Thursday, June 19, 2008
America's Berlin Wall
Anyone interested in renouncing their U.S. citizenship? Tired of that U.S. passport and ready to give it up? Here is a link to a very interesting and, at least for me, unexpected article in The Economist magazine regarding a proposed law to heavily tax expats on their net worth of US$ 2 million or more, if they surrender their passports and renounce their U.S. citizenship. Reading this article would have had little impact on me before my move to Canada. I don't, however, have this kind of wealth (yet?), Canada and the U.S. currently have a taxation agreement, and I will always keep my U.S. citizenship.
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2 comments:
I only glanced at the article and I'm no tax specialist, but it does seem that if one is renouncing citizenship, one could thumb his/her nose at the IRS. Except for wishing to travel to the US on one's "foreign" passport, couldn't they just ignore the tax? Seems odd that the US could even try to tax someone saying they are no longer living, working, or a citizen of the US. Alas, I'll never have to worry about having $2million... ;-)
I didn't research the law or its implications. I was considering the law a "finger" tax (the middle one)...not to be offensive. How else can anyone explain having to keep paying tax for 10 years after renouncing citizenship. Could one ignore the law(s) without consequences in their new country. Good question. Certainly couldn't travel back to the U.S. if that were the case. Not an option for me. I see the strong possibility of dual citizenship in my future. I don't want to lose my ability to vote federally here in the U.S.
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