4 ms·
> Unless they signed a treaty agreeing to abide by it, their they're own sovereign entities and their businesses don't have to comply with remote EU laws. What
by Topfi 9mo ago
> Unless they signed a treaty agreeing to abide by it, their they're own sovereign entities and their businesses don't have to comply with remote EU laws.
What is your opinion concerning laws such as FATCA and other such laws that apply to non-US entities when working with US citizens abroad?
- kstrauser 9mo agoOther laws that apply to the US's own citizens abroad, I can kind of get in line with. Like even if you go to a country where murder and mayhem are legal, you can't go there on vacation, rack up a body count, then come back to Wyoming and go back to work on Monday. Other laws that apply to non-citizens abroad, I'm against, of course. We don't have the moral right to legislate what someone in China can and can't do. However, prosecuting them for that should they enter the US is a different animal. If you run a scam farm and defraud a million Americans, then go to Disneyland on vacation, you should plan on having a bad time. Similarly with GDPR and other EU-local laws: violate them outside the EU, but it'd be wise to skip Barcelona on your next world tour.
- Topfi 9mo agoBut neither of your described scenarios applies to either of the two. Both FATCA and GDPR apply to entities/companies that deal with citizens from their respective jurisdiction. FATCA applies e.g. to foreign banks handling US customers, GDPR to foreign data processors handling EU user data. If you don't want either to apply to you, easy, just don't handle US customers money/process EU user data.
- kstrauser 9mo agoThe penalty for non-compliance comes down to: you can't do business with the US government anymore, which is a huge bummer for any financial institution. If you don't care about that, say because you're a credit union servicing a small town in Brazil and you had a single American move there, I imagine you'd also ignore it.
- Topfi 9mo agoI am by no means an expert, but as far as I am aware FATCA violations carry slightly higher penalties then what you suggest and are very much not limited to "you can't do business with the US government anymore". Also, even if "you're a credit union servicing a small town in Brazil" and even if the penalty was as limited as you think it is, I doubt even a smaller institution could survive loosing access to US securities, etc.
- fc417fc802 9mo agoSuch laws and policies are a blatant overreach. However the US is a superpower so if we act inappropriately smaller economies simply have to tolerate it to a large extent. It's no different than China throwing their weight around with their neighbors. The EU jumping on that bandwagon was predictable but I don't think it's a good thing. We all ought to strive for a higher moral standard.