On February 13, 2014 the OECD released the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which seeks to establish automatic exchange of tax information as the new global standard for governments. The approach is at the heart of the fight against tax evasion, but will impose significant compliance costs upon the financial institutions and other entities that are required to provide information.

The CRS imposes obligations on financial institutions to review and collect information to identify where account holders pay tax and then to pass on this information to the relevant tax authority. The OECD proposal for a global model for the automatic exchange of tax information was endorsed by the G20 group of companies which in September 2013 requested the OECD to present the new standard for consideration at the February 2014 of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. The new standard requires the automatic exchange of information on an annual basis, stipulating the financial information that should be reported by financial institutions and the different kinds of account and taxpayer covered by the requirements. In addition to the provisions of the US FATCA the OECD has also drawn on the experience of the European Union with exchange of tax information and on the global anti-money laundering standards.

The institutions that need to report under the standard include not only banks but also brokers and some collective investment vehicles and insurance companies. The accounts that need to be included in the reporting include those held by individuals and entities such as trusts and foundations.