Thousands of expat Americans renouncing citizenship to avoid new tax laws

[enhu]

A lot of them are staying in thailand and philippines. Just close a deal from US expat wanting to buy beach front properties of Mandani Bay in Cebu Philippines.

[jaysabi]

i'm not saying that no one should pay taxes, i'm saying that i want to pay for what i use, not for what others use, why i should pay for the privileges of the other?

In economics, there is a term called "public good", which has to be paid for through taxes or collections from individuals, whether they use the good or not. Consider a street with ten houses with a streetlight. A particular user (say X) might claim that he does not want to pay for the streetlight because he does not use it. But it is impossible to deny him the benefit of the streetlight, even if he does not pay for it. Moreover, because X benefits from the streetlight does not mean that the remaining users are negatively impacted in any way (the resource does not decrease because X uses it).

These "public goods" have to be financed through taxes; there is no other way.  

well that is wrong for me, this is not fair at all, and it is the reason why i hate taxes, and because of this i will make everything in my power to avoid paying tax as much as possible, on every little things

your example is more biased because streetlight are everywhere(so i actually need them too), but there are things that i'm not using at all anymore, like bus in the city, or subway like i said, i'm travelling only with my bicycle

so why i should pay for something that i'll never use? no sense, if they don't want to fix this, i'm going to evade in some way, i don't care

You have to pay for public goods because public goods are things a society needs to be functional and stable (i.e. necessary), and thus their cost must be borne by all people in the society. Even if you don't directly use public transportation, the economic benefits of having a public transit system indirectly benefits you because public transit is beneficial to the economy you participate in, and you reap economic benefits from participating in a more robust economy. Everyone indirectly benefits from public goods, so society has decided it is fair for all people to split the cost of the public goods.

[bryant.coleman]

A lot of them are staying in thailand and philippines. Just close a deal from US expat wanting to buy beach front properties of Mandani Bay in Cebu Philippines.

The income tax rate in Philippines is around 32%. It is close to the rate within the United States. So if someone renounce his citizenship, I am not sure how much he is going to gain in terms of savings. And also, once you renounce your American passport, it will be extremely difficult to get it back at a later point. A Filipino passport is useless for international travel.

[cjmoles]

Well, there are quite a few reasons people would want to leave the US and live abroad....but renouncing citizenship because of taxes is one of the least viable reasons.  How about leaving and renouncing citizenship because of inequality (citizens without citizenship)....or leaving to avoid the mass incarceration project....If one doesn't live in the US....why keep the rights of citizenship anyway?

[bryant.coleman]

Well, there are quite a few reasons people would want to leave the US and live abroad....but renouncing citizenship because of taxes is one of the least viable reasons. 

I don't think so. I know a lot of people who renounced their United States citizenship, and moved to tax heavens such as Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica and St.Kitts-Nevis. Tax considerations are one of the primary reasons why people are renouncing the American citizenship. All the other reasons (politics, individual freedom.etc) are just secondary.

[cjmoles]

Well, there are quite a few reasons people would want to leave the US and live abroad....but renouncing citizenship because of taxes is one of the least viable reasons. 

I don't think so. I know a lot of people who renounced their United States citizenship, and moved to tax heavens such as Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica and St.Kitts-Nevis. Tax considerations are one of the primary reasons why people are renouncing the American citizenship. All the other reasons (politics, individual freedom.etc) are just secondary.

Those who leave the country and renounce citizenship to avoid taxes are those who have the means to do so, but there are many disenfranchised, poor, and under-represented "citizens" who are stuck being subjugated to the system because they do not have the means to leave.

[botany]

Those who leave the country and renounce citizenship to avoid taxes are those who have the means to do so, but there are many disenfranchised, poor, and under-represented "citizens" who are stuck being subjugated to the system because they do not have the means to leave.

These are people who probably benefit from the taxation system in place. They have social security in place. In other countries, they might be struggling for food and shelter. 

[cjmoles]

Those who leave the country and renounce citizenship to avoid taxes are those who have the means to do so, but there are many disenfranchised, poor, and under-represented "citizens" who are stuck being subjugated to the system because they do not have the means to leave.

These are people who probably benefit from the taxation system in place. They have social security in place. In other countries, they might be struggling for food and shelter. 

No, these are people being incarcerated, denied equal treatment, and even killed in the streets by those who are paid with tax payer dollars.  They are NOT benefitting from the resources of taxation, they are being subjugated by the system.

[romjpn]

Well, there are quite a few reasons people would want to leave the US and live abroad....but renouncing citizenship because of taxes is one of the least viable reasons. 

I don't think so. I know a lot of people who renounced their United States citizenship, and moved to tax heavens such as Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica and St.Kitts-Nevis. Tax considerations are one of the primary reasons why people are renouncing the American citizenship. All the other reasons (politics, individual freedom.etc) are just secondary.

A lot ? Your friends must be quite wealthy .
I know only one : Roger Ver (Saint Kitts and Nevis).

[BitcoinBlackjack]

I think the US is the only country (or one of the only countries) that makes you pay taxes even as a NON RESIDENT.
I know of people that have lived abroad for decades and still have to pay some form of tax to the US government. Absolutely ridiculous!

[Enjorlas]

This may come as a shock to people, but taxes are not necessary for a society. Every government service imaginable (or alternative) can be provided by the free market.

[kydranel]

A lot of them are staying in thailand and philippines. Just close a deal from US expat wanting to buy beach front properties of Mandani Bay in Cebu Philippines.

Yap, our friend wasn't even aware of this. Hail Obama. woohoo!

[countryfree]

I'd love to hear the experiences of those who have thrown in their citizenship. That must be a very strange feeling being just another foreigner in your own land. Maybe there should be a sliding scale of how welcome you are. It probably starts off as a great idea but if you can't get back in to see your old dears croak you may have preferred to swallow the paperwork.

I believe most of the people who do that are over 60, and they haven't been in the US for years, if not decades. They don't feel like Americans anymore. I know that feeling when I'm looking at my passport. I left the country of my birth in 1988. I guess I still have friends back there, but they belong to the past.

[bryant.coleman]

Those who leave the country and renounce citizenship to avoid taxes are those who have the means to do so, but there are many disenfranchised, poor, and under-represented "citizens" who are stuck being subjugated to the system because they do not have the means to leave.

Well.. foreign citizenship is not that cheap. A Dominican or Antiguan passport can cost you at least $400,000. A Maltese or Cypriot passport can cost as much as € 2,500,000. There are cheaper options as well (such as the Latvian citizenship), but they are not that easy (you have to learn the local language for example) and the tax rates are not very much attractive.

[Moonpig]

I'm surprised more people aren't moving out of the states. Doesn't really offer much anymore. You don't even get free healthcare at education is very costly. I'd rather live in a country where both are free.

A lot of them are staying in thailand and philippines. Just close a deal from US expat wanting to buy beach front properties of Mandani Bay in Cebu Philippines.

What are the income and capital gains taxes there like or are people just moving there because it's insanely cheap? I wouldn't mind moving to some tax exile place in the future. You can buy citizenship to places like Saint Kitts and Nevis. It comes free if you invest a decent amount in property there which sounds like a win win to me.

[jaysabi]

A lot of them are staying in thailand and philippines. Just close a deal from US expat wanting to buy beach front properties of Mandani Bay in Cebu Philippines.

The income tax rate in Philippines is around 32%. It is close to the rate within the United States. So if someone renounce his citizenship, I am not sure how much he is going to gain in terms of savings. And also, once you renounce your American passport, it will be extremely difficult to get it back at a later point. A Filipino passport is useless for international travel.

Most likely, the majority of the people renouncing are ex-pats who already live overseas and are being double taxed by virtue of being American citizens. There is limited benefit to emigrating to avoid American taxes as the savings are probably negligible and the cost of giving up American citizenship is high, but in instances where someone is already gone, it makes a lot more sense.