Category Archives: weaponization of citizenship

Part 5 – Fidelity U.K. – Cleansing The Firm Of “Suspected” U.S. Citizens And The Problems They Bring

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For those who want ONLY the “Readers Digest” version of this post …

This is a long but important post. For some the post will be too long to read and digest. The post is about Fidelity. Those of a certain age will associate Fidelity with legendary fund manager Peter Lynch author of “One Up On Wall Street“.

There is an international trend of financial firms avoiding U.S. citizens. This post is specifically about Fidelity UK (1) refusing to accept U.S. citizens as clients and (2) proactively ridding their client base of those who they know are U.S. citizens or have reason to believe “may be” U.S. citizens!

I recently became aware of the following letter sent by Fidelity U.K. to certain undesirables …

Unconfirmed USP Sell To Cash Letter

Some of you may be satisfied to read the letter.

For those interested in the general context and discussion, here is the complete post …

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Part A – Introduction and context

This is Part 5 in a series of posts that I began writing in 2023. See the Appendix for links to all of the previous posts. The context of this series of posts is that FATCA IGAs require “foreign financial institutions” to provide the U.S. Social Security numbers of their U.S. citizen customers. This is a problem because:

1. The banks cannot provide to the IRS what they sometimes don’t have.

2. Many Americans abroad do NOT have a Social Security number to provide.

3. Many former U.S. citizens have relinquished U.S. citizenship without necessarily having a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (“CLN”).

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Sacred Trust: Counseling Americans Abroad Through The Trauma Of A FATCA World

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Introduction:

Much of living as a U.S. citizen abroad is learning to cope with a life of trauma. Posts discussing the trauma are here here, here and here. For Americans abroad, preparing to file a U.S. tax return is a form of trauma.


The U.S. extra-territorial tax, form and penalty regime reminds Americans that they are:

“Subject to certain penalties, for uncertain conduct!

Those who do not file tax returns worry about the consequences of not filing.

Those who do file tax returns worry about the consequences of filing.

Thinking about the issue of trauma, I was reminded of a presentation that I did in 2015 in London, UK. It was titled:

Sacred Trust: Counselling Clients Through The Trauma Of “U.S. Citizenship Abroad” In A FATCAesque World”

(The audience was a group of U.S. tax professionals. I am not sure that they really understood the message. But, the presentation was a welcome diversion from the usual technical tax talk.)

I had forgotten about the presentation, but was reminded of it today. Looking at the slides, I think I agree with everything I said in 2015. If anything, it has gotten worse!

Here is the presentation:

A PDF version is here:

Sacred Trust – Counselling Clients Through the “Trauma of U.S. Citizenship Abroad” in a FATCAesque world – Toronto – February 2015 1

AI Generated Podcast generated from the 2015 presentation

John Richardson – Follow me on X.com @ExpatriationLaw

Part 5 – The Clash Of Citizenships: When Dual Citizenship For The Individual Becomes Duel Citizenship For The State

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Introduction And Summary

This is Part 5 in my “Little Red Dual Citizenship Book” Series. For parts 1 to 4, see the Appendix.

The proliferation of “dual citizenship” in the 21st century is a benefit for individuals. As Boston Globe Correspondent journalist David Shribman explains, dual citizenship may be a critical part of an individual’s identity. That said, “dual citizenship” may not be a benefit (and may be a danger) for countries in certain circumstances. The purpose of this post is (in part) to question whether dual citizens of a country should have the same class of rights as those who are ONLY citizens of the country. Should Canada/US dual citizens living in Canada have the same rights of citizenship as those who are ONLY Canadian citizens living in Canada. For example, should dual citizens be permitted to vote in Canadian elections? Should dual citizens be permitted to run for public office?

This recent article in the Toronto Globe and Mail reinforces the validity of this question.

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Some IRS Medic Livestream Videos – 2026 to 2023

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Introduction:

Over the years I have been a guest on the IRS Medic Youtube Channel a number of times. The topics have been varied and of relevance to Americans abroad. I thought I would collect “some” of the videos in one post. If you scroll down, I expect that you will some topics of interest to you. Many if not most of the topics have included written presentations in PDF format. I will add those when I have the time and am able to locate them.

If after watching any of these, if you want to schedule a consultation to discuss your situation:

https://www.calendly.com/renounceUScitizenship

ExpatriationLaw.com

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Considering Renunciation Part 2: Recognizing And Overcoming The Emotional Barriers

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I recently wrote a post describing some of the objective tax, immigration and financial planning issues surrounding the renunciation of U.S. citizenship. For all people tax and financial planning issues should be objectively considered. But objective issues can take one only so far. We are all individual human beings who experience the world differently. We all ascribe various degrees of importance to different things. Citizenship is about more than immigration, tax and financial planning. Citizenship is also a huge component of how we see ourselves in the world. Citizenship is part of who we are!

Therefore, for many people the renunciation of U.S. citizenship is very much a psychological and emotional process. It is a process of transitioning to a both a new stage of life and a new stage of self! This is because citizenship is very much a component of (1) who we are today, (2) our personal histories and (3) how we see our futures. I was recently seated at a lunch table with a new Canadian citizen who immigrated to Canada from China. By becoming a Canadian citizen he ceased to be a citizen of China. I asked him how he felt about losing Chinese citizenship. He said that he felt very bad and very sad. But, he said his present and future was in Canada and that he wanted to be and identify as a Canadian citizen. (U.S. citizens do NOT automatically lose their citizenship by naturalizing as Canadian citizens.) To think about citizenship is to think about life planning and (especially for U.S. citizens) financial planning. Citizenship can deprive people of opportunities or open up new opportunities.

As I was counselling a people who was renouncing in February 2024, I was asked:

“Do many people regret renouncing U.S. citizenship?”

In all the years I have been assisting people I have had exactly two people regret their renunciations. But, this was immediately after renunciation and the regret was short lived. In most cases, people comment that they wish they had renounced sooner. That said (especially for those who grew up in the United States) people wish they were not placed in a position where they feel they must renounce.

When it comes to renouncing U.S. citizenship:

People are NOT renouncing because they want to.

People are renouncing because they feel they have to.

Two podcasts to help people overcome the regret of renouncing U.S. citizenship


1. The Retired Citizen – You can always identify as a U.S. citizen if you want to

https://prep.podbean.com/e/the-retired-us-citizen/

2. The Dodge Stratus ad – You’re not losing a sports car. You are GAINING two doors!

https://prep.podbean.com/e/about-loss-of-identity-what-the-dodge-stratus-teaches-us-about-renouncing-us-citizenship/


Hope this helps you clear the emotional hurdles!

John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw

2023 Conference: Oppressive Nationality Attribution And The Weaponization Of Citizenship

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Prologue

and

Introduction

Just by accident I discovered a recent conference discussing (among other things) the wrongful attribution of nationality and the weaponization of citizenship generally. I haven’t had the time to read all of this. At a bare minimum this does discuss issues that may have applicability of the plight of Americans abroad.

Questions may include:

1. Does the difficulty in renouncing U.S. citizenship constitute the wrongful attribution of citizenship?

2. Does the United States use of “citizenship” to claim the residents of other countries as U.S. “tax residents” constitute the “weaponization of citizenship”?

3. Does the United States use of citizenship to drain capital from the tax base of other countries constitute the weaponization of citizenship (U.S.) against other countries?

In this context I am reminded of the peition (which originated with the Isaac Brock Society) to the UN Human Rights Commission arguing that the US rules of “citizenship taxation” violate various international human rights laws.

Here are the articles …

I would be interested in any and all comments on this topic.

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