Podcast – September 16, 2022: All Roads Leads To Renunciation” NOW
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Category Archives: Relinquish U.S. citizenship
Buying Their Freedom: Toward A More Efficient Process Of US Citizenship Renunciation
Buying Their Freedom – A More Efficient Renunciation Process – The “Readers Digest” Version Of This Post …
Q. Why are people getting rid of their US citizenship? A. It's because of the "10 Commandments of U.S. Citizenship" in a #FATCA and #FBAR world by John Richardson https://t.co/cbjEJ91Ijw
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) January 3, 2018
The effects of US citizenship taxation enforced by FATCA are causing great distress to the US citizens who reside in and are tax residents of other countries. They are being constructively forced to renounce US citizenship because of (1) the out of pocket costs of US tax compliance (2) the possibility of double taxation (3) the US taxation of things that are not taxable in their country of residence (4) the “opportunity cost” of their inability to engage in financial and retirement planning and in some cases (5) the threat or reality of bank/financial account closures. In addition, these circumstances are unfair to their countries of residence who are forced to deal with a group of people who are more likely to require “social assistance” in their retirement years. US citizenship is a problem for US citizens who attempt to live outside the United States and for the countries where they live.
Although many people are constructively forced to renounce US citizenship, the US has made renunciation very difficult from both a cost and availability perspective.
The purpose of this post is to suggest that the process of renouncing US citizenship should be facilitated in the US citizen’s country of residence by that government. Renunciation could be achieved more quickly, at lower cost and (under my proposal) partially subsidized by the government of residence (which would justify this as “buying back their citizens” from any US claim of taxation or other regulatory burdens). I believe that this proposal would benefit the individual US citizen, the US citizen’s country of residence and the United States itself. The following post describes how this can be achieved under the existing US laws.
As President Obama once said:
“The circumstances of one’s birth should not determine the outcome of one’s life.”
This post is composed of the following parts:
Part A – Introduction
Part B – The US Government And The Oppression OF Americans Abroad
Part C – The Legal Framework Of Renunciation
Part D – The Logistics – How The New Renunciation Process Would Work
Part E – Reviewing The Benefits Of The New Renunciation Process
Part F – The Revised Renunciation Fee
Part G – Democratizing Renunciation – Making It Available To All – A Financing Proposal
Part H – Sadly this could all be be prevented if the United States were to end citizenship taxation and adopt the world standard of residence taxation. But, …
Part I – Conclusion – “All Roads Lead To Renunciation”
Reflections Of An Expatriation Lawyer: From The Solemn Occasion of 1988 To The Non-event of 2021
Renunciation of US citizenship has evolved into a routine matter that is taken less and less seriously by the US Government. "Reflections Of An Expatriation Lawyer: From The Solemn Occasion of 1988 To The Non-event of 2021" https://t.co/l5Aq2moYJx via @expatriationlaw
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) December 30, 2021
Guest Post by UK based New York lawyer Diane Gelon
Diane is a London, UK based New York lawyer who specializes in issues affecting Americans abroad including renunciation. What follows are her thoughts on how the renunciation process has evolved since 1988. The message is that in 1988 the renunciation of US citizenship was a serious and solemn event that was taken very seriously by the US government (it was also free of charge). By 2021 it had become a routine matter, of little concern to the US government (and cost $2350). This is one more reason why the State Department should process renunciations of US citizenship through video conferencing!
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Over to Diane …
To Renounce US Citizenship Or Not To Renounce – That Is The Question
In May of 2021 John Richardson participated in this podcast with 4 The Now Media.
It has become increasingly difficult for US citizens living outside the United States to comply with the US tax and regulatory regime. Unfortunately Americans abroad are being constructively forced to renounce US citizenship.
People are NOT renouncing US citizenship because they want to! They are renouncing because they have to!
The following podcast discusses many of the issues surrounding the renunciation decision. The discussion includes a discussion of several profiles, the applicability of the 877A Exit Tax and the dual citizenship from birth exemption.
Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw
Americans Abroad And Voting Part 2: Born in the USA? Those who relinquished US citizenship under INA 349(a) are NOT eligible to vote in the November 3, 2020 US election
Awesome! I have never seen those with @dualcitizenship being solicited to vote in US election."Scotiabank Arena to open for U.S. citizens living in Toronto to register to vote" https://t.co/jJp8DmChEY
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) September 25, 2020
This is the second of my series of my posts that discusses Americans abroad (and in particular Americans in Canada) and voting. My first post discussed the nuts and bolts of voting from abroad. Specifically, I discussed how Americans abroad can vote in the November 3, 2020 election.
Clearly one must be an American citizen to be eligible to vote. This post is for the purpose of identifying a category of person who was “Born In The USA” but is NOT a US citizen. The basic theme of this post is discussed in the following podcast. But, the bottom line is this:
Fascinating discussion with @Scaramucci: They want the #expat vote, but don’t want to understand the #FATCA life! #Citizide continues
Fascining discussion. In this election season the politicans are agressively courting the vote of Amerians abroad. Yet, they seem unwilling to take the time to understand the problems of Americans abroad and how FATCA has destroyed many life – resulting in many renunications of US citizenship.
Understanding the 1996 Reed Amendment: A primer for those considering renouncing US citizenship AKA #citizide
Renunciation is a process of transitioning from US citizen to nonresident alien. How does this affect your tax situation?
On June 25, 2020 Dr. Karen Alpert and I did a series of podcasts where we discussed how renunciation will affect your interaction with the US tax system. The key point is that you will still be taxable by the United States on US source income. What does that mean? Under what circumstances could renunciation of US citizenship actually increase your US tax liability?
Part 1: US Taxation of Nonresident aliens: What is a nonresident alien? The taxation and witholding on FDAP and ECI income – conversation between @ExpatriationLaw and @FixTheTaxTreaty https://t.co/Rcu0FfppyW
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) June 25, 2020
Part 2: US Taxation of Nonresident aliens: How US Source Income May Affect Your Decision To Renounce US Citizenship AKA #citizide – conversation between @ExpatriationLaw and @FixTheTaxTreaty https://t.co/jnUhkSCvHL
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) June 25, 2020
Part 3: US Taxation of Nonresident aliens: How US IRAs and 401ks are taxed to nonresident aliens – conversation between @ExpatriationLaw and @FixTheTaxTreaty https://t.co/tmk9ZBF89X
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) June 25, 2020
John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @ExpatriationLaw
Good discussion on renouncing US citizenship AKA #citizide: The good, the bad and the ugly
Q. Why are people getting rid of their US citizenship? A. It's because of the "10 Commandments of U.S. Citizenship" in a #FATCA and #FBAR world by John Richardson https://t.co/cbjEJ91Ijw
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) January 3, 2018
Enjoyed this discussion with @IRSMedic and @Keith__Redmond: Renouncing your US citizenship: Top Questions Answered. https://t.co/f9BkwWGoJS via @YouTube
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) June 15, 2020
This is one of the better interviews regarding US citizenship renunciation, covering a wide range of important issues.
Podcast – US Citizenship: Retain or Renounce – Streamlined, Relief Procedures For Former Citizens
What's a poor American overseas or Accidental American to do? Different strokes for different folks. If it were easy a decision wouldn’t be required. Podcast w/: @ExpatriationLaw, @TAPInternation, @FixTheTaxTreaty, David Johnstone, @Keith__REDMOND https://t.co/gHGxdrBxRg #FATCA
— Keith REDMOND, I.P.I.T.A. (@Keith__REDMOND) April 30, 2020
(Interesting discussion in the above twitter feed.)
On April 30, 2020 I hosted a discussion with Karen Alpert, Laura Snyder, David Johnstone and Keith Redmond. The discussion touched on a variety of subjects of interest to Americans abroad and Accidental Americans.
The discussion included a segment on the September 2019 IRS Relief Procedures For Former citizens and how they compare to Streamlined compliance.
Bottom Line: It’s complicated. People are different. Different solutions for different people. But, for many:
“All Roads Lead To Renunciation”.