“This is the US Foreign Account Tax Complience Act FATCA. According to that law, all US citizens, including those who live outside the United States, must report all of their bank accounts outside the United States for tax purposes”, said Tihomir Ilievski, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of SDSM, at today’s press conference, according to who, this law is offered as a basis for international agreement on other governments and countries. He emphasized that 52 countries have already signed such bilateral agreement with the United States, while 60 other countries have reached substantial agreement in the same direction and started the procedure for signing and inclination to contract, except Macedonia.
“In addition, the law provides for liability for foreign financial institutions to inform the US tax administration for all their US customers. The purpose of the law was to prevent hiding property by US citizens with offshore accounts and corporations, and to limit the opportunities for tax violations. All member states have done it. Our neighboring countries did it: Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Croatia. Macedonia is not on this list. Our country didn’t support the implementation of this law. Gruevski’s Government must respond whose money and accounts it hides? Gruevski’s Government must answer why it didn’t join the neighboring countries and why it’s not accepting the law of our strategic ally, the United States? Why Macedonian Government supported the tax evaders?” said Ilievski.
Ilievski emphasized that SDSM demands clear and direct answer: Does it hides the accounts of ministers with dual passports? Whether it is protecting tax offenders? Which individuals or companies are allowed to evade taxes? What business interests are more important to them than Macedonia and its strategic relationship with the US? Whose non-resident accounts is Gruevski hiding?
