Originally Posted by
amieuro
actually there are some banks that are turning away Americans as customers because the bank must comply with the new IRS regulations ( FATCA) regarding Americans that live overseas. It has been reported that some banks refuse to deal with Americans on any level regarding account openings etc. Also it has been reported that some banks have closed Americans accounts because the bank doesn't want to deal with the FACTA compliance.
The closing of accounts is a very sad story for both the banks and the customers. Mostly investment accounts were affected due to the need of extensive reporting and similar file delivering requiring much of changes to the bankīs IT.
Also there is a problem with international law which the banks didnīt want to face: Some regulations are not in full compliance with local (German) law and therefore it is better to wait for an official statement by the German authorities how to handle it.
Nevertheless one example more where the German Secretary of Economic affairs hasnīt taken action early enough. IMHO a special type of withholding tax and sending the sum of money to the US would have fulfilled the idea of the tax law completely.