More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship

[bigbadwolf]

Don't forget that if you are not a citizen of another country already you can not give up your US citizenship. I'm sure that's true for many countries.

Or be in the process of obtaining it, I suppose. Countries like Germany and Norway don't allow dual citizenship so one must first give up one before obtaining the other. In passing it's not easy to obtain citizenship of worthwhile countries (e.g., Germany, Scandinavia). If it were I think many more Americans would be willing to surrender their citizenship.

 

[Rad]

In order to give up U.S. citizenship, a person must obtain or have citizenship in another country.

I don't think this is true: http://www.nostate.com/1206/i-surrendered-my-us-passport-today/
http://www.nostate.com/1359/im-officially-stateless/

US has a quite oppressive tax regime and if someone renounces his citizenship to avoid paying US taxes, it IS a political act.

 

[steveinbsas]

I suggest you inform your two friends that failure to file a tax return is a highly punishable offense for a US citizen. They could end up losing huge amounts of money and even jail time. All US Citizens are required to file a US tax return with the IRS every year. There is no debate about this. Doesn't matter if you made zero money in the year, you must file.

This is not correct.

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=105097,00.html

 

[mini]

I don't think this is true: http://www.nostate.com/1206/i-surrendered-my-us-passport-today/
http://www.nostate.com/1359/im-officially-stateless/

US has a quite oppressive tax regime and if someone renounces his citizenship to avoid paying US taxes, it IS a political act.

Actually this after noon I remembered that I had read about that guy a while ago.

Here is "section D" of the "renunciation" page:
http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_776.html
" D. DUAL NATIONALITY / STATELESSNESS

Persons intending to renounce U.S. citizenship should be aware that, unless they already possess a foreign nationality, they may be rendered stateless and, thus, lack the protection of any government. They may also have difficulty traveling as they may not be entitled to a passport from any country. Even if they were not stateless, they would still be required to obtain a visa to travel to the United States, or show that they are eligible for admission pursuant to the terms of the Visa Waiver Pilot Program (VWPP). If found ineligible for a visa or the VWPP to come to the U.S., a renunciant, under certain circumstances, could be barred from entering the United States. Nonetheless, renunciation of U.S. citizenship may not prevent a foreign country from deporting that individual back to the United States in some non-citizen status."

 

[gunt86]

This is not correct.

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=105097,00.html

you are right that zero income in a fiscal year allows you to not file, BUT it is highly advisable to file anyway. The reason is that say the following year you do have income and thus file to claim a refund, the IRS may (it is very likely and i have seen this happen many times) refuse to pay your refund until you file the return for the missed year.

 

[Lucas]

Senate bill 3081 will eliminate the overseas tax exemption (section 911 of the IRS code) - Form 2555).

http://gregg.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/S3018.pdf

According to Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Gregg (RINO-NH) it will eliminate the advantage of working overseas to bring American workers and companies home to increase competiveness.

The new banking regulations will make having an bank account in the EU impossible, as 0bama’s HIRE act - signed March 18 is in violation of most EU countries’ privacy laws. Or we face an automatic 30% withholding that goes directly to the US treasury, or account closure.

http://www.news.totallyexpat.com/us...-tax-and-foreign-account-compliance-measures/