Tax Regulation

The exchange of information with other tax authorities is made possible by the extensive network of international bilateral and multilateral agreements the UK has signed. The UK law serves as the legal gateway to release information to the partner jurisdictions under these agreements. The aim of the regulation is to fight tax evasion, to increase tax transparency and cooperation between jurisdictions and to ensure the protection and long-term safety of the financial system. Societe Generale International Limited (“SGIL”) complies with the tax regulations to better serve its clients and to help them in their own compliance efforts prior to accessing SGIL’s entire range of products and services.

US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) is a United States law with the primary objective of tackling tax evasion schemes by US taxpayers that hold financial accounts outside of the United States. SGIL as a UK reporting financial institution under the US and the US FATCA IGA is required to identify US account holders and report to the UK tax authority regarding their account balances and income allowing HMRC to exchange account information with the IRS.

Click here for more information on how the Societe Generale Group complies with FATCA.

OECD Common Reporting Standards (CRS)

On 1 January 2016, an international automatic exchange of information between several jurisdictions entered into force.

Like FATCA, the HMRC accesses client information for CRS purposes by requiring Societe Generale International Limited as a UK reporting financial institution to identify account holders and report certain financial accounts such as investment accounts and custodial accounts. This information is exchanged with over 100 jurisdictions worldwide.

Qualified Intermediary (QI)

SGIL is a Qualified Intermediary and has entered into a Qualified Intermediary agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service. This regime enables SGIL to simplify the documentation process and preserve client confidentiality for clients who desire to claim withholding tax reductions or exemptions and requires SGIL to report certain US source income payments to the IRS. SGIL is committed to comply with the provisions of the QI Agreement, including the relevant U.S. Treasury regulations under chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 61 and sections 3406 of the US Internal Revenue Code to which it refers.

Impact to Our Customers

The impact to you as our customer will depend on factors such as

the type of account you hold at SGIL,
your tax residence,
your statuses for US withholding tax, US FATCA and CRS.

It is SGIL’s policy to require valid self-certification forms prior to opening an account. Failure to provide adequate documentation to SGIL may have unintended consequence. Please refer to your independent tax advisor should you require some guidance.

Self-certification form

For SGIL’s self-certification form for CRS, please download it here (145.40 KB).
For SGIL’s self-certification form for US federal tax purposes and US FATCA, please send a request by email to rocs-reg-tax.lon@sgcib.com.

Tax Code of Conduct

The SG group complies with local rules, laws including the Criminal Finances Act 2017, HMRC’s code of practice on taxation for banks and the Group’s Tax Code of Conduct.
Click here to access SG Group's tax code of conduct.

Tax Strategy

Societe Generale’s UK tax strategy is found at: https://www.societegenerale.co.uk/en/about/group-tax-strategy/