Swiss wealth management firm Edelweiss Capital Group will be changing its policy to once again accept US Persons as clients starting from 2 January 2023.
In July 2021, the firm announced that it would no longer be accepting US clients because of the “very high compliance burden” in regards to tax reporting. According to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), all non-US financial institutions are required to search their records for customers “with an indicia of a connection to the US”.
Unlike the tax regimes in place in most other countries, US tax residents are liable to pay federal income taxes on their worldwide income. The country’s Inland Revenue Service (IRS) to step up enforcement efforts in recent years in a drive to prevent taxpayers from hiding their assets offshore. This has resulted in administrative inconvenience for financial firms, and many of them have stopped accepting US clients.
Karl Rautner, CEO of Edelweiss Capital, said in a prepared statement that “measures have been put in place for the firm to once again accept US clients”, and that his team was “fully confident that [we] will be able to meet all compliance requirements while also providing a seamless customer experience for our valued clients.”
Despite this, however, Rautner stated that Edelweiss does not have any plans to establish a physical presence in the US for the foreseeable future. Instead, he noted that there is an increasing trend of Americans emigrating to Europe and Asia, with relocation figures steadily increasing from 2005 to 2019. Any US person that would like to access Edelweiss’ services “can easily do so from a large number of domiciles”.
Originally founded as an estate planning firm in 1973 by Rautner’s late father Bernhard, Edelweiss services more than 1,000 clients, among which are high net worth individuals, family offices and family-owned businesses. The privately-held firm is well-known for its commitment to privacy, discretion, and personalized service.