Wealthy people are renouncing American citizenship

You'll still get like 10% of a US salary though.

> Well, you know that you pay taxes on the country you live & work in ? So you have to find a job and a house in Cyprus.

Remote work? Or own a foreign company and pay yourself in dividends? These are extremely common cases.

> And on top of that, Cyprus is one of the few european countries that are not yet in the Schengen area. So you'll have to stay on the tiny 9,251 Square Kilometers.

That's not how Schengen works: Schengen is about being able to freely travel in the Schengen area without having to even show your passport / national ID card. For example I regularly cross borders, by car, between Belgium, France, Spain, Monaco and Andorra (Monaco is Schengen while Andorra, wonderful place on earth btw, is not, but Andorra has got agreements for free travel with France and Spain anyway) and I've never been asked my ID once. Heck, lately I've always been doing my PCR tests, as officially required due to the sars-cov-2 restrictions, and although it's mandatory to cross borders I've never been asked to show them.

A passport from Cyprus allows you to travel, without the need for a visa, to most countries in the world if I'm not mistaken. The thing is: because Cyprus is an island you'll very often be flying to/from there and you'll have to show your passport. But you're definitely not stuck on the island.

Oh no. I understand that america’s military exists mosty to force christianity on the world and to maintain high oil prices, not to protect little old me.

I just expected them to, you know, pick up the phone or have a hotline with a recording of suggestions.

I left the usa a long time ago, and the only interaction I need with them is a new passport every 2 years when I run out of pages for stamps.

> You have a duty not to comply.

If you're making income in America, you owe US tax taxes.

If you are a permanent resident of the United States, you owe US taxes.

Whether the IRS is using mafia tactics or not, what you are describing is tax evasion. There are legal ways to minimize your tax burden, but this is horrible advise.

Your representation is a bit exaggerated. The law simplistically simplifies to: if your income is above $X, then if your foreign tax payment $Y is less than the theoretical amount of tax you would have paid doing the same work under American Tax laws $Z, then please remit the difference ($Z-$Y) to the American government.

I've personally filled out the forms several times, for multiple periods (full and partial). However I do agree with you: sure it would be nice not to pay that fee, isn't that true of every expense in general?

It seems you either have a complicated personal situation or are in a jurisdiction that's purposefully set up to benefit/interact with the US in a tax advantagous way (aka a tax shelter, though that's going away - see general harmonization trends in EU, etc). Without delving into your personal situation, your personal tax situation should not impact your employment. Your citizenship might in certain highly regulated industries maybe. In the US you are not asked if you file joint or single on your tax return as part of the interview.

You are correct on renounciation. And worse, let's assume the renounciation fee is 1/3rd of the wealth, should your net worth be concentrated and iliquid (you own nothing but a paid off home) you now need to generate a transaction which you might not want to otherwise do (sentimental, bad timing, poor market prices for the asset or low liquidity).

If you have a complicated personal situation, you also hire professional help even if you reside purely domestically. Not fair to pin it all on the foreign taxation code.