Deb: FATCA may well impact Europeans as well as US citizens

 

 

The EU to look at FATCA implications

Editor:  Deb and Kim have requested that the following message from Lucy Laederich, FAWCO's

resident expert on the implications of US tax and other policies,  be posted:

 
 

On Tuesday, May 28, the Economic and Monetary Committee of the European Parliament is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the implications for Europe of FATCA implementation. Up to now, we in FAWCO have focused on these implications for "us", i.e. American citizens with "foreign" financial interests, the reporting requirements imposed on us and our banks abroad, the dilemma these pose for our non-American spouses and domestic or business partners with whom we hold joint accounts, etc. However, as we have all continued to say, FATCA is not a "done deal", it is a work in progress and things are changing all the time.  Right now, European governments are considering whether or not to enter into government-to-government agreements with the US Treasury and whether this will require reciprocal agreements whereby the US will report on foreign holders of US bank accounts, also.

 

This hearing is momentous from that perspective and while we only learned of it very recently - too late for most people to plan to attend - it will be accessible via a live webstream and I cannot encourage you enough to tune in - ask your friends and neighbors to tune in - listen to what is being said so that we are ahead of the news, rather than behind it.

 

I  (i.e., Lucy Laederich)  have written a letter to one of the MEPs and to the Rapporteur of the Committee, pointing out the implications of FATCA in the EU for:
1) spouses and partners of Americans living in the EU
2) "accidental" Americans who may not even realize they are - or could be considered to be - Americans. 

 At stake are privacy issues, of course, and even potentially bank access issues for EU citizens due to an American law. 
This letter will be posted Tuesday on the FAWCO website, if you are interested. 
 

In the meantime, if you possibly can, try to follow the hearing  on:
The fight against tax evasion - FATCA as a step towards international automatic exchange of information?  
Tuesday, May 28, in Brussels, from 15:30 to 17:00.
The meeting will also be webstreamed viahttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/committees/video?event=20130528-1530-COMMITTEE-ECON