Why expat Americans are giving up their passports.

Keith

Moderator
I looked at some of the case studies and one of them hadn't ever been to the US! So it does seem crazy to pay income tax twice & to a country you've never been to. Having said that, why are they hanging on to citizenship? I don't suppose you can have your cake and eat it too these days which is what many of these ex-pats are perhaps trying to do.. The UK ex-pat tax laws are much easier on the pocket.. for once... :laugh:

Horse's mouth: Speak!
 

Steve

Supporter
Some people are renouncing citizenship due to punitive tax increases in the US. In most cases, it's people living overseas that are faced with a draconian IRS trying to hunt them down to file tax returns. A friend living in Toronto has found the new regulations require such extensive reporting that his accounting bill for filing US taxes approaches $10,000US. No overseas accountants really want to touch this so he has to go to New York to find an accountant (much harder if you're living in Europe). The filing costs far outweigh any taxes he owes as his income is not huge. The IRS is trying to prevent people moving overseas and shielding income and assets. What they've created is a hostile and ridiculous tax environment that has resulted in record numbers of US citizens rescinding their citizenship. By and large these are good people that you would want to still be citizens as they are productive and law-abiding. But hey, let's take in some refugees en masse instead and hope there are no terrorists amongst them.:thumbsup:
 
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