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Tax Changes Drive Surge In Americans Renouncing Citizenship
We are well aware of the infamous French dramatics as the wealthy flee the country over the changing tax structure but few know that Americans renouncing citizenship has tripled in the last few years. As The Telegraph reports, many decide to give up citizenship after tiring of the lengthy US tax return process. Since US tax laws changed in 2008 (all American citizens are required to file a tax return on their world-wide income - even if they have not visited the US for decades), the number of 'renunciations' has risen from 231 per year to 1,781. The process of immigration can be costly (due to the actual tax and legal preparation) but "actually giving up your citizenship is dead easy - once you have an appointment with a consular official, it takes a matter of minutes." One London-based lawyer (where it appears a lot of Americans are immigrating - the 2011 census found 177,185 people living in England and Wales were born in the US) adds that the "US Embassy in London has responded to that demand by streamlining the process."
London-based American lawyers, who specialize in tax and immigration, report a threefold increase over the last five years in the number of American citizens who are giving up their citizenship - a process known as “renunciation”.
Across the world 1,781 Americans renounced their citizenship in 2011 compared with just 231 in 2008, when US tax laws changed, although it remains unknown how many are adopting British rather than any other nationality.
Many decide to give up their American citizenship after tiring of the lengthy US tax return process, which requires them to pay tax on their total income regardless of where they live.
“There’s no question that the number of people renouncing their US citizenship is increasing,” said Diane Gelon, a US tax and immigration lawyer based in London.
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The process can be costly. Applicants must complete five years’ of US tax returns, which can cost £1,000 a year if professional help is obtained, plus another £2,500 for legal assistance with the immigration process, excluding VAT.
Even if a US citizen earns all their income in Britain they are liable for tax in their home country which can lead to unusual tax situations arising, said Ms Gelon.
For example, US citizens are expected to pay capital gains tax to the US government if they sell a property in Britain which is their main residence, even though a similar tax is not imposed by the British Inland Revenue.
The US rules make concessions for tax paid overseas but there is still a risk that their citizens will be hit with a large tax bill, she added.
“Actually giving up your citizenship is dead easy - once you have an appointment with a consular official it takes a matter of minutes.
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“It can be an emotional thing, to give up one’s citizenship.
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“The US Embassy in London has responded to that demand - and quite a long queue for renunciation appointments - by streamlining the process.
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The 2011 census found 177,185 people living in England and Wales were born in the US.
All American citizens are required to file a tax return on their world-wide income. The rule applies even if they have not visited the US for decades.
The US Internal Revenue Service is likely to discover tax returns have been missed in a number of different scenarios.
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Why not? They seem to Drone Ya for less!
I'll have to let my sister know about this. She and her husband were working in New York City for a large firm for about 4 years. During that time they had a daughter who was born in NYC. When they came back to Canada she showed me the little girls US Passport.
Seeing as this was before 2008, my sister needs to know about this law so that she can start the process of renouncing the little girls US citizenship before she gets her first job as a teenager at McDonalds and finds out she needs to pay tax to the US government.
Absolutely ridiculous the US Government is. It used to be something special to be a US citizen or to get that greencard. Not anymore!!!!
"All your citizenship are belong to us."
Next thing you know and they'll have a copper statue inscribed with "Give us your tax weary and productive"...
Everyone except this US administration is aware of what’s going in this country.
Eduardo Saverin Renounces U.S. Citizenship Ahead Of Mega Facebook IPO
No surprise there. Check out his "Personal Life" on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Saverin.
In his case, having a "USC" is purely a tactical move (get & keep max $). He still has his dual Brazilian & Israeli citizenship. Boohoo kitty!
Why would you adopt any other nationality?
They may not take you, I know if I can prove my German descent I could emigrate there but to what avail? Go someplace out of the way so to speak like Chile where it is not third world.
You can get fasttrack citizenship in Dominica (not same as Dominican Republic) if willing and able to pay a little over $100K. It is a tropical paradise. It is a member of Commonwealth so a Domincan passport offers widespread visa-free travel.
Unfortunately, unless you're black, you will be a mark if you want to actually live there.
You can do the same thing in Spain and some parts of France, if I am not mistaken. Simply buy a home worth over US$200,000 and poof! you're Spanish!
:D
Lots of countries will be incentivized to poach other countries' wealthy citizens as economic conditions deteriorate. There will be no winners (just like in currency wars) because a lot of countries will also be incentivized to prevent said countries from poaching their own wealthy citizens. The walls ("protections") will just keep getting higher and higher until they are one day torn down.
if willing and able to pay a little over $100K
When did it drop from $250k?.
Single option (just for yourself) is US $100k.
Family option US $250k
http://www.isla-offshore.com/second-passport/dominica-best-choice-for-ec...
Dear Mr. President,
I guess you totally fucked it all up, the cash cow is now fully milked!
Rgds,
Helicoptor Ben Flies and Drops Again!!
Cash airlift helped avert Greek bank run during debt crisis: paper
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cash-airlift-helped-avert-greek-152713022....
The IRS is a collection arm of the banksters. Good to hear of people not paying the cartel. If you pay them they will use your money to crush you.
So long, motherfuckers!
(it would have been more meaningul reporting if they'd actually quantified how many of the 1781 stated taxes as a reason for their renunciation)
I wonder how many renounced their citizenship because they didn't want to be subject to a totalitarian police state?
Or were moving to a country that requires one to renounce previous citizenship to gain citizenship (pretty much every country except England).
In all charity, you are not well informed. Many countries have laws against dual citizenship, but hardly "pretty much every country"; even those countries which have such laws often lack the capacity, or inclination, to enforce them.
I'm advanced enough in years where my giving up US citizenship is not much of an issue one way or the other financially. However, there are, to me at least, major ethical issues in supporting the US government in any way, specifically including by way of tax payments. The USA was a fine country at one time, but the current duopoly-fascist regime needs to be put out of its misery, and the quicker the better.
And pray tell where will you be going that you won't find them to be just as fascist in your beady little rat's eyes?
plenty of elected dual-citizens in the amrkn gov't. . .
For those that dont relinquish their citizenship, Can you say Lifetime Servant of TPTB?
Well, swapping one Police State for another does seem to me a bit foolish.
If I was a US citizen I would rather take my chances in the US (or maybe Canada) and do a Galt.
Plenty of wide open spaces as opposed to the UK. God, even Germany is better than the UK....and that's saying something.
if 180000 usa citizens are willing to renounce their citizenship and move to england, can you imagine the demand to move to a really nice place?
the usa gets poor mexicans, deluded indians and chinese while the rest of the world gets highly skilled wealthy americans.
the usa was the greatest place in the world economically, socially, culturally and politically until sometime in the 80s. now, you can get more of everything someplace else.
living in a declining, soon to collapse empire, is not the place to be if you have the means to flee.
The hidden danger in a wave renunciation and expatriation is this...
1) The wealthy ones are typically the ones who can afford to renounce their citizenship.
2) The US tax system is so progressive that it absolutely depends on the existence of rich people paying taxes. The top 2% of taxpayers account for about 50% of tax revenues.
3) There are only a few thousand taxpayers that comprise the "richest of the rich". The IRS reports that there are about 22,000 people who make more than 5 million per year, and that these people are responsible for paying 10% of all income tax revenues.
4) This means that if the US loses only a few thousand of these very wealthy people, it will cause a drastic decline in tax revenues. There is no quicker way for the US to bankrupt itself than by chasing the so-called "richest of the rich" out of the country. When there are fewer wealthy people paying taxes, it then becomes necessary to make the tax system even *more* progressive to compensate for the loss of revenue. The US seems to be in the early stages of this now with all the political pressure to "tax the rich".
Ding ding ding ding we got a winner. The revenue thing is not about forcing the rich to pay more but to force out the key players to bankrupt the system quicker. The quicker it goes in the shiter the quicker they can push their fabian socialist agenda and dismantling on the Constitution.
Ask Maryland if they cared when they did it. The state in welfare state
Going John Galt
Yeah...be a Brit, lets face it we take Albanians so you guys would slot right in
Boo-yah!
Too bad somebody can't invent a new island country where a copy of the Constitution is followed to the original intent; they would gain millions of usa serfs!
1,781... Only shows that the US of A bureaucracy works well.
This law is blatant in your face , slavery. How do the US justify taxing its people outside of the country ? I am really surprised there has not been a massive refusal of US expatriates to comply. There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for this. Talk about betraying the founding principles of US! King georges anyone ? When is there going to be a Global Boston Tea Party ?
You are naive. U.S. expats are aware of the law. My father paid more than 90% tax in the UK during the 1970s, and never complained. He viewed it as the cost of doing business. He was a world class engineer from Maine. Very genteel and community minded.
Globalists and statists are freaks.
Rule 1: government hates you. Resist or comply.
I deal with a lot of skilled & educated non-USC's in the US, i.e. Green Card guys with "marketable skills". You'd be amazed how many are totally 'pissed' and fed up with what America has become in the last 12 years (Bush+Obama, GOP+Dem). Thanks to ever-increasing fascism, domestic militarism, endless Wall St corruption, to diabolical FATCA, etc.
Many are either in the process of, or seriously considering leaving the US, and ply their skills in other global places. Their US assets, brains, skills and Rolodexes going with them. Before US Capital Controls lower the Iron Curtain completely.
Excellent news. Goodbye to them. Wage slaves who are in the USA as immigrant mercenaries, and have no wish to contribute. Takers, not makers.
Too bad Barry O'Barmy doesn't have US Citizenship to renounce or be stripped-of....
The ironic thing is that if they deem you're doing it for "tax reasons", they throw a shitfit. But MOST of the problems are entirely related to the insane tax issues imposed on expats.
Opening a bank account where you live? Thank you FATCA!
Obamacare potentially being required of expats as well. They literally do not care enough about expats to clarify anything.
Foreign spouse? Your options are to either refuse to disclose marriage status, file physical, or submit your spouse to US taxes.
Have kids overseas? US wants to know all about that too, and once they know, boom, instant citizenship and it cannot be renounced on their behalf, nope, they gotta wait till they are at least 18 to do that themselves.
UNearned income. They want a chunk of that as well, and they are now starting to say they want their share prior to your host country's claim.
Earned income. Sure, there's the FEIE, but that on;y goes so far, and beyond that you're double-taxed.
Every single "citizen service" is now fee-based, you're no longer a citizen, you're a "customer". Ie. you're a pain in the ass and they'd rather have nothing to do with you unless you are adding more people to the tax base.
The best part about this whole thing, is that as an expat, you are highly limited in voting depending on your last state of residence. As in, if you register to vote, they will claim you for taxes. And even better yet, if you have that kid overseas, and your state isn't on a very short list that uses derived residency, that kid of yours will be liable for taxes and have no residency at all. No residency = no voting. Wasn't the entire fucking basis of the terrorist coup back in the 1700s "no taxation without representation"? I know it was tongue in cheek, and it had nothing to do with taxes and everything to do with smugglers getting their illegal income cut (when taxes were ironically reduced), as well as "we want to genocide and steal land faster" and "fuck that, we don't want to send delegates to parliament". But that hilarious soundbite has remained and is enforced in US propaganda, and they cannot live by their own fucking bullshit.
Please, do tell me what possible benefit any of my children will derive from a US passport? Other than being targets overseas, liable for taxes to a country that does nothing, required to have a visa to live in the country they grow up in and are tied to, and discriminated against in the job market. The only benefit is a semi-convenient travel document and easy access to a country with zero social net and insane working regulations. Apart from that? Nadda, it's just an albatross. I've got one kid with a Hong Kong passport and another on the way who will also have a Hong Kong passport. Please though, do tell what the US can offer that's better? Cus I fail to see it.
Add the following to the obnoxious & noxious: If you are the Executor of a family estate, whereby you are the only one in the US, and they and their assets are not and never have been in the US, the Fed Gansta's now force you to open their books. Kiss national sovereignty and your 'freedom' good-bye.
Stay with your own price. That appears to be dollar an hour wage slave Communists, dollar a day wage slaves, and trolly dolly sluts.
Ta ra. So long. Good bye. Silly bint.
You complain, yet pay little for anything of lasting worth.
Enjoy your war criminal police state that's crashing to the ground and propped up only by fraud and lies I guess.
I agree with all you stated but the best advantage of renouncing, which I did years ago is that I know longer feel responsible for the atrocities of the USGovernment - an indescribable relief.
Wasn't the entire fucking basis of the terrorist coup back in the 1700s "no taxation without representation"? yes, bat what is not taught is that the protesters at the Boston Tea Party were protesting the imposition of a tax, which amounted to one half of one percent. Now, the fools in the same city pay more than 40% and have no representation.
Actually, you are entirely off about that one.
The leaders of that protest were smugglers. The tax was a tiny one, being imposed with a system that required tea from India to be routed through England and then shipped to the US. The purpose of the tax was to pay for the French & Indian war which was fought to protect the colony. Now here's the funny part. The smugglers were making a killing on the tax because they could sell their smuggled tea for cheaper. The system was decided to be kinda screwed up and they allowed the tax to be removed and shipments to be made directly. This absolutely crushed the smugglers as there was no way to beat the prices.
That's the entire basis of it. It had nothing to do with the imposition of a tax, but rather, the removal of one which made some rich criminals upset. Of course, that's most definitely not what they will teach in schools. They'll also tend to ignore that part about how those "founding fathers" were in the vast vast vast minority, were really nothing but terrorists and carried out forced conscription on threat of violence and destruction of property. Later on, paying those soldiers with worthless money backed by nothing (officers were paid in hard currency), and eventually, to quell revolt, bought off with titles to land that the US had no legal claim to in the first place... send them off out west to claim more land and feel entitled to it.
There ya go, that's the entire basis of "America" and what it stands for. In more ways than one. The propaganda to "forget" that inconvenient past has been pushed for generations.
So, to distill this down and put it context of global trends...
What we are seeing is the trickle-down effect of Globalism from the corporate level to the retail level, whereby legal entities (first corporations, now citizens) are pushing back on their native governments in matters of freedoms, privacy and taxation.
People like the SovereignMan and InternationalMan have simply recognized this years sooner and positioned themselves (and their assets) for their benefit, and then turned around and offered their services to a growing number fed-up worldly citizens.
What incentives is there for illegals to become legal if they already have access to tax funded services?
Does anyone know if it is a crime to not report the birth of a child abroad, so that the baby doesn't become a defacto US Citizen, and there for is free from the IRS drag-net burden of FATCA global-taxation ring etc. As a potential parent I want wants best for my child. and I think Citizenship is becoming more of a burden than a blessing?
Nope, you don't have to report anything.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/153156.pdf
a. Visa Application May Reveal Claim to U.S. Citizenship: Persons who are unaware of a claim to U.S. citizenship, who were misinformed about their status, or who were prevented from complying with the retention provisions may come to the post's attention when they apply for visas. 22 CFR 40.2(a) states: "A national of the United States shall not be issued a visa or other documentation as an alien for entry into the United States." Guidance on handling a visa applicant who may be or may have been a U.S. citizen follows.
b. Persons Applying for Non Immigrant Visas (NIVs):
(1) When a possible claim to U.S. citizenship is discovered in the course of an application for a nonimmigrant visa, the applicant should be informed of the possible claim and referred to the post citizenship unit.
(2) Visa applicants with potential claims to citizenship who are unable or unwilling to delay travel until the citizenship claim is proven and the 301(b) issue resolved, may be considered an alien and may proceed with the nonimmigrant visa application. Consular officers should advise the applicant to pursue the possible claim to citizenship upon their return from the United States.
Here's where it's all spelled out. The only possible issue arising is when that child applies for a US visa on a foreign passport and details emerge that they might have a claim to citizenship. If the choice is made not to persue it, there's nothing they can do and they are to treat the application as any other non-immigrant visa. Problems may arise on cases where the passport lists the US as place of birth however, as apart from diplomats, the child is considered "American" until proven otherwise.
As much as the US likes to think they know and control everything, they really don't. There's no magical DNA marker that says "yep, American", Americans don't have biometrics that say "yep, American". If someone questions you, you can always state that you cannot make the claim as you cannot provide evidence of residency. And at the border coming in, you can always just say they are adopted, or a stepchild, or whatever you want to. No child of mine will have a SSN or passport forced on them which screws up their life, period. If they honestly decide at a later date when they are mature that they want it, it's a simple piece of paperwork, a fee, and at most a DNA test to prove relation along with, say, college transcripts. Done deal. Applying for a visa does not require birth certificates either. If, your kid never even cares about the US and doesn't even bother for a visa, then they will never be in the system and be entirely unknown by the US until the day they make the conscious decision to change that status.
+1 Take care brother!
Rule Brittania, Brittania rule the waves
Brittons never, never, never shall be slaves.
In the fifties they called it the "Brain Drain" as tens of fhousands of Brits left for greener pastures. Anyone with brains, talent, ambition, or character left. The ones who stayed behind.....
In the sixties they called it "tax exile". Rock stars, athletes, successful businessmen left to escape tax rates of up to 95% ( it's one for you, nineteen for me.. if your share should seem too small, be grateful I don't take it all... I'm the taxman).
Now England looks good compared to America? Really?
Maybe never slaves, but forever serfs.
Some of the people with brains (who happened to save the entire Empire from the Germans) were hounded until they committed suicide; the shitwits get what they deserve.
You're becoming quite the troll....
You're becoming quite the pet.
Why'd you scrub the comment on the other thread? You obviously have admin ability so I will cease and desist.
Not true; just the good old 'edit' button like everyone else!
But that does explain why I couldn't find it again when I went looking...
Well....I'll chalk that up to anomaly and this little convo to a truce. Full disclosure: you were one of my fave posters here, but Saturday there was a post you miffed me on so this was my angerover. What evs. I hope scrubbing doesn't occur. They can save thy for CBSLOCAL. Talk about shitwits. No hard feelings....
Countries are like video games, you can quit one and start another.
Quit playing the game called USA, and Start Playing the game called Iceland.
Iceland: true.
Barack incinerated a 16 year old boy/USA citizen (Anwer Al-Awlaki's son) with a drone. Remember, Barack personally signed off on that exact "target" (not a human being anymore I suppose.) What does he do with non-citizens? Rape them a couple hundred time first, with an animal (not torture of course)?
Very touching to see Barack cry a year later at some event for murdered children here in the USA.
I'm leaning more and more to riding it out in the USSA. Do not think that I've become optimistic on its prospects.
It's just that it's still possible in Amerika to live a relatively decent life, as you long as you know what you're doing. Not perfect, but decent. And who knows better what they're doing than people who have lived in this hologram their whole lives. I pity the immigrants who come here, they have no idea what they're in for.
Leaving America is hard unless you know people or have millions of dollars.
Let's look at the options:
1) Mexico/Latin America? Much poorer and Spanish speaking. Corruption abounds.
2) Asia? Lifestyle is improving, lots of opportunities, but crowded, and only Asians or those who speak the language really know what they're doing, otherwise you will be taken advantage of.
3) UK or Europe? Crowded, expensive, socialist and difficult to do well unless you're connected.
4) Australia/NZ? Possibly, but difficult to get in and on the other side of the world.
5) Canada? Surprisingly difficult to get in if you're American (they seem to welcome rich Chinese and Indians with open arms); perhaps better quality of life, but cold as hell, cities are crowded, and hard to say how America's fall will impact it.
Middle East or Africa? Are you kidding me?
So for now I'm going to remain a denizen of Empire and watch this country slowly become like everywhere else, while trying to get out of the way.
Maybe I will just move to Somalia, bitchez.
Why leave to avoid paying taxes? If you an afford to pack and leave why don't you just stop working and not pay taxes that way? How much do any of the banks give for a Morgan or Peace dollar today? The last time I checked it was a buck that they will give you for either of those Silver dollars. Talk about tax deferral. Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out the door chumps.
---
A bit of advice:
The slave masters have ruined most of the world.
Long live the Republic of the USA. Live for it. Pay for it. Defend it. No surrender.
Or FUCK OFF to your slave nation of choice.
Britain is the place that put in 90% tax rates in the '70s.Britain is the place that allowed uncontrolled immigration of Muslims - and most of them do not pay tax, according to UK govt. stats., although they do take everything they can get from UK taxpayers, and foment islamist bull$shit.
Britain has the highest rate of drug abuse,, alcoholism, child sex slave, islamist thuggery, suicides below aged 34 in the Western world, and casual street crime.
Go to Britain if you are stupid...thick skinned rich or dopey poor.
"and most of them do not pay tax"
Good for them.
BTW, it was Bush-tard who said U.S. citizens should pay to renounce their passports.
Fascist Nazi DC wears any color, so long as it pays THEM. That's why they kow tow to the Chinese Politburo.
Although ordinary hardworking Chinese came to the U.S.A. to escape the fascist Chinese Politburo.
Central controllers love wage slaves.
Yes, the weather would suck, but if I had to pick a country to immigrate to, it would be Iceland. Brave people there, they told the IMF bankers to go straight to hell a few years ago, and now they are doing fine {and still have their independence}. Virtually no crime, don't get involved in other people's wars, and have not drank the kool-aid of multi culturalism.
"and have not drank the kool-aid of multi culturalism"
The other side to that is, they're not interested in immigrants, of any culture. They'll tolerate you if you bring money. Like Denmark. Fuck Denmark.
It is not "dead" easy unless you are a multi-millionaire. No consulate in world will permit you to exercise your government-granted privilege of renunciation unless you can prove legal status in another sovereign country. Meaning - having a foreign passport. Either you are incredibly lucky and were born in a situation which entitled you to a foreign passport, or you've spent years working toward one via the Kafkaesque immigration processes that apply to 99.9% of the habitable land on earth, or you're a millionaire who paid between $200,000 and $1,000,000 in an investment-for-immigration program. Saying renunciation is easy is like saying being a parent is easy ... if you get to skip the first 18 years.