Need tax advise regarding Foreign Investors

[Jessica Bridges]

I have an agent that brought a Foreign Investor to our management firm. I am not familiar with the tax rules on this. She withheld 30% of his income, he is stating since he has a US bank account that we should not withhold and I can not find an accountant that knows anything about this. Can someone please give me guidance?  

[Jordan Sinclair]

Originally posted by @Jessica Bridges:

I have an agent that brought a Foreign Investor to our management firm. I am not familiar with the tax rules on this. She withheld 30% of his income, he is stating since he has a US bank account that we should not withhold and I can not find an accountant that knows anything about this. Can someone please give me guidance?  

I'm not a tax expert but I understand 30% is the default withholding tax rate. The W8-BEN form allows tax treaty benefits to be claimed and the rates are usually lower as a result. I don't believe a US bank account or LLC is relevant in this case.