In a ruling that has left many "accidental Americans" (as well as ordinary American expats) cheering, a Dutch court ruled yesterday (Dec. 29) that a Dutch citizen born in the U.S., but with no other connection to that country, is entitled to keep his accounts with his local bank, even if he doesn't provide it with a U.S. Tax Identification Number (TIN), as long as his total holdings in these accounts don't exceed US$50,000. 

Banks in the Netherlands have said that they will not close the accounts of what are known in that country as "unintentional Americans" for the rest of this year, the country's Minister of Finance, Wopke Hoekstra, told fellow lawmakers on Tuesday – even if these individuals fail to provide these banks with such information as a valid U.S. Social Security Number or Tax Identification Number, as requested. 

Spokespeople for organizations that represent so-called accidental Americans – long-time citizens of other countries whom the U.S. regards as U.S. expatriates and taxpayers, even though they themselves don't consider themselves to be U.S. citizens – were reeling on Thursday from the news that a court in the Netherlands has ruled that a Dutch bank may close the account of such an "accidental," who has refused to enter into the U.S. tax system.

Two of the Netherlands' largest banks, ABN AMRO and Rabobank, are also prepared to close the bank accounts of "unintentional Americans" if these individuals "do not cooperate with the U.S. requirements" that they provide tax information numbers, such as a Social Security number, or evidence that they have entered into the U.S. system for relinquishing their citizenships, according to a report published on Friday on the news website NRC.nl.