Volksbank not allowed to close ‘unintentional Americans’ accounts

The Volksbank is not allowed to close the bank accounts of a so-called “involuntary American”. This is what the district court in the center of the Netherlands has Wednesday decided. One year ago the court has still determined that the bank was allowed to close the man’s accounts.

De Volksbank canceled the man’s accounts at the time because he did not want to provide certain information to the bank and would evade US tax. The ruling is now different, as the court finds that the man has not been shown to be evading his US tax liability. In addition, according to the judge, he was not obliged to provide the information requested by the financial institution.

An “involuntary American” is a Dutch citizen who is considered American by the United States because of his or her birth in the United States or because one of the parents is American. Anyone with U.S. citizenship must file a tax return in that country, even if that person does not live in the United States. Sometimes that means someone is paying double taxation.

The Netherlands and the United States also have a tax treaty which states that no tax must be paid on accounts below 50,000 euros. The accounts of the man in question were part of this device.

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