We are always concerned with assuring the privacy of all data we receive and process for our clients, irrespective of where they are in the world.
We are registered in the US Safe Harbor, resulting in protected client data under both US domestic and international regulation.
These pages give details of the coverage under each type of regulation.
We process all information received fairly and lawfully based on the Double Tax Treaties between countries which establish entitlements to treaty rates of taxation;
Any information we obtain is used only for specified and lawful purposes based on our contract which limits our activities on your behalf solely to tax reclamation;
We ask only for information which is adequate, relevant, and is not excessive in terms of treaty-based requirements of the jurisdictions concerned;
We maintain information accurately and where necessary we take steps to maintain its accuracy by having extensive "data scrubbing" and client contact to keep information valid;
We keep information no longer than necessary. Given that we are often the repositories of tax reclaim information for our clients, this is usually forever. Local US law requires us to keep records for at least fifteen years;
We process information in accordance with your rights (which are detailed below) and by the explicit permissions you give us to use your data on your behalf;
We keep data secure both technically in secure on-site systems and contractually through agreements with your named custodians;
We transfer data only to the US New York facility which, through our certification under the US Safe Harbor Agreement with the EU, establishes our adherence to EU Directives on
data protection.
There are seven principles of data protection in US Safe Harbor in addition to the eight principles of EU Data Protection to which we conform. These are shown below.
Notice: GlobeTax notifies you about the purposes for which we collect and use information about you. We provide information about how you can contact us with any inquiries or complaints, the types of third parties to which we disclose the information and the choices and means GlobeTax offers for limiting its use and disclosure. We do this through a Limited Power of Attorney for all clients on behalf of whom we file reclaims, together with a Letter of Authority used in conjunction with any custodians who manage your assets and our Service Level Agreement, all of which are available upon written request.
Choice: GlobeTax gives you the opportunity to choose (opt out) whether your personal information will be disclosed to a third party. We do this by explicitly stating the use and disclosure of information in our contracts and letters of authority. If you decide to opt out, just don't sign up for the service. Of course, you should be aware that this will mean that you may be unable to recover over-withheld taxes. We do not provide any of your data to any third party incompatible with the purpose for which we have been contracted.
Onward Transfer (Transfers to Third Parties): Our contracts and letters of authority are the way we apply the notice and choice principles. Such transfers occur only for the purpose of filing tax reclaims within the jurisdiction of the securities held by you, either to an agent bank of your chosen custodian, or directly with the jurisdictional government. We will only transfer the minimum amount of information required for the purpose of recapturing the over-withheld taxes. We will, at your request, limit such activity to jurisdictions subscribing to the safe harbor principles or subject to the EU Directive or another adequacy finding. The transfer of information for reporting purposes are limited to yourself or your chosen custodian or its contractual agents.
Access: You have access to personal information that we hold about you and you are able to correct, amend, or delete that information where it is inaccurate, except where the burden or expense of providing access would be disproportionate to the risks to your privacy in the case in question, or where the rights of persons other than you would be violated.
Security: In accordance with the safe harbor act and as required by the EU directive, we take reasonable precautions to protect your personal information from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.
Data integrity: In accordance with the safe harbor
act and as required by the EU directive, any personal information we hold about you is relevant for the purposes for which it is to be used. We take reasonable steps to ensure that data is reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete, and current.
Enforcement: In order to ensure compliance with the safe harbor principles, we have (a) readily available and affordable independent recourse mechanisms so that if you have a complaint any disputes can be investigated and resolved; (b) procedures for verifying that the commitments we make to adhere to the safe harbor principles have been implemented; and (c) obligations to remedy problems arising out of a failure to comply with the principles. If we fail to provide annual self-certification letters, GlobeTax will no longer appear in the list of participants. However, we warrant that safe harbor benefits will continue to be assured as they applied at the time of data acquisition.
The Eighth Principle in EU Data Protection prohibits the transfer of personal data outside the EU to any jurisdiction where the EU Data Protection Commissioner determines that the jurisdiction is inadequate. In the case of the USA, the Safe Harbor Act protects EU citizens and allows transfer of personal data so long as the recipient (GlobeTax) is a certified signatory to the Act.
