Category Archives: Financial planning for Americans abroad

Accidental Americans, FATCA, The GDPR And The Netherlands Decision Of July 25, 2025

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Part A – Prologue – It’s not about FATCA. It’s about U.S. citizenship taxation

U.S. citizenship taxation is a mechanism that is used by the United States to:

1. Capture the residents of OTHER countries and claim they are really U.S. residents; and

2. Impose U.S.taxation on the non-US source income actually received (or in the case of GILTI, transition tax, foreign trust rules, etc. not actually received) by those residents of other countries.

In simple terms:

U.S. citizenship based taxation is when the U.S. imposes worldwide taxation on (1) people who live in other countries and (2) on the non-U.S. source income received by those residents of other countries.

FATCA is a mechanism used by the United States to force other countries to search for and locate their own residents who are (because of a U.S. birth place) effectively the property of the United States. In practical terms, the mechanism used is the “FATCA IGA” and the countries who sign the “FATCA IGA” are partner countries. The job of the partner country is three-fold:

(i) to locate and determine which of their residents are either U.S. citizens or are suspected to be U.S. citizens

(ii) to report their financial information to the Internal Revenue Service of the United States

(iii) to deny bank services to those individuals who do not cooperate with the FATCA inquisition.

In effect, (as the court decision makes clear) the purpose and effect of FATCA is to assist with exporting U.S. citizenship taxation into other countries. In the same way that modern extradition treaties are used to export U.S. criminal law around the world, FATCA is used to export U.S. citizenship taxation around the world. The following post also argues that U.S. citizenship taxation (if it matters) is a violation of international law.

Toward An Argument That US Citizenship Taxation Violates International Law

On July 25, 2025 a Dutch court confirmed its view that the Netherland’s FATCA IGA with the United States is NOT subject to any provisions of the GDPR. In other words, U.S. citizens, who are residents of the Netherlands and call the Netherlands home do NOT have the same rights as citizens of other countries!

In paragraph 7 of its decision, the court confirms that Accidental Americans in the Netherlands are NOT afforded the same rights as other Dutch residents as follows:

Beoordeling door de rechtbank

7. De rechtbank stelt voorop dat zij begrip heeft voor de op zitting door eisers geuite gevoelens van frustratie en onvrede. Eisers hebben duidelijk gemaakt dat zij door het hebben van een dubbele nationaliteit nadelige gevolgen ondervinden als gevolg van Amerikaanse wetgeving. De rechtbank kan begrijpen dat de uitwisseling van financiële gegevens van eisers met de VS door de Belastingdienst een zekere impact kan hebben op eisers. Dat laat onverlet dat de rechtbank de beroepen moet beoordelen aan de hand van de aangevoerde beroepsgronden en de toepasselijke wet- en regelgeving (het toetsingskader).

An English translation of Paragraph 7 is:

7. The court first of all states that it understands the feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction expressed by the plaintiffs at the hearing. The plaintiffs have made it clear that they suffer adverse consequences as a result of American legislation due to their dual nationality. The court understands that the exchange of the plaintiffs’ financial data with the US by the Dutch Tax Authorities may have a certain impact on the plaintiffs. Nevertheless, the court must assess the appeals on the basis of the grounds for appeal put forward and the applicable laws and regulations (the assessment framework).

The decision of the Dutch court underscores the simple reality that U.S. citizenship is indeed a disability in the 21st Century.

Part B – A brief summary of the decision – Accidental Americans in the Netherlands do NOT have rights under Article 18 of the GDPR

In summary:

Because the Netherlands has signed a FATCA IGA with the United States, individuals described in the IGA (U.S. Citizens) have NO rights under Article 18 of the GDPR!

https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2025:5881

A podcast with former KLM Captain Ronald Aries, describing the circumstances leading up to the court hearing is in Appendix A of this post.

Part C – Commentary from Mr. Aries’s lawyer Ellen Timmer

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Considering Renunciation Part 2: Recognizing And Overcoming The Emotional Barriers

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I recently wrote a post describing some of the objective tax, immigration and financial planning issues surrounding the renunciation of U.S. citizenship. For all people tax and financial planning issues should be objectively considered. But objective issues can take one only so far. We are all individual human beings who experience the world differently. We all ascribe various degrees of importance to different things. Citizenship is about more than immigration, tax and financial planning. Citizenship is also a huge component of how we see ourselves in the world. Citizenship is part of who we are!

Therefore, for many people the renunciation of U.S. citizenship is very much a psychological and emotional process. It is a process of transitioning to a both a new stage of life and a new stage of self! This is because citizenship is very much a component of (1) who we are today, (2) our personal histories and (3) how we see our futures. I was recently seated at a lunch table with a new Canadian citizen who immigrated to Canada from China. By becoming a Canadian citizen he ceased to be a citizen of China. I asked him how he felt about losing Chinese citizenship. He said that he felt very bad and very sad. But, he said his present and future was in Canada and that he wanted to be and identify as a Canadian citizen. (U.S. citizens do NOT automatically lose their citizenship by naturalizing as Canadian citizens.) To think about citizenship is to think about life planning and (especially for U.S. citizens) financial planning. Citizenship can deprive people of opportunities or open up new opportunities.

As I was counselling a people who was renouncing in February 2024, I was asked:

“Do many people regret renouncing U.S. citizenship?”

In all the years I have been assisting people I have had exactly two people regret their renunciations. But, this was immediately after renunciation and the regret was short lived. In most cases, people comment that they wish they had renounced sooner. That said (especially for those who grew up in the United States) people wish they were not placed in a position where they feel they must renounce.

When it comes to renouncing U.S. citizenship:

People are NOT renouncing because they want to.

People are renouncing because they feel they have to.

Two podcasts to help people overcome the regret of renouncing U.S. citizenship


1. The Retired Citizen – You can always identify as a U.S. citizen if you want to

https://prep.podbean.com/e/the-retired-us-citizen/

2. The Dodge Stratus ad – You’re not losing a sports car. You are GAINING two doors!

https://prep.podbean.com/e/about-loss-of-identity-what-the-dodge-stratus-teaches-us-about-renouncing-us-citizenship/


Hope this helps you clear the emotional hurdles!

John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw

The Unknown Ambassadors: A Saga Of Citizenship – Phyllis Michaux

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I just read “The Unknown Ambassadors: A Saga Of Citizenship” by Phyllis Michaux.* Phyllis Michaux was an American citizen who married a French citizen/resident. She lived her adult life in France. By any standard, she was an impressive and effective advocate for the rights of Americans abroad.**

I recommend the book (if you can find a copy) to all Americans abroad. As diverse as the community of Americans abroad is, what unites them is far greater than what divides them. What unites all Americans abroad is the horrible discriminatory treatment they suffer at the hands of the U.S. government. (As the distribution of vaccines in the covid pandemic demonstrated, the discriminatory treatment is NOT limited to taxation.) In this respect the United States is practically unique. Ireland honours and celebrates its diaspora. France gives it expats representatives in the legislature. The United States does (in 2024) and always has (as documented in “The Unknown Ambassadors”) mistreat its citizens abroad. U.S. citizens abroad are examples of the “discrete and insular minorities” contemplated in Justice Stone’s infamous Carolene Products footnote 4.)**** U.S. citizens, more than the citizens of any other country are in need of a second citizenship.

Phyllis Michaux’s achievements from the 20th century offer lessons for the many individuals and groups who are advocating to achieve justice for Americans abroad in the 21st century.

“The Unknown Ambassadors” provides an account of Ms. Michaux’s recognizing discrimination against Americans abroad as a matter of fact, identifying the laws responsible for that discrimination, identifying the appropriate U.S. government agencies to lobby for change and finally executing that change. Advocates for Americans abroad in the 21st century should read this book. A testament to her achievements is that the “Phyllis Michaux Papers” are found in the “Georgetown University Archival Resources”.

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Bonjour: Different US Tax Treaties Provide Different US Taxation For Different Groups Of Americans Abroad

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Introduction, purpose And summary

It is clear that US citizens, who are tax resident of countries outside the United States are generally subjected to a more punitive system of taxation than US residents. That said, the U.S. has different tax treaties with different countries. Some treaties (example Australia) make living outside the United States very difficult. Other tax treaties (Canada and the UK) make living outside the United States easier in a relative sense. The relative difficulty is somewhat dependent on the extent to which the treaty contains provisions for U.S. citizens who are “resident” in the treaty partner country. These treaties are an additional recognition of U.S. citizenship taxation.

If a U.S citizen contemplating a move abroad asked the following question:

Q. How will I be taxed if I move outside the United States and live as a tax resident of another country?

The answer will be:

A. I don’t really know. It depends what country you are considering moving to.

Not only are US citizens living outside the United States taxed more punitively than U.S. citizens living inside the United States, but their taxation by the United States depends on the country they move to! (In addition, both income tax treaties and estate tax treaties may contain provisions that affect the way U.S. citizens may be taxed by the treaty partner country!)

The curious case of the U.S. France Tax Treaty and U.S. Citizens resident in France

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How US Tax Treaties And The “Saving Clause” Prevent Countries From Establishing Retirement Programs For US Citizen Residents

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Prologue – The Circumstances Of Your Birth Should Not Determine The Outcome Of Your Life …

The above tweet references a “human interest” story where US citizen children are denied benefits in their country of residence that are available to all people who are NOT US citizens.

The description includes:

New Zealand children born to parents’ who are citizens of the United States face a difficult KiwiSaver choice: Give up your US citizenship, or face a KiwiSaver tax compliance bill of $750​ or more a year courtesy of the US taxman.

A petition has been started at Parliament asking MPs to change the KiwiSaver Act to allow people with KiwiSaver accounts facing the unreasonable demands from US tax authorities to close their KiwiSaver accounts.

The issue surfaced as a result of the plight of Auckland dual national Kira Bacal and her four New Zealand-born children, Harper, 13, Rowan, 10 and twins Malachi and Elias, 8.

It appears that the poor (New Zealand born) Bacal children are finding that the US (or at least US tax preparers in New Zealand) consider their KiwiSaver to be a possible vehicle for US tax evasion! Not only is the KiwiSaver a “trust”, but it’s a “foreign trust” which comes with all kinds of penalty laden reporting obligations and no tax advantages. An excellent analysis of the US tax implications of the New Zealand KiwiSaver is here. The story is somewhat comical in that one gets the feeling that the blame should be placed on New Zealand (and not the United States) for New Zealand’s failure to legislate special exceptions for US citizens living in New Zealand.

So what! They’re Americans and therefore they deserve it (you say)!

A previous post explained that for Americans abroad, changes in the laws of their country of residence can change their tax relationship with the United States. The purpose of this post is to expand on that theme by demonstrating that:

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US Social Security And Financial Planning With Dan Mazzola

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Introduction

For many people (including Americans abroad) Social Security programs (whatever they are called in other countries) are an important component of retirement income and financial planning.

During December 2021 I had the good fortune to host Dan Mazzola on a couple of podcasts. In the first podcast we discuss the inner workings of US Social Security. In the second podcast we discuss financial planning in general.

Here they are …

December 3, 2021 – Smarter Social Security

December 9, 2021 – It’s More About The Investor Than The Investment

Toward a definition of residence-based taxation for Americans abroad

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Introduction

The discussion of tax reform for Americans abroad is increasing in intensity. Whether through amendments to the Internal Revenue Code or a “Regulatory Fix To Citizenship-based Taxation“, Americans abroad are in desperate need of change. The US tax system as it impacts Americans abroad is forcing renunciations of US citizenship.

The language in the discussion for change reflects a desire (on the part of individuals and organizations) to move from the US system of “citizenship-based taxation” to a system of “residence-based taxation”. Various individuals and groups describe the goal using the language of “residence-based taxation” AKA RBT. It would be a mistake to assume that RBT means the same thing to different people. The purpose of this post is to describe definitions of RBT and and how those definitions may be defined for different individuals or groups.

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Part 2 – The Warren “Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2021” and The Wealth Of Other Nations

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The fact that …

Leads to the obvious question of …

Hmm…

The fact is that Senator Warren is proposing to impose her wealth tax on property located outside the United States, purchased by individuals who live outside the United States, who have no connection to the United States other than (perhaps) the circumstance of having been born in the United States. Yup, it’s true.

On March 18, 2021, FATCA will turn on 11. The Senator’s proposed wealth tax explicitly states that FATCA is to be used to enforce this tax! Finally an (il)legitimate use for FATCA.

In the 18th Century Adam Smith wrote “The Wealth Of Nations”. In the 21st Century Senator Warren is proposing to impose a wealth tax on “The Wealth Of OTHER Nations”.

Discussion And Analysis

This is the second of what I expect to be a multi-part series on Senator Warren’s proposed wealth tax of 2021. As the above tweet makes clear, the practical utility of the tax depends on US citizenship-based taxation (to whom it applies) and FATCA (how are non-US assets located). In my first post, I referenced Senator Warren’s statement that:

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Renunciation is a process of transitioning from US citizen to nonresident alien. How does this affect your tax situation?

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On June 25, 2020 Dr. Karen Alpert and I did a series of podcasts where we discussed how renunciation will affect your interaction with the US tax system. The key point is that you will still be taxable by the United States on US source income. What does that mean? Under what circumstances could renunciation of US citizenship actually increase your US tax liability?

John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @ExpatriationLaw