French lawmakers have voted for a motion to limit the US’ application of extra-territorial legislation.
On 26 July 2022, members of the French parliament voted in favour of an amendment that would place conditions on how the country complies with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca).
237 parliamentarians voted for the amendment, while 182 voted against it. The amendment will now need to be examined and voted for in the French Senate.
Fatca requires US citizens – even those with dual nationality or who inherited citizenship either from their parents or by being born in the US, known as accidental Americans – to pay tax to the US despite not being residents.
The US is one of two countries in the world that adopt a citizenship-based taxation system alongside Eritrea.
‘Indignant’
Fabien Lehagre, president of the Association of Accidental Americans (AAA), explained to International Adviser that the amendment “aims to condition the collection of information on US persons by French banks”.
“The members of parliament expressed themselves in turn to be indignant at the extraterritoriality of American legislation, on the need to fight against American imperialism and to defend accidental Americans,” he added.
According to Lehagre, there are around 40,000 people in France alone affected by Fatca. Over the years, the reporting requirements have been the catalyst for financial institutions withdrawing services for US citizens.
