MEPs from the Committee on Petitions discussed, on Wednesday 25 January, their fact-finding mission to Washington in July 2022 on the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The MEPs who took part in this mission were unanimous: progress must be made on this problem (see EUROPE 13103/26).
“If we do not act now, this file will be delayed for another 3 years”, said Yana Toom (Renew Europe, Estonian), rapporteur of the mission report, taking into account the electoral calendars of the European Parliament and the United States. “If we don’t push now, we will start from zero”, she added. Her position was supported by her colleagues.
As a reminder, FATCA is a US law aimed at combating tax evasion. However, it creates daily problems for people with US citizenship, because they were born in the US but have no connection to the country. These are represented by the Association of Accidental Americans (AAA). For example, ‘accidental Americans’ have problems opening a bank account (see EUROPE 13091/8).
MEPs faced “mistrust from some who thought we wanted to change the meaning of the law”, reported Cristina Maestre Martín De Almagro (S&D, Spanish), to the point that a majority of interlocutors rejected their request “for political reasons”. The mission members felt that the visit to Washington had been useful, as it had allowed them to learn more about the current situation and to draw more attention to the issues in the United States.
Ms Toom suggested further discussions with the US authorities in order to obtain legislative changes in the US and negotiations between the EU and the US. Peter Jahr (EPP, German) asked the European Commission to play this role.
Andrea Liesenfeld, Deputy Head of Unit at the Commission’s Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Markets (DG FISMA), said the issue will be discussed at the next Joint Financial Regulatory Forum with the US on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 February. The Americans had felt in 2022 that “the proposal made by the French Presidency of the EU Council was too broad, but they will provide a reply and come back to us”, she stressed.
Fabien Lehagre, President of the AAA, called on Member States to “take their responsibilities” and respect the recommendations of the European Data Protection Board regarding the “clear breach” of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Some European countries transmit data on ‘accidental Americans’ to the US Treasury and thus enable “illegal exchange of tax data ”.
Amendments to the mission report can be tabled until Friday 17 February. The text will be voted on in March. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)