(Reuters): Tax authorities on Wednesday postponed implementation of new rules to force banks and financial institutions to disclose more information about U.S. clients' offshore accounts. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, has been a source of anxiety for institutions that must comply with it or face penalties, including possible exclusion from U.S. markets. The tax-collecting U.S. Internal Revenue Service said in a brief announcement it has postponed key staggered FATCA start dates - a step that was welcomed by industry, but still left key questions about FATCA unanswered, tax experts said. The IRS did not give a reason for the delay. 

The US Treasury Department has not yet issued final FATCA rules. So the industry does not know what specific requirements it faces, though at least it will now have more time.

Gaining an additional two years, institutions will now have until January 1, 2017 to begin withholding U.S. tax from clients' investment gains. The institutions will also now have until January 1, 2014, to have procedures in place to meet FATCA reporting requirements. That gives them as much as a year to comply.

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