Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Dubious Legal Pedigree of FATCA intergovernmental agreements (and why it matters)

My latest column in Tax Analysts' Tax Notes International is here.  I argue that the IGAs have a dubious legal pedigree because they are not treaties, not congressionally-authorized executive agreements, and not interpretations of existing agreements; therefore they are sole executive agreements--entered into by the executive branch with no authorization or oversight from Congress. This puts them on very shaky ground in terms of the constitutional process for binding the US internationally, and I argue that this is both unhelpful to other governments as a practical matter (IGAs override the statute, so if they fail, then what) and an unnecessary muddling of the rule of law, which should make other governments wary (if you have a process in place to bind the US under international law, why aren't you using it).


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