THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
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FATCA Question in House of Commons
A Parliamentary question raised the topic of Accidental Americans in the UK
A written question to the UK Government from MP Preet Kaur Gill, the Shadow Minister for International Department, has raised the matter of FATCA and Accidental Americans. The question, which was addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, asked:
"To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Department of the Treasury on creation of accidental Americans through the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act."
The question was answered by Mel Stride (pictured above), the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and MP for Central Devon. His written response was:
"The government has engaged with the US Treasury and the IRS on a number of occasions regarding the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The government recognises that FATCA is a particular concern for those who were unaware of the obligations associated with their US citizenship.
However, to clarify, FATCA does not create new accidental Americans. Rather, FATCA created a mechanism for the financial accounts of overseas US citizens to be reported to the US."
With FATCA and its effect on both US Citizens and Accidental Americans coming under increasing scrutiny, particularly in France, it's a welcome development to see the topic discussed in UK politics. Depending on your perspective, the Government's response to Ms Gill's question does identify that discussions have been held with the US Treasury and the IRS relating to FATCA, and underlines that the Government appreciates the "particular concern" for Accidental Americans. We're sure there are plenty more questions US Citizens and Accidental Americans in the UK would like to ask - but with MPs like Ms Gill engaging the issue, there should be scope for more discussion going forward. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions on this matter, please e-mail editor@theamerican.co.uk
You can see the Written Question and Response on the Houses of Parliament website: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-12-10/200664/
