Petit, Jean
(Editor's note: the first name has been changed)
was proud to be American.
“There was Superman and all the superheroes, the imagination of success, of freedom… I claimed it!
At 58, the American dream turns into a nightmare.
This Parisian entrepreneur born in the United States before arriving in France at the age of three months, is threatened with finding himself without any bank account in France.
Like thousands of other "accidental Americans", these Franco-Americans born in the United States but who have never lived there.
They are, according to Bercy estimates, 40,000 on French territory.
His bank, BNP Paribas, sent him a letter in early March to warn him that his account was going to be closed in two months.
Blame it on the absence of its TIN, the US tax identification number.
Since the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), a law in force since 2014, the American authorities require that its nationals declare their accounts abroad, to fight against tax evasion.
However, the famous "Americans accidents" who have never lived in the United States, do not know this TIN.
“To get it, you have to go to the American embassy, which has been closed since the start of the health crisis.
We are blocked !, worries Fabien Lehagre, president of the Association of Accidental Americans.
The banks are scared, the State must react!
"
The Fatca law provides that if a foreign bank does not communicate the TIN of its customers, the IRS - the American tax authorities - fines it equivalent to 30% of all its financial flows from American sources.
In the case of BNP Paribas, it could amount to several million or even billion euros.
"We respect our obligations with regard to tax regulations," we justify at the BNP.
The refusal of customers to communicate the TIN therefore compromises the possibility of continuing our relationship with them.
This would concern, according to the BNP, a "very limited" number of accounts.
Bercy has been following the file for many years
For individuals, the consequences are dramatic.
Jean, for example, has a joint account and a mortgage with BNP Paribas.
“It's almost good news, I won't have any more credit on my back when I still have 50,000 euros to repay!
», Ironically, this father of two children.
The entrepreneur hopes that his second bank, Banque Populaire, will not engage in the same procedure.
"They have less business with the United States, it can pass ..., he breathes.
Otherwise, I will find myself without a bank account!
The worst would be that the BNP also closes the accounts of my company ... "The absence of his TIN would prevent him from opening a new account in another bank.
No other banking establishment has so far warned its “accidental American” customers of a possible closure of their accounts.
The French Banking Federation (FBF) says it is “aware” of the difficulties encountered.
"This problem must be resolved by the American public authorities," says the FBF.
The banks are in contact with the French State to find a lasting solution.
"In Bercy, which has been following the file for many years, Bruno Le Maire's entourage affirms that" nothing justifies "closing the account of an American client" accidental or not ".
The ministry adds that "according to the doctrine of the French tax administration, the procedure covers the banks in the absence of a TIN and these only come under French law for the collection and transmission of information to the DGFiP" .
In short, French establishments would be protected from American sanctions.
“That's wrong!” Fabien Lehagre enraged.
Bilateral negotiations must be opened with the United States.
Otherwise, there could be 40,000 of us without a bank account in our country.
It’s ubiquitous!
"
