Glossary & Acronyms
Glossary and list of common acronyms, in alphabetical order
| Acronym | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | |
| Accidental American | An accidental American is a citizen of a country other than the United States who may also be considered a U.S. citizen under U.S. nationality law but is not aware of having U.S. status, or has only become aware of it recently during adulthood. |
| AFI | Australia Financial Institutions (often referred to as Foreign Financial Institutions in US FATCA documentation |
| A-REIT | Australian Real Estate Investment Trust - An investment vehicle that invests in real estate and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. |
| ATO | Australia Tax Office, Australian bureaucracy responsible for taxation reporting, collection and compliance |
| C | |
| CBT | Citizenship Based Taxation – the exceptional US practice of taxing US citizens on their worldwide income regardless of where they live, work, and use government services. |
| E | |
| ETF | Exchange Traded Fund, a managed fund that is traded on the stock exchange like shares. |
| F | |
| FATCA | Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is a 2010 United States federal law to enforce taxation requirements for United States persons, including those living outside the U.S. |
| FB | |
| FBAR | Foreign Bank Account Report – the colloquial name given to FINCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit) Report 114. |
| FFI | Foreign Financial Institutions, see AFI |
| FTT | Let’s Fix the Tax Treaty! Organisation |
| I | |
| IGA | Intergovernmental Agreement; generally the basis for implanting FATCA. Note this agreement is not a treaty in a strict sense as generally does not require full government ratification & approval. |
| IRS | Internal Revenue Service, US bureaucracy responsible for taxation reporting, collection and compliance |
| L | |
| LIC | Listed Investment Company - An investment vehicle traded on the Australian Stock Exchange that invests in both listed and unlisted companies. |
| N | |
| NIIT | Net Investment Income Tax – a 3.8% tax on unearned income passed as part of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Found in §1411 of the Internal Revenue Code. |
| P | |
| PFIC | Passive Foreign Investment Company - for purposes of United States income tax, U.S. persons owning shares of a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) are subject to extremely strict, onerous and complex tax regulations that, in effect, make it prohibitive to invest in mutual fund type investments outside the USA. |
| S | |
| SMSF | Self-Managed Super Fund |
| Superannuation | Partly compulsory government mandated system where money is placed in a fund to provide for a person's retirement; Often referred to as Super |
| SWOT | Strengths / Weaknesses / Threats / Opportunity - structured planning method that evaluates these four elements of a project |
| T | |
| Totalisation Agreement | Social Security Agreement between Australia and the United States of America |
