FATCA and France

97 thoughts on “FATCA and France”

1. http://www.frederic-lefebvre.org/tag/fatca/
   Frédéric LEFEBVRE
   Ancien ministre
   Député de la 1ère circonscription des Français établis hors de France
   Assemblée nationale
   126 rue de l’Université
   75355 PARIS 07 SP
   FRANCE
   Téléphone: +33 1 40 63 60 00
   Courriel: flefebvre@assemblee-nationale.fr

2. A nice article on LEFEBVRE’s website from Keith Redmond, administrator of “American Expatriates.”

   http://www.frederic-lefebvre.org/why-some-americans-abroad-renounce-us-citizenship-cnbc/

3. Just want to say the FATCA and [country name] threads are a great idea. It makes it easier to find out what’s up in each country. And thumbs up to M. Frédéric Lefebvre.

4. Here are 2 articles that I previously mentioned in the Switzerland IBS thread that have to do with France:

   It seems that [50 or so] French clients of UBS and Credit Suisse have filed suit against the banks for allegedly having provided bad advice, and such clients may have been found by the French tax authorities: http://www.rts.ch/info/economie/6418276-des-clients-francais-d-ubs-et-credit-suisse-ont-attaque-ces-banques-pour-mauvais-conseils.html

   A Swiss article (in French) says that France buries the idea of 75% tax upon very high incomes: http://www.rts.ch/info/monde/6427941-la-france-enterre-definitivement-la-taxe-a-75-sur-les-tres-hauts-revenus.html

5. http://franceusa.blogspot.ca/2015_02_01_archive.html
   samedi 21 février 2015
   Compte bancaire fermé pour « américanité »

6. I don’t think FACTA is going away, I am not counting on the USA moving to Residence Based Taxation any time soon, so I would at least like to have a really good France – USA Tax Treaty to protect me and my family from paying the highest tax rate of either country on everything…

   For your information, here is the letter that I have sent to:
   Frédéric LEFEBVRE
   Député de la 1ère circonscription des Français établis hors de France – Amérique du Nord
   Courriel: flefebvre@assemblee-nationale.fr
   via his contact info on his website here: http://www.frederic-lefebvre.org/contacter/

   If you feel so inclined, please feel free to modify this to fit your particular circumstances and send one yourself. In this letter, I only mentioned unfairness that I personally am 100% sure about – I have heard for example of someone being fired in France and their tax free lump sum being taxed by the USA but since this hasn’t happened to me I didn’t mention this because you never know, perhaps that person did not have good tax advice and I don’t want to state anything incorrect in my letter.

   So voila, here it is:

   “Monsieur le Député,

   Je vous félicite pour tout ce que vous réalisez pour les Français vivant en Amérique du Nord. Malheureusement les Etats-Unis n’ont pas de représentant pour leurs ressortissants qui vivent en France, c’est la raison pour laquelle je vous écrit.

   J’ai la double nationalité française/américaine et je suis résidente en France depuis 1988. J’ai toujours cru que la convention fiscale entre la France et les Etats-Unis me protégeait contre la double imposition. Cependant, j’ai récemment appris que malgré l’existence de ce traité, je peux encore être imposée par les États-Unis sur mes revenus français, même si ceux-ci ne sont pas imposables en France.

   Par exemple un binational FR/USA, résident en France, doit payer des impôts aux Etats-Unis :

   1. sur la plus-value de la vente de sa résidence principale en France.

   2. sur les intérêts / dividendes de comptes financiers français défiscalisés ou bénéficiant de certains avantages fiscaux pour les résidents français tels que le Livret A, PEL, CEL, LLD, PEA et Assurance Vie.

   Cela signifie qu’un binational FR/USA ne peut pas bénéficier des allégements fiscaux français accessibles à tous les autres résidents français.

   Pensez-vous que la convention fiscale entre la France et les Etats-Unis pourrait être renégociée afin que toutes les citoyens français, même binationaux USA/FR, soient traités de manière égale, en ce qui concerne l’imposition de leurs patrimoines français?

   Voyez-vous d’autres recours au niveau national ou Européen pour remédier à cette discrimination entre citoyens français au regard du régime fiscal ?

   Je vous prier d’agréer Monsieur le Député, l’expression de mes sentiments cordiaux.

   Katrina Maxwell
   PS : dans le FACTA IGA récemment signé par la France, il est mentionné que beaucoup de comptes (Livret A, PEL, CEL, LLD, …) ne seront pas signalés aux Etats-Unis par la France. Pourquoi une telle disposition a été prise alors les binationaux FR/USA sont obligés de déclarer ces comptes, sous peine de sanction, aux USA?”

7. http://www.connexionfrance.com/Americans-FATCA-bank-account-reporting-AARO-letters-16732-view-article.html

   “Act against harsh US banking rules
   March 11, 2015

   AMERICANS in France are being asked to take urgent action in a bid to change harsh banking rules which an expats’ body says are “wrecking people’s lives”.

   AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas) says intrusive rules in America’s ‘FATCA’ law place such heavy reporting obligations on French banks with American customers, and such heavy threats of penalties for any mistakes, that Americans have had accounts closed or have been turned down for new ones – especially for the best long-term savings plans.

   Americans are also being pressured by French spouses to be removed from couples’ joint bank accounts, AARO says.
   – See more at: http://www.connexionfrance.com/Americans-FATCA-bank-account-reporting-AARO-letters-16732-view-article.html#sthash.hdSe9t8S.dpuf….”…..

8. An example of how the US will not recognize significant taxes paid by expats abroad in France:
   Appeal of Tax Court Decision Focuses on Foreign Tax Credit, Tests Scope of U.S.-France Totalization Agreement
   By Katherine McKnight on April 23, 2015
   http://www.globaltaxenforcement.com/tax-controversy/appeal-of-tax-court-decision-focuses-on-foreign-tax-credit-tests-scope-of-u-s-france-totalization-agreement/#more-2179

9. In March 2015 FinCEN designated the fourth largest Andorran bank, Banca Privada d’ Andorra, as a “financial institution of primary money laundering concern”, effectively shutting it out of international financial markets. The Andorran government removed management and the BOD and took over the bank immediately:

   http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/06/andorra-moneylaundering-idUSL1N0XX22T20150506

   The problem is that the bank has deposits of $3 billion and the Andorran economy is only $600 million with a population of 80,000. Putting this bank out of business, as FinCEN has done, may cripple Andorra’s economy and it could get worse if Andorra’s other four banks become unsteady. The Telegraph wrote:

   “A single bank is one thing, but contagion would be an altogether different beast. A collapse of the entire banking system would spell disaster, especially after the hubristic expansion of recent years.”

   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11500130/Andorra-on-the-brink-of-Europes-next-banking-crisis.html

   The Financial Times wrote this yesterday:
   “US authorities destroyed an Andorran bank by accusing it of money laundering without warning, lawyers for the controlling shareholder family have alleged.

   In a letter to the Treasury department, the lawyers said the US authorities gave Banca Privada d’Andorra no opportunity to address the alleged problems.”

   The director of FinCEN, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, is a perennial “grandstander” and will destroy anything and anyone in her path. She needs to be replaced.

10. FinCEN has the authority to label financial institutions anywhere in the world as a “primary money-laundering concern” under sec. 311 of the US Patriot Act, effectively putting them out of business. The Economist writes this week that FinCEN uses this authority only against banks in unfriendly or weak countries:

    “Some see double standards in this. It is striking that no 311 measures have been taken against banks in strategically significant Middle Eastern countries where money-laundering is a big concern, such as the United Arab Emirates, or against any banks from Western countries, including America itself, that have been caught facilitating money-laundering on a large scale or operating with woefully inadequate controls, such as Wachovia and HSBC. A lawyer who alerted American officials to a big money-laundering scheme in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia says they showed no interest. America applies 311s “in a political way”, says Jason Sharman, an expert in financial crime at Australia’s Griffith University, even if some or all of the recipients have indeed done what they are accused of.

    Another alarming feature of 311s is that there is no requirement to make detailed evidence public, or even available to a court, to justify the action. It is an administrative procedure, not a judicial one. Only the Treasury knows how much evidence it has, and how reliable it is. Moreover, there is scant recourse for those targeted. Challenges can be heard by a federal court, but the bank has to show that the action was “arbitrary and capricious”, which is especially hard to prove given the secrecy of the process.”

    http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21653673-bank-rejects-american-accusations-it-abetted-financial-crime-fearful

11. @Innocente
    Sounds like America doesn’t go after somebody who has a bigger stick than they do.
    Tragic state of affairs.

12. FinCEN suffered a setback yesterday in its attempt to impose a “death sentence” on FBME Bank of Tanzania. Briefly, it failed to follow notification procedures and FBME Bank’s demonstration that the ruling would cause it irreparable harm. The judge emphasized that FinCEN must fully follow procedures because its decision to punish FBME Bank was based at least partly on classified information.

    “BME Bank Ltd. has won a reprieve from being excluded from the U.S. financial system after a judge granted the bank an injunction against action by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN.

    Last month FinCEN had ruled that FBME was a “primary money-laundering concern” under the Patriot Act, which would have barred U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining accounts at the bank. The ruling was set to take effect Friday, which FBME had said would serve as a “death sentence.”

    But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, of Washington, D.C., federal court, on Thursday granted FBME an injunction against imposition of the ruling, saying the U.S. didn’t satisfy notification requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act, and that FBME demonstrated how the rule’s implementation could cause it irreparable harm.

    Judge Cooper said he wouldn’t second-guess FinCEN’s findings on FBME, which were based in part on classified evidence, but ruled that the agency failed to adhere to the law’s procedural obligations.

    “FinCEN’s reliance on nonpublic and classified evidence to impose a serious sanction against a single institution required it to hew even more closely to the APA’s demands than it might have in a garden-variety rulemaking,” he said in the ruling.

    “Holding the agency to its full procedural obligations—even where the present record suggests that its ultimate decision was a proper exercise of its discretion—is critically important in a quasi-adjudicative rulemaking grounded largely on classified evidence,” he said. ”

    http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2015/08/28/fbme-bank-gets-reprieve-over-death-sentence-ruling/

13. Seems to be a source of info re FATCA and France, Switzerland, and rest of EU
    http://www.etudes-fiscales-internationales.com/

14. Yesterday FinCEN dropped its money laundering “finding” against Banca Privada d’Andorra. The Cierco family, owners of the bank, appears to have been successful in its lawsuit against FinCEN and issued a press release:

    “WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — FinCEN’s withdrawal of its Section 311 notices against Banca Privada d’Andorra is a momentous victory for BPA’s customers, employees, and all of its shareholders, including the majority shareholders, the Cierco family. Since FinCEN issued its illegal notices nearly one year ago, the Ciercos have fought vigorously to clear their name, bringing suit in federal court against the U.S. Department of Treasury and FinCEN to force the withdrawal the notices. FinCEN’s announcement that they have withdrawn the notices vindicates the Ciercos and BPA. ”

    http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fincen-withdrawal-vindicates-ciercos-challenge-300223186.html

    With that out of the way, FinCEN can go back to bullying and fining Americans abroad for not filing the obscure FBAR form or including a pension fund on the FBAR. Possibly FinCEN could also find the time to make the FBAR website more friendly and quicker to use.

15. In this week’s magazine, The Economist took a poke at FinCEN and its handling of the Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) case. In an article titled “Whoops apocalypse”, it wrote:

    “If BPA was already cleaning up its act, why go after it at all? Some suspect the bank was a pawn in a tussle between governments: miffed that Andorra was slow to adopt American-style anti-money-laundering rules, including limits on cash transactions, America decided to show who was boss by selecting a bank to pick on. There is some evidence to support this sacrificial-lamb theory. In unscripted comments last year, for instance, an American diplomat suggested that America chose to “use the hammer” on BPA as a way of resolving wider concerns about Andorra.”

    http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21693603-american-regulators-wield-big-stick-not-always-fairly-whoops-apocalypse

16. Saw this story highlighted via Twitter;
    https://twitter.com/NOTOFATCA/status/702995515668037632
    https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1041262055920480&id=629761943737162

    Chris Dalton, victim of Nov. 13 terrorist attack was denied a bank account in France due to FATCA;
    See;
    http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/02/25/chris-dalton-victime-du-13-novembre-je-passe-mes-journees-a-regler-des-tracasseries-administratives_4871183_3224.html
    ‘Chris Dalton, victime du 13 novembre : « Je passe mes journées à régler des tracasseries administratives’
    LE MONDE | 25.02.2016 à 08h48 • Mis à jour le 26.02.2016 à 15h54 | Par Patricia Jolly

    ….”..A l’hôpital, que Chris a quitté à la mi-décembre avec des béquilles et où il devait faire refaire ses pansements tous les deux jours, l’accueil du personnel, débordé, est subitement devenu moins sympathique. « Un week-end, on m’a même refusé les soins, et l’assistante sociale qui s’occupe de mon dossier a dû intervenir. » Il a dû louer un appartement dans Paris : 1 700 euros pour un studio dans le quartier de la gare du Nord.

    La provision du fonds d’indemnisation des victimes du terrorisme, supposée couvrir ce type de frais, n’est arrivée que plus tard. « Il fallait un RIB, explique Chris, et les agences bancaires françaises n’ont pas voulu m’ouvrir un compte à cause du Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act [loi visant à contrôler les comptes offshore], qui leur complique la vie. » Il a finalement trouvé un arrangement avec une banque américaine. Il doit se contenter pour l’instant d’un passeport temporaire, car le policier qui a pris sa déposition à l’hôpital a égaré le sien..”….

    Google translate version:
    ..”……..At the hospital, Chris left in mid-December with crutches and where he had to redo his bandages every other day, the reception staff, overwhelmed, suddenly became less friendly. “One weekend, I was even denied care, and the social worker who handles my file had to intervene. “He had an apartment in Paris: 1700 Euros for a studio in the neighborhood of the Gare du Nord.

    The provision of the compensation fund for victims of terrorism, supposed to cover such costs, did not arrive until later. “We had a RIB says Chris, and French bank branches would not open an account for me because of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act [Act to control offshore accounts], which complicates their life. “He eventually found an arrangement with a US bank. He must be content for now a temporary passport because the police officer who took his deposition to the hospital lost his.”……….

17. http://frenchmorning.com/francais-etats-unis-prives-de-compte-bancaire-france/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=FrenchMorningNY&utm_content=Fran%C3%A7ais%20des%20Etats-Unis,%20ils%20sont%20priv%C3%A9s%20de%20compte%20bancaire%20en%20France
    Français des Etats-Unis, ils sont privés de compte bancaire en France

    Alexis Buisson
    février 14, 2016 |

18. As noted by Bubblebustin here http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2016/03/09/canadian-fatca-iga-litigation-update-we-need-more-canadian-witnesses/comment-page-1/#comment-7291796 ;

    See:
    ”
    Réunion constitutive du mercredi 2 mars 2016
    Contenu de l’article

    Les commissions des affaires étrangères et des finances de l’Assemblée nationale ont décidé de constituer une mission d’information commune sur l’extraterritorialité de certaines lois des États-Unis, qui a tenu sa réunion constitutive mercredi 2 mars 2016. Le président de la mission est M. Pierre Lellouche (Les Républicains, Paris) et sa rapporteure Mme Karine Berger (Socialiste, républicain et citoyen, Hautes-Alpes).
    …”…..
    http://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/missions-d-information/missions-d-information-communes/mission-d-information-commune-sur-l-extraterritorialite-de-certaines-lois-des-etats-unis/a-la-une/reunion-constitutive-du-mercredi-2-mars-2016

19. Sophie in’t Veld now following the outcome of the French commission;
    https://twitter.com/SophieintVeld/status/707637562236641280

20. PwC, an audit firm, investigated Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) for money laundering and found nothing that was not already known and had been previously reported to the Andorran government. According to a PR release today by the bank owners’ attorney:

    “What Andorra and PwC have shown is that .3% of the bank customers have been identified as showing patterns that warrant further investigation, which is the same number that BPA had identified to the Andorran government for investigation and were blocked long before the bank was illegally and immorally seized by the government.”

    FinCEN also overstepped by claiming that BPA was a “primary money-laundering concern”. After this latest in a string of failures, the US administration should fire or demote the bumbling and incompetent FinCEN director, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, and her supervisor, David Cohen, Assistant Treasury Secretary. I won’t hold my breath waiting for that.

    http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statement-by-eric-lewis-attorney-for-ramon-and-higini-cierco-in-response-andorran-press-conference-300233545.html

21. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/attention-french-citizens-who-accidental-americans-american-redmond
    From Keith Redmond:
    “ATTENTION: French Citizens who are Accidental Americans & French & American Citizens:
    May 13, 2016

    55 views
    3 Likes
    1 Comment

    Share on LinkedInShare on FacebookShare on Twitter

    A very important meeting in less than 2 weeks with high level officials at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with the heads of the French Government Commission examining The United States Extraterritorial Overreach into France & French Citizens’ lives including FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) & the United States Practice of Citizenship Based Taxation (CBT).

    He needs testimonials (written in French) from French citizens who are Accidental Americans and dual French & American citizens who have been adversely impacted by FATCA and CBT. Spouses of both populations may also send their testimonials. If you wish to remain anonymous, please state this in your e-mail.

    The DEADLINE is 20 May 2016.

    You can send your testimonials to Fabien LEHEGRE at usaccidental@gmail.com. If you need to ask Fabien any questions, you can contact him at the e-mail address above. Please note that Fabien only speaks French so any questions will need to be addressed in French.

    PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO DO YOUR TESTIMONIAL FOR THIS IMPORTANT MEETING!”

    Admins, if you know how to relay this to Victoria @FrancoAmerican Flophouse, http://thefranco-americanflophouse.blogspot.ca/ could you?
    thanks!

22. Note de synthèse FATCA-CBT 23052016.pdf
    I see this by Fabien LEHEGRE. Used Google translate to read part of it. Maybe a francophone could read and summarize?

23. This is where I found the above document;
    https://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2016/05/24/note-de-synthese-fatca-cbt-23052016/

24. http://www.aapafrance.org/tax-professional-brief-aapa-on-punitive-u-s-legislation/
    Tax Professionals Brief AAPA [ Anglo-American Press Association in Paris ] On Intrusive U.S. Law
    7 June 2016 par AAPA France

25. http://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/missions-d-information/missions-d-information-communes/mission-d-information-commune-sur-l-extraterritorialite-de-la-legislation-americaine/a-la-une/reunion-constitutive-du-mercredi-2-mars-2016

    “Les commissions des affaires étrangères et des finances de l’Assemblée nationale ont décidé de constituer une mission d’information commune sur l’extraterritorialité de certaines lois des États-Unis, qui a tenu sa réunion constitutive mercredi 2 mars 2016. Le président de la mission est M. Pierre Lellouche (Les Républicains, Paris) et sa rapporteure Mme Karine Berger (Socialiste, républicain et citoyen, Hautes-Alpes).”………

    Looking for published results of this commission’s work, and testimony of FATCA’s impact on French citizens/residents to post here if anyone can find text and links (I am hampered by being an Anglophone with limited French language skills!).