Why expat Americans are giving up their passports

Post by rbcgerard » Wed, Feb 10, 2016, 5:12 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #98

youngbullind wrote: post #4

This 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?

Does your girlfriend have access to services as a US citizen? Such as embassies, entrance to the US without a visa, or evacuation in case of war? Who should pay for those services if your girlfriend doesn't want to?

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Feb 10, 2016, 5:16 PM UTC

knowaveragejoe wrote: post #259

lhopki01 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in Nigeria during a period of violence when thousands died. One of my enduring memories was the reactions of the Americans living there at the time. They were so sure that the army would come and save them and when it didn't they were dumbfounded. When someone from the US eventually turned up after the violence had all died down all the US citizens were offered was the opportunity to be part of the convey out…

Uh, did any of those American citizens make their way to the US embassy? That's how you get out of the country if violence is breaking out. Nobody in government would even know you're there beyond some database.

Post by TazeTSchnitzel » Wed, Feb 10, 2016, 5:16 PM UTC

oldmanjay wrote: post #242

jerf wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What austerity are you talking about? That's not a US thing. There's been no austerity here; government spending has continued fairly normal growth once you factor out the stimulus spending. Although since that seems to be what a lot of EU governments are calling "austerity", perhaps we have had it.

Remember how a large percentage of gov't administrators complained that their normal annual budget increase being lowered slightly was a cut? Remember how they cut services that didn't even depend on that increase in response? Calling it "austerity" is at least as honest.

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Feb 10, 2016, 5:23 PM UTC

StevePerkins wrote: post #95

madaxe_again wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, doesn't own a car, and spends most of his time in third world nations doing said philanthropy - but I'm not here to talk about his relative merits, just that fatca is ineffectual.

To recap: [1] Random person on Hacker News personally "knows" a billionaire. [2] Billionaire renounced U.S. citizenship without having to realize any significant capitals gains. [3] Billionaire doesn't own a car. He just spends his time touring Africa, solving AIDS or malaria like Bono or Bill Gates. [4] Billionaire has a secret lair, from which he dresses up in a costume and fights crime by night. I could be making…

Post by dalke » Wed, Feb 10, 2016, 5:36 PM UTC

cylinder wrote: post #278

josh_fyi wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this is NOT primarily about taxes. It is about expensive reporting requirements -- the sort of paperwork usually done by billionaires and big corporations must be filled out by every American, even those with low-incomes.

Yes, taxes are still an issue! Look at how the Mayor of London just had to pay capital gains taxes to the US because he was born there. He sold his primary residence, which is cap gains tax exempt in the UK, and the profit exceeded the threshold in the US, so he had to fork over money to the IRS. It's a complete joke and scam.