France has asked its banks not to close the accounts of American expatriates in the country due to FATCA.
According to AFP, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told that non-adherence to the FATCA TIN regulations didn’t warrant the banks to close upto 40,000 accounts of US citizens in the country.
In a notification sent to the French Banking Federation, Le Maire stated that despite there being a valid issue to be apprehensive, there was no reason to be alarmed whatsoever.
While the FATCA international tax code was designed in order to curb international tax avoidance, several Americans residing overseas have discovered that it created trouble to them too.
The American tax policy mandates that any individuals connected to the US must pay tax despite them having resided there for a very brief time as children. And, as a US citizen, they are bound to pay tax even on their global income.
The FATCA fracas wasn’t new as French banks had already cautioned that they might be compelled to shut around 40,000 accounts of US citizens in the country.
But with the revised guidelines on implementing the FATCA guidelines, banks in the country could no longer take the step of closing down the accounts of US expats, observed the Paris-based Association des Americains Accidentels (Accidental American Association).
AAA president Fabien Lehagre concluded by saying that the onus was on France to arrive at a permanent solution to resolve the issue.