While millions of migrants dream of becoming citizens of the United States, thousands more struggle to be able to freely renounce their American nationality. This is the case of the “accidental Americans”, born across the Atlantic where they lived only the first months of their lives, without ever having studied or worked there, and who were singled out by the US administration. Until the US Congress passed a law in 2010 called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which required foreign financial institutions to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US tax authority, all information relating to the accounts of their “American” customers, over $50,000, this dual nationality was quite envious.
It has become a nightmare for those concerned as they have seen banks closing their doors, one after another, to avoid any tax disputes with Washington. Like Boris Johnson, born in New York to British parents, some have even had to pay capital gains tax on a real estate sale.
In fact, there was the solution of officially renouncing American nationality but that until then had a high price of at least 2350 dollars. For this reason, the Association of Accidental Americans (AAA), which has around 1,200 members, filed a complaint in the United States in September 2020 against the State Department. However, ahead of its first hearing scheduled for Monday, the US Department of Foreign Affairs asked the court for a deferment, explaining that it intended to reduce the waiver fee to $450. “This affirmation is extremely encouraging”, says Fabien Lehagre, president of the AAA, who does not intend to give up the fight against all taxation for those who want to renounce dual nationality, as has happened in the United States for two centuries…
