41 thoughts on “Good News from the French Commission”

1. Vive la France !!!
   The land of freedom and human rights !

   USA is just a Bully.

2. This is a beginning and possibly a good one. At least the French Assembly committee recognizes a problem
   However , be very sceptical that anything will change.
   There are ‘solutions envisaged for Accidental Americans’ on page 112.
   The proposed solution is the same as the one in Mr.Obama’s budget proposal for 2016 that went precisely no where. It had to do with those born as duals who had never done anything to act as Americans and who would be given 2 years to exit the system with no strings . We discussed this at the time and it was wishful thinking.
   The second part has to do with trying to obtain real as opposed to fake reciprocity.
   Most of the report has to do with commercial interests. There is thin gruel indeed for the likes of us.
   All roads lead to renunciation. Sauve qui pest.

3. Sauve qui peut.

4. Just amazing. If a country like France said no to FATCA- how many others would have the courage to follow? Nobody LIKES it. Everyone feels robbed- and their treasuries ARE being robbed. When will it click? When Canada`s retirees demand money from the government to live because their retirement funds have been depleted because America took from them?

5. FATCA is like paying ‘protection money’ to the local syndicate. No one liked that either, but the financial consequences of not going along were too high.

   This effort needs to be socialized among the EU, and likely taken to the UN. I notice the Butera lawsuit seems to be stuck . . . it’s only when governments go after sanctions against the US that things will be taken seriously.

6. This is a great development. I’m looking forward to reading it in its entirety when I’m on stable internet. I’ll just have to read the many insightful comments for now.

7. This report has surfaced in the English-language press, via Reuters.

   France: The US must be challenged over its judicial ‘extortion’ of corporate Europe

   Europe should challenge the United States over its increasingly aggressive use of extraterritorial laws that have cost European companies – especially banks – billions in fines and other settlements, a French parliamentary report said.

   Still reeling from the $9 billion fine its biggest bank, BNP Paribas, had to pay U.S. authorities over violations of American sanctions against other countries, the French government has criticized in recent years what it considers the over-reach of the U.S. legal system.

   Paris’s main objections center on the U.S. Department of Justice’s broad interpretation of what it considers its jurisdiction.

   This sphere of influence can include transactions between non-Americans outside the U.S. where the U.S. dollar currency is involved. It can also cover deals and other actions taking place via the Internet using U.S. computer servers.

   “We consider that today’s situation amounts to abusive use of American law,” Karine Berger, a lawmaker from the ruling Socialist party told Reuters in an interview, calling the practices akin to “extortion”.

   “We ask France and Europe to let it be known to the United States that we will no longer accept this type of behavior.”

   In a non-binding investigative report last week, lawmakers from both the Socialist party and opposition conservatives said U.S. law appeared to be more punitive toward foreign firms than domestic ones.
   [..]

   http://uk.businessinsider.com/france-slams-us-over-judicial-extortion-of-corporate-europe-2016-10

8. The article is correct. The report focuses on CORPORATE Europe. There are only crumbs for individuals.

9. Yep. Interesting though.

10. “US law appeared to be more punitive toward foreign firms than domestic ones”
    YES
    Is it only now beginning to dawn on people what a double standard the USA is using? What about the now biggest tax haven on Earth: USA.
    The hypocrisy is just so mind-blowing. I never understood why BNP had to pay 9 billion to America in the first place. For a US sanction against Iran?

11. @Polly
    I don’t think they had a choice, the BNP money was already being held as a pass through payment in the US.

12. off-topic but important: in the latest Wikileaks just out, one big Compliance condor, Joseph Smaloover at the law firm Bryan Cave, calling FATCA “republican propaganda” to John Podesta.

    Here is the email from Wikileaks:

    https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/5733

13. This paragraph in the Reuters article is highly relevant:

    Swiss bank Credit Suisse said on Sunday it has put five employees on leave while it investigates a tax-related matter. Swiss paper SonntagsZeitung reported that the move was connected to a U.S. probe of the bank’s Israeli unit over possible tax evasion.

    See http://fortune.com/2016/10/09/credit-suisse-tax-probe-employees/

14. @socrates – Sorry to be slow but could you explain the significance?

    Google says Smallhoover was formerly a DNC member. Isn’t he just giving a former colleague a headsup about the legal case? Or am I missing something?

15. So it turns out it was Joseph Smallhoover who submitted an amendment on FATCA reform to the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee. Amendment was passed almost unanimously. Clip on C-Span:

    https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4610640/fbarfatca-reform-amendment

16. @iota: Podesta is hardly just “a former colleague”. It shows, like everything else, FATCA decisions by the Hillary administration will be influenced by Compliance industry donors. No surprise here, but just reinforces the point.

17. You think?

    To me it seems more like a pi$$ing contest, though no doubt with added political allegiances.

    Smallhoover’s a Democrat activist, Haugen’s a Republican activist, they’re both based in Paris and both very aware of the anger FATCA is creating and the damage it could do to the Democrats come election time. Which Haugen would like to capitalize on, and Smallhoover would like to mitigate. Haugen gets his op-ed in the New York Times, Smallhoover sees it and flags it up to Podesta, and soon the Democratic Platform is getting an amendment promising FATCA reform.

    Not such a bad thing. At least it means both Platforms acknowledge the need to do something about FATCA, even if nothing comes of the promises.

18. @Heidi
    Aha! Thats like kidnapping. Terrible.

19. @iota
    Yes, it is good to know that they are taking the possibility of Americans abroad voting Republican seriously. I think Mike Lee could become one of the stars of the Republican party once it recovers.

20. @socrates

    Very significant yet subtle reference to the FATCA/FBAR lawsuit.

    For a long time the Democrats/Democrats Abroad/Their instigators on Twitter etc. would only refer to the suit at the FATCA suit (having a go at Bopp etc.). They could not refer to it as the FATCA/FBAR lawsuit. (even though only 1 of the 8 claims were against FBAR but importantly FINCEN was named – the suit is against FINCEN as well). This all is a big signal to me that the suit should always be referred as the FATCA/FBAR lawsuit and even FBAR/FATCA would be good.

    FBAR rules assumes guilty until proven innocent and has massive fines even when no tax is owed and even for say an account of $1 value not reported – all not imposed on US residents for their local accounts.

    Other naming: May we (at least some of us) agree to start calling FATCA One-Way FATCA as if that is the true name of it.

21. I was referring to the Wikileaks e-mail: https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/5733

22. @socrates, thanks for finding and posting that wikileaks link of the email ;
    From: *Smallhoover, Joseph*
    Date: Wed, May 13, 2015 at 1:34 PM
    Subject: FATCA — Some Republican Propaganda already
    To: “John D. Podesta (john.podesta@gmail.com)”

    “… My point in sending this to you is to call the Campaign’s attention to an issue that the Republicans are going to be beating on constantly for the next two years in the hopes of bringing in cash and motivating overseas Americans to vote Republican. For a number of people, FATCA is a very hot button and will get them out when they have previously been passive….”

    I think this is the Smallhoover;
    DAF Chair
    http://www.democratsabroad.org/joesmallhoover

    and this is the Podesta;
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Podesta

    Now I wonder if we can find mention of the Canadian lawsuit on wikileaks?

    And of the French commission?

23. Try sifting through these wikileaks results, which was a search for the keyword FATCA inspired by the find by @socrates (see comments above);
    https://search.wikileaks.org/?q=fatca

24. It’s too bad, Canada, who should have been a leader in this, chose not to have a spine. I guess it’s because living right next to the elephant, it’s too easy to get squashed if one takes a stand.

    Pity…should have fought the War of 1812 over again.

25. @ The_Animal
    http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/03/02/its-the-geopolitics-stupid/

    This is apparent in the client country “Canada”, where no sovereignty is allowed, and where domestic policy is entirely about preventing any emergence of actual democracy.

    It is glaringly obvious, to anyone who escapes the constant institutional social-engineering restrictions and blaring propaganda amplified by all the media, that US-led geopolitics determines every aspect of state management in Canada.

    I hate to think Denis Rancourt’s dismal assessment of Canada is true but after seeing our government genuflect to its US master when FATCA was declared, I’m reluctantly nodding my head in at least partial agreement with him.