The "Accidental Americans" association has been battling for years to be exempt from a US demand that all its citizens overseas file bank details along with yearly tax returns. In 2017, Washington accepted a partial moratorium on the rule, known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), set up to battle offshore tax evasion. In refusing to hand over information required by the United States, French banks would expose themselves to penalties. As a result, the advocacy group says French nationals with dual American citizenship face de facto discrimination, even though "most of these people have no links with the United States." It says the European Commission has a year to decide if it will launch any proceedings against Paris on the issue.

Source: The Local October 03, 2019 09:56 UTC