I am unsympathetic to the reaction of Swiss banking officials who are apparently deeply emotionally affected by the imposition to report on the financial assets of wealthy people with financial interests in the US. Switzerland's history of providing financial services to the very worst people in the world is not much of a bush to hide behind.
It's not just Switzerland. France also makes it so difficult to hold an account that it's not worth it. It's understandable since the paperwork they have to do is also enormous for the small profit they would make.
The only country where it is actually fairly simple is Canada, because Canadian banks already have the infrastructure to automatically tattle on you to Uncle Sam and the IRS.
These requirements apply to all American citizens, not only wealthy people. I lived in Switzerland briefly and had a bank account there; it was closed (along with all other Americans' accounts) because the bank didn't want the burden of reporting.
As gutitout said, "the US goes so far that foreign banks would rather not deal with you at all." And the worst burden of that falls on average citizens living abroad, not on the wealthy who just move their money to a different haven.
> These requirements apply to all American citizens, not only wealthy people. I lived in Switzerland briefly and had a bank account there; it was closed (along with all other Americans' accounts) because the bank didn't want the burden of reporting.
Yup, can confirm - a large majority of smaller banks will not open a bank account for US citizens in Switzerland. The few larger ones will, but there's extra paperwork you need to fill out.
Sorry about the confusion. I meant all Americans' accounts with that bank, not all Americans' accounts in the entire country.
That link also confirms what I said: it clearly says the reporting requirements apply to all "U.S. citizens and residents with...any foreign financial accounts", and it provides a list of some banks that still accept American account holders because many do not.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted. I have a close friend who moved back to Taiwan from the US and many banks have told her exactly this. She want to renounce her US citizenship because it is making life hard for her.
(Note: I am pro all the reporting requirements. But the parent comment is factually true.)
Indeed. FATCA is an extreme annoyance and makes Americans persona non grata in a lot of countries. Try getting a bank account or opening a mortgage as an American permanently abroad or an accidental one.
(I wish beyond FATCA that taxation on Americans domiciled outside of the country would be ended. Such a waste, and I say this as someone who supports taxation for public goods.)
> They are taxed on bringing that money into the US though
Which they (almost) never have to do. If they need cash in America, they take out super-low-interest loans.
> the owners of it are taxed once the money moves to individuals
Again, that's technically true but only poor schnooks who keep their money in Vanguard index funds are paying those taxes. The wealthy have more sophisticated tax strategies.
GDPR is a regional law, there's no international treaties that compel any non-European entity to follow it. I don't know why most Europeans have a hard time understanding this.
Similar law exists in the US in California, with the difference being that it's possible for a federal court out there to claim jurisdiction if I, as a non-Californian but American resident citizen, do business with Californian customers.
