The US government’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) cannot come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the increasing focus on international cooperation between states on tax avoidance. Nor should anyone be in any doubt that there is any lack of political will to drive this forward even from the grumbling territories who are complaining that this is Big Brother politics or the US flexing its economic muscle. The truth is that many of these countries, like France and probably Germany, are watching the outcome of this legislation in order that they may potentially follow suit.