The Association of Accidental Americans (AAA) has rolled out a fundraising campaign to pay for legal action in the United States.
The activist group is contesting the sum require to waive American citizenship, currently set at $2,350 (£1,828, €2,003).
The word ‘accidental’ refers to people who have acquired US citizenship either by being born in the country, but who have never lived there, or from their parents.
Renunciation costs have gained a lot of attention in recent years, after many accidentals decided to give up their US citizenship to avoid falling under the remit of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca).
Concerns over data safety
Fabien Lehagre, president of the AAA, told International Adviser: “We are in the process of raising funds to launch a legal challenge in the US courts just after the US elections.
“Thanks to this extraterritorial legislation, passed in 2010, accidental Americans are being denied access to financial services in their country of residence, such as opening bank accounts, taking out a mortgage and contributing to pension schemes.
“This is because Fatca requires financial institutions to pass information on to the US tax authorities about their American customers’ bank accounts, with an increased risk of their data being hacked and their privacy being violated.”
Lehagre added that, while many have considered renouncing their citizenship, a lot of ‘accidentals’ cannot afford to do so.
He continued: “The waiver procedure alone costs $2,350, which is an exorbitant amount when one considers the average income in the vast majority of countries, so we’re going to challenge the disproportionately high fee to renounce US citizenship that became payable a few months after the implementation of Fatca.”
‘Right to expatriate’
According to Lehagre, making people pay to give up their American citizenship goes against the US constitution.
“The legal argument is that the right to renounce one’s citizenship – the right to expatriate – is a fundamental right protected by the US constitution.
“By imposing a disproportionately high fee upon accidental Americans, and to American expats, to exercise that right, the US government, and in particular the Department of State, is unlawfully infringing upon and abridging the fundamental right to expatriate.
“It is clear that a victory would have a significant impact on the number of people who are giving up their US citizenship. Nevertheless, the AAA continues its efforts in France and at the European level.
“We await the European Commission’s decision to open infringement proceedings against France; and we are also studying the possibility of opening a new legal challenge before the Luxembourg courts to contest the Fatca,” he added.
