KUWAIT: Kuwaiti citizens who possess US passports need to straighten out their US tax status to avoid the penalty of having their US passports scrapped, said Abdulaziz Al-Anjeri, head of the American Tax Bureau in Kuwait. Technically Kuwaitis are barred from holding a second citizenship but many are suspected of holding a second passport, including a large number with US citizenship.

The US government has lately passed a law invalidating the US passport of anyone who does not pay their due taxes in accordance with the requirements of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), said Anjeri in a press statement carried by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) yesterday.

The law stipulates that anyone incurring back taxes in the amount of $50,000 or more is subject to have their passport revoked, he said, stressing that US tax authorities are dogged about collecting due taxes on time and will go to the limit in enforcing penalties on tax dodgers.

Abiding by FATCA requirements promptly concerns in the main US citizens who work abroad and also foreign financial institutions who keep bank accounts or other financial assets of US citizens and therefore must report to US tax authorities the particulars of these accounts and assets, said Anjeri.

He added that the loss of a US passport entails its bearer to face possible criminal charges. He urged all Kuwaiti citizens, bearers of US passports, to pay serious heed to FATCA requirements and conditions and to comply promptly with US tax laws in order to avoid problems.