International Investment: Dutch banks freezing accounts Dutch Americans

Dutch banks have started freezing the accounts of dozens of ‘accidental’ Americans in the Netherlands because they have failed to provide them with their US tax information numbers (TINs), a requirement under FATCA.

Banks freezing accounts Dutch Americans under FATCA

According to local news outlet Reporter Radio, the accounts have been suspended in an attempt for the banks to get in touch with those customers and collect the required information under FATCA rules.

FATCA was passed in 2010 and forces banks wanting to operate in the US to report any assets held by American citizens overseas. While the measure is aimed at tax avoidance, it has created problems for many American expats and dual nationals who have been rejected by retail banks seeking to avoid hassle and risk.

“It’s blackmail with your own money” Daan Durlacher,  founder of the Netherlands-based Americans Overseas, told NOS that he has been receiving daily complaints from Dutch Americans in the past month and a half.  “From customers from different banks, but especially from Rabobank,” he said.

He finds it outrageous that a bank would block a person’s account to reach out.” It’s blackmail with your own money,” he added.

The issue for Dutch Americans is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) – a law intended to combat tax fraud in the United States that obliges banks to transfer data of Americans abroad to the US tax authorities.

But passing on the SSN – the American citizen service number – can be a problem, especially for “accidental Americans –  people who were born to an American parent and have US nationality even though they never lived there. “Many accidental Americans don’t have such a number at all.”

Injustice for Dutch Americans

An approximate 1,000 ‘accidental’ Americans live in the Netherlands.

Ronald Ariës is one of those ‘accidental’ Americans and he has filed a lawsuit against his bank. “I can’t stand injustice and that’s exactly what this is. I didn’t live there, I didn’t study, I didn’t work, I’ve always paid taxes in the Netherlands,” he said.

Ariës has also called on the Dutch Ministry of Finance to tell the US IRS that ‘accidental’ Americans in the Netherlands should be left alone.

The Dutch government had previously urged banks to be accommodating towards American nationals. Junior finance minister Menno Snel said that “any American sanctions against financial institutions will only be considered in the summer of 2023” which gives time for matters to be sorted, and thus a case for banks to be more accommodating to their accidental American clients.

Americans Overseas helps Dutch Americans

We, the founders of Americans Overseas, were born in the Netherlands and obtained our American nationality through our (American) mother.

When we heard about the US tax system for the first time around 2013, we were in total disbelief (it can’t be true!), anger (how can they do this?), fear (am I going to get fined or pick up other problems?), and panic (what should I do?). It is (unfortunately) true that there is an additional American tax levy. But there’s no information from the local government, and when approached, the consulate referred us to the IRS, and the IRS was impenetrable.

That’s why we started this initiative to help people from all over the world by providing proper information about the US tax system to avoid unnecessary panic and offering help free of obligation and free of charge. If needed, we have a network of affordable professionals (accountants) who can help you with your tax obligations.

If you have more questions about Dutch Americans and FATCA, missing tax ID numbers, or US income tax you can contact us at Americans Overseas.

Contact us for more information

Source: International Investment