The Financial Times reports that the number of Americans giving up their citizenship to protect their families from America’s onerous worldwide tax system has jumped rapidly. Even relatively high-tax nations such as the United Kingdom are attractive compared to the class-warfare system that Obama is creating in the United States. I run into people like this quite often as part of my travels. They are intensely patriotic to America as a nation, but they have lots of scorn for the federal government. Statists are perfectly willing to forgive terrorists like William Ayres, but they heap scorn on these “Benedict Arnold” taxpayers. But the tax exiles get the last laugh since the bureaucrats and politicians now get zero percent of their foreign-source income. You would think that, sooner or later, the left would realize they can get more tax revenue with reasonable tax rates. But that assumes that collectivists are motivated by revenue maximization rather than spite and envy.
The number of wealthy Americans living in the UK who are renouncing their US citizenship is rising rapidly as more expatriates seek to escape paying tax to the US on their worldwide income and gains and shed their “non-dom” status, accountants say. As many as 743 American expatriates made the irreversible decision to discard their passports last year, according to the US government – three times as many as in 2008. …There is a waiting list at the embassy in London for people looking to give up citizenship, with the earliest appointments in February, lawyers and accountants say. …“The big disadvantage with American citizens is they catch you on tax wherever you are in the world. If you are taxed only in the UK, you have the opportunity of keeping your money offshore tax free.”
To grasp the extent of this problem, here are blurbs from two other recent stories. Time magazine discusses the unfriendly rules that make life a hassle for overseas Americans.
For U.S. citizens, cutting ties with their native land is a drastic and irrevocable step. But as Overseas American Week, a lobbying effort by expatriate-advocacy groups, convenes in Washington this week, it’s one that an increasing number of American expats are willing to take. According to government records, 502 expatriates renounced U.S. citizenship or permanent residency in the fourth quarter of 2009 — more than double the number of expatriations in all of 2008. And these figures don’t include the hundreds — some experts say thousands — of applications languishing in various U.S. consulates and embassies around the world, waiting to be processed. While a small number of Americans hand in their passports each year for political reasons, the new surge in permanent expatriations is mainly because of taxes. …expatriate organizations say the recent increase reflects a growing dissatisfaction with the way the U.S. government treats its expats and their money: the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that taxes its overseas citizens, subjecting them to taxation in both their country of citizenship and country of residence. …Additionally, the U.S. government has implemented tougher rules requiring expatriates to report any foreign bank accounts exceeding $10,000, with stiff financial penalties for noncompliance. “This system is widely perceived as overly complex with multiple opportunities for accidental mistakes, and life-altering penalties for inadvertent failures,” Hodgen says. These stringent measures were put into place to prevent Americans from stashing undeclared assets in offshore banks, but they also make life increasingly difficult for millions of law-abiding expatriates. “The U.S. government creates conflict and abuses me,” says business owner John. “I feel under duress to understand and comply with laws that have nothing to do with me and are constantly changing — almost never in my favor.” …Many U.S. expats report being turned away by banks and other institutions in their countries of residence only because they are American, according to American Citizens Abroad (ACA), a Geneva-based worldwide advocacy group for expatriate U.S. citizens. “We have become toxic citizens,” says ACA founder Andy Sundberg. Paradoxically, by relinquishing their U.S. citizenship, expats can not only escape the financial burden of double taxation, but also strengthen the U.S. economy, he says, adding, “It will become much easier for these people to get a job abroad, and to set up, own and operate private companies that can promote American exports.”
The New York Times, meanwhile, delves into the misguided policies that are driving Americans to renounce their citizenship.
Amid mounting frustration over taxation and banking problems, small but growing numbers of overseas Americans are taking the weighty step of renouncing their citizenship. …frustrations over tax and banking questions, not political considerations, appear to be the main drivers of the surge. Expat advocates say that as it becomes more difficult for Americans to live and work abroad, it will become harder for American companies to compete. American expats have long complained that the United States is the only industrialized country to tax citizens on income earned abroad, even when they are taxed in their country of residence, though they are allowed to exclude their first $91,400 in foreign-earned income. One Swiss-based business executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of sensitive family issues, said she weighed the decision for 10 years. She had lived abroad for years but had pleasant memories of service in the U.S. Marine Corps. Yet the notion of double taxation — and of future tax obligations for her children, who will receive few U.S. services — finally pushed her to renounce, she said. …Stringent new banking regulations — aimed both at curbing tax evasion and, under the Patriot Act, preventing money from flowing to terrorist groups — have inadvertently made it harder for some expats to keep bank accounts in the United States and in some cases abroad. Some U.S.-based banks have closed expats’ accounts because of difficulty in certifying that the holders still maintain U.S. addresses, as required by a Patriot Act provision.
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] one’s nationality is a two-way street. Beginning with the Obama years, there’s been a big jump in the number of Americans willing to give up U.S. […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] Barack Obama took office (and especially after he was reelected), there was a big uptick in the number of rich people who chose to emigrate from the United […]
[…] But that’s not going to happen while Obama’s still in the White House, so let’s focus on the Americans who are “going Galt.” […]
[…] But that’s not going to happen while Obama’s still in the White House, so let’s focus on the Americans who are “going Galt.” […]
Obama has put Monsanto above the law. He going to lower social security payments. He is forcing wireless two-way transmitters on every home in American. Both Monsanto products and two-way wireless transmitters cause cancer. Monsanto and GE are the government now and they FORCE any thing they want into our homes.. And the people are forced to do their bidding. What a horrible country we have now …some of the rich want to leave (not Monsanto or GE or other corporation CEOs in Obama’s bed) and the poor are stuck here with government oppression and a dictatorship. I’m just embarrassed to be here.
[…] tax system of all nations. To escape the greedy and grasping claws of the IRS, they have to disengage with the U.S. government, either by legally giving up citizenship or by dropping off the […]
[…] I’ve written about this issue before, particularly in the context of Obama’s class-warfare policies leading to an increase in the number of Americans “voting with their feet” for places with less punitive tax …. […]
[…] I’ve written about this issue before, particularly in the context of Obama’s class-warfare policies leading to an increase in the number of Americans “voting with their feet” for places with less punitive tax …. […]
[…] I’ve written about this issue before, particularly in the context of Obama’s class-warfare policies leading to an increase in the number of Americans “voting with their feet” for places with less …. […]
[…] I’ve written about this issue before, particularly in the context of Obama’s class-warfare policies leading to an increase in the number of Americans “voting with their feet” for places with less punit…. […]
At the beginning the american people fight against English tax to be American, now it is time to fight again the Government Tax to be free American.
“We the People” must write the financial and economy master plan and not 14 banks owner who send ultimatum to the Mr. President of the United States of American… of course, not the United States of Banks.
The American People must stamp American Money and not… “others”.
Don’t leave your country to be possesed by “others”, fight for your country, fight for your freedom. Please, this is necesary also for the rest of the World. Thanks.
None of the Democrats’ oppressive, stifling, unproductive taxes and endlessly adversarial, choking, unnecessary regulations serve the interest of the American people generally, or of American citizens individually. They advance only the D-rats’ bankrupt socialist ideology, reducing everyone to a common denominator of anger, frustration, and misery.
Obama and his racist, Marxist looters are public enemies. We have a way to go, but signposts point to Berlin under Hitler’s Nazis in the 1930s. Expatriation is a rational and prudent precaution.
[…] companies that choose to expatriate usually fit a certain profile (this applies to individuals as well). They earn a substantial share of their income in other countries and they are put at a […]
[…] companies that choose to expatriate usually fit a certain profile (this applies to individuals as well). They earn a substantial share of their income in other countries and they are put at a […]
[…] companies that choose to expatriate usually fit a certain profile (this applies to individuals as well). They earn a substantial share of their income in other countries and they are put at a […]
[…] companies that choose to expatriate usually fit a certain profile (this applies to individuals as well). They earn a substantial share of their income in other countries and they are put at a […]
[…] if you want to move to a new Galt’s Gulch floating island, you either have to do it before you achieve economic success or you have to pay a ransom to the […]
[…] states enjoy better economic performance. But because migration between states is so easy (whereas migration between nations is more complicated), we also get very good evidence based on people “voting with their feet.” Taxation and jobs […]
[…] states enjoy better economic performance. But because migration between states is so easy (whereas migration between nations is more complicated), we also get very good evidence based on people “voting with their feet.” Taxation and […]
Taking America’s perpetual prosperity leadership for granted, American people and their politicians ignore these emerging pockets of unique amongst developed nations oppression, at their own great peril. Once America’s decline starts (already started?) all these policies will come to a head in the form of an unstoppable crisis.
It would be interesting to mark 3 points along the Rahn curve,
-The point of maximum prosperity/economic growth
-The point of maximum government revenue (i.e the politician-bureaucrat paradise)
-The point of maximum class warfare (i.e. the point where productive people suffer the most)
American patriotism stems from love for a country that is based on individual freedom (including economic freedom) not simply love for a country whose name happens to be A-m-e-r-i-c-a. With the freedom gap advantage that America has always enjoyed over the rest of the world, now severely narrowing, patriotism will also decline.