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| Home Front: Politix |
| American abroad giving up citizenship because of |
| 2006-12-19 |
| NYT registration required, so posted in full. She is a former marine, a native Californian and, now, an ex-American who prefers to remain discreet about abandoning her citizenship. After 10 years of warily considering options, she turned in her United States passport last month without ceremony, becoming an alien in the view of her homeland. “It’s a really hard thing to do,” said the woman, a 16-year resident of Geneva who had tired of the cost and time of filing yearly United States tax returns on top of her Swiss taxes. “I just kept putting this off. But it’s my kids and the estate tax. I don’t care if I die with only one Swiss franc to my name, but the U.S. shouldn’t get money I earned here when I die.” Historically, small numbers of Americans have turned in their passports every year for political and economic reasons, with the numbers reaching a high of about 2,000 during the Vietnam War in the early 1970s. But after Congress sharply raised taxes this year for many Americans living abroad, some international tax lawyers say they detect rising demand from citizens to renounce ties with the United States, the only developed country that taxes its citizens while they live overseas. Americans abroad are also taxed in the countries where they live. “The administrative costs of being an American and living outside the U.S. have gone up dramatically,” said Marnin Michaels, a tax lawyer with Baker & McKenzie in Zurich. |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #10 If I recall correctly from our stint abroad, US taxes (at least with regards to residency and income earnt in Germany and Belgium) were levied on the difference between the taxes at home and those where we were. That is, if the tax over there was 25%, and the tax here was 35%, we got credit for the taxes paid to Germany, and only had to pay the additional 10% to the IRS. The forms were ugly, especially as Mr. Wife's company paid on an equivalent net-after-taxes basis, which meant that nobody knew what the gross would be until Deloitte&Touche had done the calculations... and even then it wasn't final because Germany and the US haven't yet made a final determination on how it's to be handled. So each year we signed off on a 2" binder, countersigned the check from the company for the difference that went to the IRS, wrote a check for the amount D&T figured was our share, and hoped that the two countries would finalize things before we die of old age. We came back in 1996, D&T did our last Europe-connected tax return around 2000... except for the final one to be done some time in the future when the final determination can be made. In the meantime, we're keeping the hard copies of every tax return with supporting documentation covering the time we were abroad plus the following years as we used up the accruals. The trailing daughters may need it someday. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-12-19 21:29 |
| #9 Those taxes haven't been raised for 30 years, IIRC. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-12-19 20:59 |
| #8 Reminds me of the issue with flagged merchant marine ships. If the US navy will protect every ship equally despite national flag, and the US taxes and union rules make it cheaper to flag your ship in Panama or Liberia you'd be a fool to seek out US paperwork. You've got to make the citizenship mean something, you can't give the benefits to everyone and expect it to work. |
| Posted by: Glert Glaising6080 2006-12-19 12:22 |
| #7 I can't really blame them if they are never going to move back anyway. Swiss taxes have got to be stiff to say the least. Anyway, the way they have it rigged up now, there arent a whole lot of great advantages to having citizenship right now. And in that I mean we let the illegals get away with so much shit. |
| Posted by: bigim-ky 2006-12-19 11:09 |
| #6 I'll go ya one better, tu! Historically, small numbers of Americans have turned in their passports every year for political and economic reasons, with the numbers reaching a high of about 2,000 during the Vietnam War in the early 1970s. So much for that TRUE counter-culture argument thingy. I was born in the early 70's so I was always taught that almost half the nation's men left for Canada. I guess you could've done that and still not renounced citizenship, but only 2000 in the "reaction" to Vietnam? PSHAW! Sounds like the 70's hippies were a lot like the modern-day Sheen's and Baldwin's....all threats (to leave the country), but no action. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-12-19 10:21 |
| #5 So far this year, the Internal Revenue Service has tallied 509 Americans who have given up their citizenship... Look out! Don't get caught in the stampede! Only in the fuckin New York Times... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-12-19 09:34 |
| #4 Yes, but watch them very carefully anytime they're in a position where because local conditions go south and the helos are at the American compound or pier, they'll be claiming citizenship. |
| Posted by: Glinemble Grolung7203 2006-12-19 09:34 |
| #3 I should amend the above by stating that if you're here legally, have a green card, and are not actively working against the interests of the USA, welcome, and howdy! But if you're here illegally, don't have a legal green card, and/or are working against the interests of the USA and its citizens, my statement above stands. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2006-12-19 06:26 |
| #2 To any American citizen who no longer wants to be an American citizen no matter where you live - good riddance! I don't care about your reasons, hardships, or other causations. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out (though my boot might). (That goes equally for anyone living and working in the USA who doesn't want to be an American citizen eventually. Go home you pustulescent plague upon this country). |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2006-12-19 05:47 |
| #1 Oh, I didn't miss it. It was big news where I am. It totally sucks that US citizens get taxed twice. On one hand, you have genuine expats who have found a better life overseas. On the other hand, you have rich assholes who are obsessed with avoiding taxes. How do you make one happy while putting the hammer down on the other? |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-12-19 02:45 |