Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
2018/2646(RSP) Adverse effects of FATCA on EU citizens and in particular 'accidental Americans'
Lead committee dossier: PETI/8/12544
Legal Basis RoP 128-p5
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
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Lead | PETI | WIKSTRÖM Cecilia (ALDE) |
Legal Basis RoP 128-p5
Activites
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2018/07/05
Vote in plenary scheduled
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2018/07/04
Debate in plenary scheduled
Documents
Amendments | Dossier |
19 |
2018/2646(RSP)
2018/05/25
PETI
19 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Citation 1 a (new) - having regard to articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights
Amendment 10 #
Recital J J. whereas the French Assemblée Nationale published a report in October 2016 following its bipartisan fact-finding mission to investigate the extraterritorial effects of certain US laws, including FATCA, recommending that the French Government either negotiate an amendment to its tax treaty with the US or request US legislators to amend US laws in order to allow French “accidental Americans” to exit the US system and their unwanted US citizenship on a no fees, no filings, no penalties basis; whereas a commission was recently set up to specifically look into the extraterritorial taxation of French “accidental Americans” by the US, and resolutions were tabled in November 2017 in both the Senate and the Assemblée Nationale on this particular issue; whereas on 15 May 2018, by a unanimous vote, the French Senate adopted a resolution, inviting the French government to immediately take measures to ensure that French accidental Americans’ right to a bank account is respected, that the discriminatory practices adopted by French banks in the wake of FATCA cease, and that an information campaign is immediately launched to inform French citizens living in the US about the implications of US nationality and tax laws; whereas the resolution further requests that a strong diplomatic effort is taken to find a solution for French accidental Americans that would allow them to exit their unwanted US citizenship on a no fees, no filings and no penalties basis and that the US honours its promise of reciprocity pursuant to which France agreed to sign its IGA;
Amendment 11 #
Recital K K. whereas the United States and Eritrea are the two only countries in the world that adopt citizen-based taxation (CBT), and Eritrea has been condemned by the United Nations for its efforts to enforce its “diaspora tax”;
Amendment 12 #
Recital L L. whereas the United States adopted in December 2017 a significant tax reform, which however did not abolish the citizen- based taxation principle for individuals, but did introduce territory based taxation for US multinational corporations;
Amendment 13 #
Paragraph -1 (new) -1. Calls on Member States and the Commission to ensure that the fundamental rights of all Citizens, in particular the Accidental Americans, are ensured, especially the right to a private and family life, the right to privacy and the principle of non-discrimination, as laid down in the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union and in the European Convention of Human Rights;
Amendment 14 #
Paragraph 2 2. Calls on the Commission to expedite its analysis of national transposition measures of the Payment Accounts Directive and include the situation of “accidental Americans”, dual citizens and US citizens legally resident in the EU, in its assessment, paying due attention to any discrimination against taxpayers legally residing in the EU and qualifying as “US persons” for the purpose of FATCA by financial institutions;
Amendment 15 #
Paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 16 #
Paragraph 4 4. Urges the Commission and the Working Party Article 29, to investigate without delay any infringement of EU data protection rules by Member States whose legislation authorizes the transfer of personal data to the US IRS for the purpose of FATCA, and start infringement procedures against Member States that fail to adequately enforce the EU data protection rules;
Amendment 17 #
Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Commission to do a full impact assessment of FATCA and the US extraterritorial practice of CBT on EU citizens, EU financial institutions and EU economies, taking into account ongoing efforts in France and other Member States, and explain if a serious discrepancy between EU citizens/residents in different EU Member States exists, especially as regards EU data protection rules and fundamental rights standards as a result of FATCA and “US indicia”; calls on the Commission to do a comprehensive assessment of the status of FATCA reciprocity, or lack thereof, across the EU, and compliance by the US with its obligations under the various IGAs signed with Member States;
Amendment 18 #
Paragraph 6 6. Calls on the Commission to assess and, if necessary, take action to ensure that the EU fundamental rights and values enshrined in the Charter of fundamental rights and the European Convention of Human Rights, such as the right to privacy and the principle of non-discrimination, as well as the EU data protection rules, are respected in the context of FATCA and automatic exchange of tax information with the United States;
Amendment 19 #
Paragraph 7 7. Regrets the inherent lack of reciprocity of IGAs signed by Member States, especially in terms of the scope of information to be exchanged, which is larger for Member States than it is for the United States; Calls on
Amendment 2 #
Recital B B. whereas since the entry into force of the FATCA and the related IGAs concluded between Member States and the US, EU financial institutions, under the threat of franchise destroying penalties in the US, including a 30% withholding tax, have to disclose detailed information on accounts held by presumed “US persons” to the US I
Amendment 3 #
Recital C C. whereas the
Amendment 4 #
Recital C a (new) C a. whereas this use of indicators, enforced by FATCA, may result in arbitrary exposure and punishment of individuals who might in reality have no substantive ties to the US; whereas FATCA in practice includes a large group of individuals, such as dual European/US citizens and their non-US family members, and in particular the so-called “accidental Americans” who by accident of birth inherited US citizenship, but who maintain no ties to the US, having never lived, worked or studied in the US and who do not hold US social security numbers;
Amendment 5 #
Recital E E. whereas the lives and livelihood of thousands of law-abiding EU citizens and their EU families are being very seriously affected by FATCA on a daily basis, as those falling within the definition of “US persons” have their saving accounts frozen, are denied access to all banking services including life insurance,
Amendment 6 #
Recital E a (new) E a. whereas Accidental Americans who do not want to be affected by FATCA are obliged to formally renounce their U.S.citizenship, which is a very cumbersome process for which a U.S. social security number or a U.S. international tax identification number are required, which inter alia most accidental Americans do not possess;
Amendment 7 #
Recital E b (new) E b. whereas American internet platforms such as AirBnB, Tripadvisor and Amazon, are required to collect taxpayer information from all EU citizens who make use of these online services, and hand this over to the American federal tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); whereas the objective of this practice is to certify whether the user is a US citizen, and therefore to determine if the earnings through these platforms are subject to US tax reporting, in the context of FATCA; Whereas this practice is clearly not in line with EU data protection rules;
Amendment 8 #
Recital H H. whereas the Parliament, in its resolution of 6 July 2016 on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect, took note of a significant lack of reciprocity between the US and the EU in the framework of the FATCA intergovernmental agreement;
Amendment 9 #
Recital I I. whereas
source: 622.251
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History
(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)
2018-09-12Show (6) Changes | Timetravel
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Adverse effects of FATCA on EU citizens and in particular 'accidental Americans'New
Resolution on the adverse effects of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on EU citizens and in particular 'accidental Americans' |
2018-06-15Show (5) Changes
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