This Press Release was sent out by Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) concerning American Express cards and the new IRS regulations

If you accept American Express, please see below the Merchant Letter you should have received.

Dear Merchant,

As a United States (US) based merchant acquiring entity, American Express must comply with all US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations and legislation including the new Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6050W. In order to keep you well informed, we are contacting you to provide you with additional information about Section 6050W. According to Section 6050W, merchants who fail to document their status may be subject to a 28% US Federal backup withholding tax on their payments beginning January 1, 2013.

If you are a legal representative, owner or you are in the administrative/financial area of an establishment, this information is of high importance to you.

IRC Section 6050W requires that all merchant acquiring entities (like American Express) document the status (US or non-US) of any business with whom they settle.  If a merchant does not provide all valid and complete documentation of their status before December 31, 2012, it will be subject to declare such information to the Unites States, as well as to the 28% US Federal backup withholding tax on their payments.

Merchants subject to this regulation are those who receive the American Express Credit card as a method of payment in their establishment ((US or non-US) and who fall in one of the following scenarios:

• The establishment has a physical address in the United States.
• The establishment has a bank account in the United States.
• The establishment processes transaction in US American Dollars.

If you are a non-US Merchant with American Express, please properly complete the IRS Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status, which would set your status as a non-US Merchant.

If you are a US Merchant, for each commercial entity which receives the American Express Credit card as a method of payment, please verify that the legal name and the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) that you have provided to American Express are the same legal name and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) that you provided in the Incorporation Agreement to the IRS.

We are sending you the link to our webpage where you can complete the IRS Form W-8BEN. You can also call American Express at 1-800-297-2639 (Option 1) so you can ask a representative to send you this IRS Form W-8BEN.

Steps to follow – Online:

1.       Go to  www.americanexpress.com/confirm

2.       Click on the link “Electronically submit tax certification”. Press the “Continue” button.

3.       Put in your Merchant/Establishment number, select your country, provide your e-mail, and click “continue”.

4.       Indicate what type of entity you will be registering: Individual or non-individual.

5.       Put in the complete name or corresponding information with the form.

6.       Once you completed the previous step, put in your Merchant/Establishment number and the registration code that was sent to your e-mail. Confirm if the registered name is the one in charge of the American Express merchant account or of the dollar charges with the terminal.

7.       Provide the company’s information.

8.       Confirm e-mail address.

9.       You will receive an e-mail shortly with a five digit PIN to certify your electronic Form. Write it in the space provided if you agree to certify your electronic form.

Note: If you have not received an e-mail, check your junk/spam e-mail folder. You should add digitalw8.com to your safe recipient list to receive future e-mails from the Digital W8 application.

10.   Fill out the E-Sign Acceptance Form.

11.   Select the corresponding form.

12.   Put in the name of the legal representative/owner. “Question 3” and “Question 4”.

13.   Confirm the company’s country and physical address “Question 5”, confirm if the address is permanent “Question 6”, “Question 7”, “Question 8”, Note:  Please do not put in a P.O. BOX. This will cause the certification to be unsuccessful.

14.   Confirm Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), “Question 9”.

15.   Answer question 10

16.   Verify the “Question Summary”.

17.   Follow the mail indication about agreement and conditions.

18.   Verify electronic form.

Important key points to keep in mind when filling out the form:

So the form is not rejected and the process delayed, please keep in mind and make sure you complete the following information correctly:

• P.O. Box is not accepted as an address.
• In the field “Reference”: please include your Merchant/Establishment number (10 digits)
• In the field “Capacity”, put in “owner, director, manager, president” (legal representative is not accepted).

We, American Express, want to thank you for giving this important information the attention required.

For more information, you can visit our webpage www.americanexpress.com/confirm or call us at 1800 297 26 39, Option 1.

If you have not complied by December 31^st, 2012, you should contact your American Express representative.

American Express and the new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulation

Some of our Caribbean partners, like CHTA and Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) met with American Express to seek resolutions to challenges facing the industry as a result of the IRS requirement.

The following will be of immediate assistance to you.

• A 800 # has been established to facilitate filing of forms and support inquiries on status of existing filing – the number to contact is 1-800-297-2639 Option 1. Since experiencing a high volume of calls, please persist and/or send an email to [email protected] with your complete information and best hours in which you can be contacted. Forms and instructions are linked below.
• More information available at www.americanexpress.com/confirm.
• Should you have questions regarding filing requirements for credit cards other than American Express (i.e. MasterCard, Visa, Discover), you should contact your merchant account representative.
• I will keep you posted on any updates on this situation.

Please review the procedures on this link to ensure you understand the filing process and requirements.

Forms and instructions for your reference: W-8BEN Form or W-9 Form; w8b instructions or w9 instructions.

To read more on this:

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/jan/21/hotels-cash-flow-fears-28-credit-card-withholding/