Belgium Stops ‘Unlawful’ Sharing of Accidental Americans’ Data

Belgium will stop sharing the data of “accidental Americans” with US tax authorities after the country’s Data Protection Authority declared the information transfers unlawful, the government announced Wednesday.

Under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA—an anti-tax evasion measure—foreign banks must send information about accounts held by Americans to their governments, which then share it with the IRS.

Congress passed the law to catch American tax evaders stashing their funds overseas, but it also snared “accidental Americans"—people who hold US citizenship by virtue of their birth but are established overseas. The accidental Americans argue that they are unfairly ...