christensen, of McDermott, Will & Emery in New York, represents many wealthy multinational families. 'Forget about confidentiality,' he says he and his peers are telling clients. 'Transparency is here to stay.'

现在，像亨利?克里斯坦森(Henry Christensen)这样的国际税务律师都告知拥有海外账户的客户：“能够隐匿资金的避税天堂已成为历史”。克里斯坦森为纽约McDermott, Will & Emery律师事务所的律师，他代理着许多富裕的跨国家庭。他说他和同行们都告诉客户：“忘了保密性吧，透明化是长期趋势。”

The crackdown has brought momentous changes. Among other things, the once-impenetrable veil of Swiss bank secrecy is in tatters, following an agreement in late August between the U.S. and Switzerland that will cause dozens of Swiss banks to pay penalties and name names to atone for past misdeeds.

这次打击行动带来了重大变化。继美国与瑞士在8月底签署协议后，曾经无法看透的遮盖瑞士众银行秘密的面纱变得支离破碎。该项协议将迫使数十家瑞士银行缴纳罚金并交出名单以弥补以往的过失。

In the U.S., tens of thousands of taxpayers have admitted to having undeclared accounts and paid stiff penalties since 2009. More than 80 of them have been criminally prosecuted, and some have gone to prison. This past week, Ty Warner, the owner of Ty Inc., the maker of Beanie Babies, paid the highest offshore-account penalty ever disclosed: $53.6 million.

在美国，自2009年以来，已有数以万计的纳税人承认拥有未申报的账户并为此缴纳了高额罚金。其中80多人已受到犯罪指控，一些人还锒铛入狱。就在前不久，“豆豆娃”玩具的生产商――Ty 公司的老板泰?沃纳(Ty Warner)缴纳了5,360万美元罚金，这是目前已披露出的史上最高的海外账户罚金。

Yet the most far-reaching element of the U.S. offshore-account crackdown is still to come: a provision of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as Fatca, which Congress passed in 2010.

然而，美国对海外账户的打击行动影响最深远的部分还在后面，即国会在 2010年通过的《海外账户税收合规法案》(Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act，简称“Fatca”)的一条规定。

Set to take effect next July, it requires foreign financial institutions to report information about their U.S. account holders to the Internal Revenue Service. That group includes U.S. citizens and 'green card' holders living both in the U.S. and abroad.

该法案预定于明年7月生效，它要求海外金融机构向美国国税局(Internal Revenue Service，简称“IRS”)报告美国的账户持有人的信息。该群体包括美国公民以及在美国和海外居住的“绿卡”持有者。

That means the new reporting rules could affect a U.S. citizen who has retired to Mexico, a German-born green-card holder working in the U.S. or even a Hong Kong-born green-card holder studying in the U.K. -- as long as each has a non-U.S. financial account.

这意味着新的申报规定可能会影响已赴墨西哥过退休生活的美国公民，德国出生、在美国工作的绿卡持有者，甚或是在香港出生、正在英国学习的绿卡持有者――只要这些人拥有并非在美国开办的金融账户。

Failing to comply with Fatca will bring stiff consequences. Foreign financial firms that don't cooperate could lose access to U.S. markets, and individual account holders who aren't known to the IRS could face a 30% automatic withholding rate on payments such as interest and dividends. Institutions making such payments are supposed to verify whether the recipient is exempt from withholding, with help from a large public database of entities maintained by the IRS.

未遵守Fatca会带来严重的后果。不合作的海外金融企业将不能进入美国市场，未向IRS申报的个人账户持有人的利息及股息可能会被自动代扣30%的税。支付利息和股息的机构应借助由IRS维护的一个大型公共实体数据库来核对收款人是否可免代扣税。

Account holders hit by that 30% levy will face a difficult choice: either forfeit the money or file a U.S. tax return to claim a refund, in effect waving a red flag at the IRS. Even if a refund is due, it could be hard to get, says Christine Ballard, an international tax specialist at the accounting firm Moss Adams in Campbell, Calif.

被扣缴30%税金的账户持有人会面临一个艰难的选择：要么放弃这笔钱，要么填报美国报税单申请退税，而后者实际上等于向IRS发出了警示信号。加州坎贝尔Moss Adams会计事务所的国际税务专家克里斯蒂娜?巴拉德(Christine Ballard)称，即便税款应该退回，这笔钱可能也很难拿到。

For people engaged in willful evasion, the costs could be steeper yet -- including severe financial penalties many times the value of the account, or even prison. U.S. officials hope Fatca will make these people easier to find. 'The law is designed to shine light in dark corners,' says Bryan Skarlatos, a lawyer at Kostelanetz & Fink in New York who has handled hundreds of offshore-account confessions.

对于故意逃税的人，他们要付出的代价会更大，包括数倍于账户金额的经济处罚甚至是牢狱之灾。美国官员希望Fatca能使这些人更容易被找到。纽约律师事务所Kostelanetz & Fink的律师布赖恩?斯卡拉托斯(Bryan Skarlatos)处理过数百件海外账户持有者自首事务，他指出：“该法案是为照亮黑暗的角落而制订的。”

Experts say it is hard to overestimate Fatca's reach or revolutionary intent. 'Fatca is a dragnet meant to force transparency and curtail tax evasion around the world,' Ms. Ballard says. 'It affects millions of U.S. taxpayers both here and abroad. Some people are willfully evading U.S. taxes, while many others aren't aware of the complex rules.'

专家们称，再怎么高估Fatca的影响范围或革命性内容也不为过。巴拉德指出：“Fatca是一张用以在世界各地强制推动透明度和减少逃税行为的罗网，它影响了国内与国外的数百万美国纳税人。有些人是有意逃避美国的税收，而其他许多人则是不了解相关的复杂规定。”

The law's massive changes are being felt already. Nearly 20 countries or other jurisdictions, including longtime havens such as Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and the island of Jersey, have signed or are close to signing agreements with the U.S. to ease the transfer of tax information under Fatca. Almost 30 more, including Israel and Singapore, are in talks to do so. China has taken tentative steps toward a Fatca agreement, and this summer Hong Kong enacted legislation that could lead to one.

该项法案带来的巨大变化已经能够感受得到。近20个国家或行政辖区，其中包括瑞士、开曼群岛和泽西岛等长期以来的避税天堂已经与美国签署或接近签署协议，以更加方便地按照Fatca框架转交税收信息。此外，另有包括以色列和新加坡在内的约30个国家或地区正就此进行谈判。中国已朝着达成协议的方向采取了试探性举措，香港也在夏季颁布了可能有助于达成协议的法令。

Why are these countries willing to help the IRS? Unfettered access to U.S. markets is one reason. Another is that in some cases U.S. officials will provide 'reciprocal' information to a country about its citizens who may be using the U.S. as a tax haven. Mexico, for example, has signed a two-way Fatca agreement. U.S. Treasury Department officials have said they would not provide information to countries where it could be misused, however.

为什么这些国家和地区愿意协助IRS？获得自由进入美国市场的机会是其中一个原因。另一个原因是，有时候美国官员也会“互惠地”向其他国家提供可能利用美国作为避税之地的该国公民的信息，例如墨西哥就与美国签署了Fatca双边协议。不过，美国财政部官员也表示，他们不会把相关信息提供给可能会滥用信息的国家。

For millions of U.S. taxpayers with international ties, Fatca is a reminder of Uncle Sam's long reach. Most countries don't tax nonresidents' earnings abroad, but the U.S.'s world-wide system does. The issues are compounded by the broad U.S. definition of who is a citizen, which includes people born on American soil and to U.S. citizens abroad.

对于有海外关系的数百万美国纳税人而言，Fatca提醒了他们山姆大叔的影响力有多么深远。大多数国家不会向不住在国内的居民的海外收益课税，但美国触及全球的税收体系会。美国对公民的定义颇为广泛，包括在美国出生的人以及住在海外的美国公民，这让问题变得更加复杂。

As a result of Fatca, some Americans living abroad say they are finding it hard to open or keep financial accounts. Thomas Ruta, a CPA at Raich Ende Malter in New York, which advises hundreds of international clients, says he is aware of people who have had such difficulties in Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands and Canada.

由于Fatca的实施，有些旅居海外的美国人表示他们发现办理金融账户或持有账户变难了。纽约Raich Ende Malter会计事务所的注册会计师托马斯?鲁塔(Thomas Ruta)说，他知道有一些在瑞士、瑞典、澳大利亚、荷兰和加拿大生活的人遇到了这样的困难。该事务所为数百名国际客户提供咨询服务。

Other citizens and green-card holders are considering cutting official ties with the U.S. This year reported renunciations are on pace to double the previous high of nearly 1,800, set in 2011 -- and there are more that aren't reported.

另外一些美国公民及绿卡持有者则正考虑断绝与美国的官方关系。2011年，放弃美国国籍或绿卡的人数达创纪录的1800人；而按照现在已报告的这类人数量的增长速度，今年的人数将会达到2011年的两倍，何况还有更多没有报告的。

Will Fatca achieve its vast aims? Anthony Cetta, a tax director who advises clients of Citigroup's Citi Private Bank in New York, thinks it will. Many experts agree, although they think transparency will come sooner to Western Europe than to Asia. Lawyers will always look for loopholes, but there aren't large and obvious ones yet, they say.

Fatca能实现其远大的目标吗？在纽约为花旗集团(Citigroup)的花旗私人银行(Citi Private Bank)提供咨询服务的税务总监安东尼?切塔(Anthony Cetta)认为它能。许多专业人士也表示赞同，尽管他们认为西欧将较亚洲更早实现透明化。他们说，律师总是会寻找漏洞，但是尚未发现明显的大漏洞。

Experts also point out that Fatca's approach is going global. In April, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. announced their intention to exchange Fatca-type information among themselves. By early June, 19 countries had endorsed the plan. The U.K. also is making arrangements to exchange information with dependencies and territories such as Guernsey, Gilbraltar and the British Virgin Islands.

专家们还指出，Fatca的方式将在全球推广开来。在今年4月，法国、德国、意大利、西班牙和英国宣布，它们打算相互交换类似Fatca的信息。到6月初，已有19个国家签署了该计划。英国还在筹划与根西岛、直布罗陀和英属维尔京群岛等属地及海外领地交换信息。

The upshot: 'Taxpayers will have to ask themselves, 'Why do I have a foreign account, and do I really need it?'' Mr. Christensen says.

克里斯坦森说，这些举措的结果是“纳税人不得不自问，‘我为什么要办理海外账户？我真的需要吗？’”

For people with foreign accounts worried about the new enforcement regime, here are suggestions from experts.

针对担心新执法制度的海外账户持有者，下文介绍了专家们的一些建议。

-- If you have international ties, seek expert help about what you do -- and don't -- have to report to the IRS.

假如你有海外关系，就应该寻求专业人员帮助，了解什么必须向IRS申报，什么不必申报。

It can be hard to know, at least initially. At a minimum, many U.S. taxpayers with international ties already should be filing two forms. One is the Foreign Bank Account Report, or Fbar, due at a special Treasury unit by June 30 every year.

这些问题很难了解，特别是在一开始的时候。许多有海外关联的美国纳税人至少应提交两份申报表。其中一份是海外银行账户申报表(Foreign Bank Account Report，简称“Fbar”)，纳税人应在每年的6月30日之前把它提交给财政部一个专门的部门。

The other is Form 8938, required by Fatca for reporting foreign financial accounts, which is attached to the tax return. On its website (www.irs.gov), the IRS has a useful comparison of the two forms' requirements.

另一份是“8938申报表”，是Fatca要求用来申报海外金融账户的，它与纳税申报表附在一起。IRS在其网站（www.irs.gov）上将这两份表单的要求进行了对比，这是非常有用的。

They differ in important but subtle ways. The Fbar reporting threshold is $10,000, which applies to the total of all accounts. The threshold for Form 8938 is higher and more variable -- as low as $50,000 for single people living stateside but as high as $600,000 for couples living abroad. The amounts aren't indexed for inflation.

这两个申报表的区别很重要，但又很微妙。Fbar的申报门槛是10,000美元，适用于所有账户的总额。“8938申报表”的申报门槛更高而且变化也更大：住在美国本土的单身人士的申报门槛低至50,000美元，而针对住在海外的夫妻的申报门槛则高达600,000美元。这些数额不根据通胀进行调整。

The Fbar form can require reporting of indirect interests, such as signature authority over an account, while Form 8938 focuses on direct holdings. But the latter often requires reporting of more types of assets.

“Fbar表”会要求纳税人申报非直接收益，比如对某个账户的签名权限，而“8938申报表”主要关注直接持有的财物，但它要求申报的资产类型往往也更多。

Neither form requires reporting of assets such as art, real estate or foreign currency that are held directly. But beware of quirks: PricewaterhouseCoopers tax expert Evelyn Capassakis says that many homeowners in France put their residence in a legal structure that could have to be reported on Form 8938.

这两类申报表都不要求纳税人申报艺术品、房产或直接持有的外汇。但是你还是要小心其中的特别之处：普华永道(PricewaterhouseCoopers)的税务专家伊夫琳?卡帕萨基斯(Evelyn Capassakis)称，在法国的许多业主将他们的房产纳入某个法律架构，而这可能会导致必须要在“8938表”中申报房产。

While safe-deposit boxes don't have to be reported, they are often tied to bank accounts that could be.

虽然保险箱不必申报，但它们往往都是与可能要申报的银行账户挂钩的。

Compliance will bring new costs for many, but helpful advice doesn't have to be high-priced. H&R Block, for example, has a special site devoted to expatriate taxpayers (expats.hrblock.com) and has expanded its services for them.

遵守规定会给许多人带来新增成本，但有益的建议不一定都是价格不菲的。例如，H&R Block有一个专门针对海外纳税人的网站（expats.hrblock.com），并且扩大了面向他们的服务范围。

-- Consider whether past noncompliance was 'willful.'

想想以往的非合规行为是否是“有意的”。

That is the key standard in tax law for the most serious penalties and offenses. For offshore-account holders, evidence of willful behavior could include having an account in a known tax haven; secreting it within a trust or foundation, or both; and moving it from one institution under scrutiny to another perceived to be less so.

这是税法中考量是否施以最严重的惩罚及非合规行为是否违法的关键标准。对于海外账户持有人而言，有意行为的证据可能包括：在知名的避税天堂持有账户；将账户分别或同时隐匿在信托机构或基金会，以及将账户从一家遭到审查的机构转到另一家被认为审查更松的机构。

The IRS has a continuing Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program for such taxpayers. It levies stiff penalties but offers protection from criminal prosecution.

IRS针对此类纳税人制订了一项长期持续的海外账户自愿披露计划(Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program)，它会对自首的纳税人征收高额罚款，但不追究他们的刑事责任。

-- 'Accidental' tax cheats face tough choices for now.

“无意的”偷漏税行为现面临艰难选择。

Experts say the IRS has been slow and stingy in helping nonfiling U.S. taxpayers who weren't truly willful cheats get into compliance. This is a huge group: The U.S. State Department estimates that 7.2 million U.S. citizens live abroad, many of whom surely have reportable bank accounts, yet only a total of 825,000 Fbar reports were filed for 2012.

专家称，在帮助那些并非有意偷漏税但实际没有申报的美国纳税人变得合规方面，IRS的行动一直迟缓且不足。这些人是一个庞大的群体：美国国务院估计有720万美国公民旅居海外，其中有许多人肯定有需要申报的银行账户，但是2012年总共只有825,000人填报了“Fbar表”。

Fatca reporting will put pressure on these nonfilers, but many face bleak options. Some are choosing to give up their green cards or citizenship, but that means cutting ties and possibly triggering an exit tax. People who want to retain their U.S. ties can comply in the future, but that doesn't protect against past issues.

Fatca的申报规定将使这些未申报者面临压力，但许多人会面临艰难选择。有些人选择放弃绿卡或公民身份，但是这意味着断绝关系，而且可能还要缴纳“退出税”。想要保留美国身份的人可选择在未来遵守规定，但这并不能让过往的问题不受追究。

Expat groups have raised an intense outcry over their plight, however, and Mr. Skarlatos, the lawyer, says that expats' sheer numbers could move the IRS to make it easier for them to become compliant. In 2012 U.S. officials responded to pressure from Canada that eased the burden for some Canadian-Americans.

不过，旅居国外的群体已就他们的困境提出了强烈抗议。斯卡拉托斯律师称，海外居民庞大的绝对数量可能会促使IRS采取措施让他们更容易成为合规者。2012年，美国官员就加拿大方面的压力采取了应对措施，减轻了某些在加拿大生活的美国人的负担。

Keep an eye on foreign pension plans.

密切关注海外养老金计划。

Although the rules exempt reporting for foreign Social Security-type programs, that definition leaves out many other plans, such as self-managed Australian 'superannuation' funds.

虽然这些税收法规免除了海外社保类项目的申报义务，但其对社保的定义并不包括其他多种保险计划，比如澳大利亚自主管理型的“养老”基金。

These plans may be subject to U.S. tax or information reporting or both. PwC's Ms. Capassakis notes that some foreign pension plans, such as Canadian retirement accounts, are exempt from U.S. taxes due to treaty provisions, but they could still have to be reported on an individual's U.S. tax return.

此类计划或许要缴纳美国的税收或是要申报信息，或者二者皆要。普华永道的卡帕萨基斯指出，某些海外养老金方案，比如加拿大的养老账户按照双边条约规定不必缴税，但是还是得在个人的美国报税表上申报。

Trusts are a target.

信托基金成为目标。

It isn't a secret that one of Fatca's central aims is to 'out' offshore trusts that have concealed assets from the IRS and others. As a result, says Steven Cantor, a lawyer at Cantor & Webb in Miami who often advises multinational families, 'Trusts are the area of most complexity and uncertainty' in Fatca for individuals.

Fatca的中心目标之一就是要“揪出”对IRS及其他方面隐瞒资产的海外信托基金，这并不是什么秘密。迈阿密Cantor & Webb律师事务所的律师史蒂文?坎托(Steven Cantor)常常为跨国家庭提供咨询。他认为，由此一来，对个人而言，“信托基金是（Fatca中）最复杂、不确定性最大的方面”。

He and others say the law even could require reporting of a foreign trust that a beneficiary doesn't know about or receive money from-if that person has a green card or is a U.S. citizen.

坎托及其他律师表示，该法案甚至会要求，如果某个海外信托基金的受益人持有美国绿卡或是美国公民，哪怕他或她并不知道这个基金，或者没有从这个基金收到过钱，也要进行申报。

At the same time, smart planning can reduce compliance burdens and avoid the 30% withholding rate, he says. In addition, it also can avoid identifying non-U.S. beneficiaries of the trust.

坎托称，尽管如此，巧妙的规划可减轻合规负担并避开30%的代扣税率。此外，它还可避免暴露信托基金非美国受益人的身份。