More Americans renounced their citizenship.
AB Wire
A record number of Americans have renounced their citizenship and Green Card holders relinquished their permanent residency, for the third year in a row because of likely stringent tax policies, according to data released by the US Treasury Department.
A record-breaking 4,279 individuals, all either US citizens or Green Card holders – the data does not give the breakdown – gave up their right to live long-term in the country in 2015. In 2014, a total of 3,415 citizens and Green Card holders had done the same.
The list of individuals deciding to expatriate is published on a quarterly basis by the Internal Revenue Service, reported RT.com. The latest one contains the names of 1,058 US citizens and permanent residents that gave up their passports in the period from September to December.
The underlying cause behind the massive increase in renunciations is believed to be the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which came into force in 2010. The law imposes harsh penalties for non-compliance, even if people aren’t dodging it on purpose, Andrew Mitchel, an international lawyer who analyzes IRS data, told the Wall Street Journal.
“An increasing number of Americans appear to believe that having a US passport or long-term residency isn’t worth the hassle and cost of complying with US tax laws,” he said.
The US now require most international banks to unveil any information concerning US citizens’ accounts abroad. More than 180,000 banks have complied with the government’s demands. The encroachment on foreign banks prompted many of them to scrap business with Americans living abroad, causing some US citizens overseas to give up their passports.
Since the law has come into effect, US authorities have collected $13.5 billion from foreign banking institutions and Americans in taxes and penalties.
The United States is the only nation within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that subjects its citizens to taxes irrespective of their place of residence.
1 Comment
This is something that America should never do to its unrepresented diaspora. People living in America need to do more to protect Americans living abroad from the flaws and faults of US polics