What does the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) require from participating authorities?

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) requires participating authorities to share information on financial institutions and the financial accounts they maintain for non-resident individuals and entities. The CRS is an international standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information between tax authorities, aimed at combating tax evasion and enhancing transparency in cross-border financial transactions.

Under the CRS, participating countries are obligated to collect specific financial account information from their financial institutions and then share that information with the tax authorities of other countries, thereby creating a network of data exchange. This sharing of information helps to ensure compliance with tax obligations and allows tax authorities to identify individuals and entities who might be evading taxes through offshore accounts.

The other options do not align with the fundamental objectives of the CRS. The reporting of currencies exchanged, regulating offshore banks, and setting a global tax rate fall outside the scope of what the CRS is designed to achieve. Instead, the focus is on financial account transparency and the automatic sharing of information to prevent tax avoidance and evasion.