Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
1–10 of 411 posts
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#2Scared to turning my permanent residency into citizenship now.
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#3America is one of the few countries that could get away with this, as being American has such a premium. It'd be nice to see them use their clout to force through legislation that stopped companies from playing silly beggars with their offshore profits if they wanted access to US markets.
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#4This affects my girlfriend. She has a dual passport but only lived in the US to the age of six months. We are are British but live in Spain which already makes for complex tax arrangements, and this on top of things is just crazy. How the hell does the US think it has the right to tax people who haven't lived there for over 30 years?
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#5Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#6America is one of the few countries that could get away with this, as being American has such a premium. It'd be nice to see them use their clout to force through legislation that stopped companies from playing silly beggars with their offshore profits if they wanted access to US markets.
>> "America is one of the few countries that could get away with this"
There are actually only two countries that do it - the US and Eritrea.
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#7One reason I'll never seek a Green Card or any kind of permanent residency. Such a shame for such an awesome country; I'd love to spend some years living in the US.
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#8America is one of the few countries that could get away with this, as being American has such a premium. It'd be nice to see them use their clout to force through legislation that stopped companies from playing silly beggars with their offshore profits if they wanted access to US markets.
Does it have such a premium? Having an EU passport works preeeetty well too.
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#9American citizens have to pay $2,350 to renounce citizenship? What kind of paperwork costs that much? (Or, why not just add more paperwork and charge $100K?)
http://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/blog/renouncing-us-citiz...
> 1. Consular officers must confirm that the potential renunciant fully understands the consequences of renunciation, including losing the right to reside in the United States without documentation as an alien.
> 2. Consular officers must verify that the renunciant is a US citizen and they must conduct a minimum of two intensive interviews with the potential renunciant.
> 3. Consular officers must review at least three consular systems before administering the oath of renunciation.
> 4. The final approval of the loss of nationality must be done within the Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services in Washington, D.C. After that, the case is returned to the Consular officer overseas for final delivery of the Certificate of Loss of Nationality to the renunciant.
"Intense"? http://hodgen.com/renunciation-interviews-intense/ gives a report from an interviewee:
> Also, despite what the State Department says, I did not have “two intensive interviews”, unless two interviews at a window open to view of all waiting in the Passport Section at the London Embassy count. These were to make sure, first, that everything was correct on the (many) forms I had sent in, and, second, that I understood the seriousness of the step I was taking and finally to swear/affirm my renunciation. I thought it was all rather less intensive than it should have been, considering the seriousness with which I had approached it.
The official estimate, reported at https://www.rt.com/usa/183972-fee-renounce-us-citizenship/ , is that:
> the State Department notice gives an estimate of a consular officer’s time at $135 an hour working for 20 hours.
and confirms:
> “The questions are minimal and I didn’t spend more than 15 minutes at the window either time. It’s not intensive. They ask you: ‘Are you aware of the ramifications of your actions?’ And ‘Are you doing this of your own accord?” she said.
Finally from http://worthly.com/news/cost-renouncing-u-s-citizenship/ I learn:
> Prior to 2010 it was free to renounce U.S. citizenship, but in July of that year a $450 was established.
Re: Why expat Americans are giving up their passports
#10Doesn't US have bilateral tax treaties with (at least) Western European counties? And shouldn't such a treaty strive to protect American citizens from paying double taxes?