To this end, FATCA imposes substantial documentation, identification, reporting and withholding tax requirements on (from a US perspective) Foreign Financial Institutions ("FFI"). If an FFI does not satisfy these requirements, a withholding tax of 30% is levied on its gross investment income, salaries and gross revenue from direct and indirect American sources. This withholding tax is levied irrespective of a transaction's addressees and is solely based on the status of the FFI through which the transaction is settled. Thus, this withholding tax could also be levied on a Swiss client (non-US person) if the FFI processing the payment (e.g. dividend) is not FATCA-compliant. Pension funds also are affected by FATCA: they not only have to be FATCA-compliant themselves but also need to be aware of their business partners' compliance status. They must ensure that no cash flows liable to withholding tax are handled via an FFI (e.g. custodian) that does not meet the requirements.
