Record number renounce U.S. to avoid income tax
Would you renounce your U.S. citizenship if it meant you didn’t have to pay an income tax?
More Americans than ever are saying “yes” to that proposition, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
A Reuters article says 1,800 people either renounced their citizenship or relinquished their ‘Green Card’ in 2011, the highest number since the IRS began publishing a list of those who’ve quit Team U.S.A.
The number that walked away in 2011 is eight times larger than those who renounced their citizenship in 2008, Reuters reports, and more than 2007, 2008 and 2009 combined.
Why are people doing it? Probably taxes.
The United States is one of the few countries to tax citizens living abroad. An estimated 6.3 million Americans living overseas have until June to file income taxes, but some apparently find the liability is greater than the benefit.
Longstanding federal law requires U.S. citizens to list offshore bank accounts, but a new law — 2010’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act — asks foreign banking institutions to provide the IRS with financial information that some Americans may have “forgotten” to provide. This new law likely explains the 2011 spike.
The IRS publishes the names of those who’ve decided not to pay up, a practice referred to as “name and shame” by lawyers representing the expatriates.
There’s an “exit tax” for the very rich who choose to leave. Reuters says Ted Arison, the late founder of Carnival Cruises, and Michael Dingman, a former Ford Motor Co. director, both paid to no longer be considered American.
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106 comments Add your comment
Patriot
April 18th, 2012
1:18 pm
So these scumbags are willing to renounce their citizenship just for the tax savings? It makes you wonder how much in cash then these money lovers and their supporters would need to betray the USA to a foreign government, since they obviously love money more than their country!
SHUT YOUR FACE WENDELL YOU IDIOT!!
April 18th, 2012
1:22 pm
STOP BLAMING OBAMA WHEN BUSH & THE GOP SCREWED UP AMERICA TO CONTINUE TO TAKE CARE OF THE RICH & LET THE WORKING CLASS & POOR GET THE SHORT END OF THE STICK. PRESIDENT OBAMA TRIED TO TAKE AWAY THE TAX BREAK FOR OIL COMPANIES, BUT THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT VOTED GOP, THAT WAS NIPPED. EVERYTHING PRESIDENT OBAMA DOES TO TRY TO HELP THE WORKING CLASS THE GOP FIGHTS IT, BUT YET THEY ARE ALWAYS COMPLAINING HE DID NOT KEEP THE PROMISES HE MADE BEFORE HE WAS ELECTED, THAT’S BECAUSE THESE GREEDY, EVIL GOP CONGRESS MEMBERS WON’T ALLOW HIM. HE’S TRYING TO HELP AMERICANS SAVE THEIR HOMES, GIVEN THE STATE OF GEORGIA OVER $400 MILLION TO HELP TOWARD FORECLOSURES & DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PAID BACK, BUT DO YOU THINK FOR ONCE THE REPUBLICAN RAN STATE LEGISLATURES ARE GOING TO LET THAT MONEY BE USED FOR WHAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT GAVE TO THE STATE FOR? NO WAY, THEY WILL GET THEIR PAWS IN IT & HELP THEIR FAMILY & FRIENDS OUT WHO DON’T NEED IT. TYPICAL, RICH LOOKING OUT FOR THE RICH. PEOPLE WAKE UP!! DON’T GO FOR ALL THIS NON-SENSE & FOOLISHNESS THEY ARE TRYING TO PUT ON THE PRESIDENT. DO YOUR HOMEWORK & NUMBERS. AS FAR AS HEALTH REFORM GOES, I AGREE WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA, I HAVE HEALTHCARE & IT IS STILL EXPENSIVE TO GO TO THE DOCTORS & HOSPITALS. WHO DO YOU THINK PAYS FOR THE UNINSURED? ME WITH MY INSURANCE & WITH MY TAX DOLLARS. YES WE DO NEED HEALTHCARE REFORM, ONLY AN IDIOT WOULD THINK OTHERWISE, THE GOP!! SMH!!
Come on Man
April 18th, 2012
1:29 pm
Tax Slayer – Georgia ranks low on education based on what statisic? The SAT? Drop outs? What? There are very few people here in Georgia actually from Georgia. Most are from the north and more come everyday so. If people from the north are so smart, why are thhey moving to Georgia and why aren’t our schools getting better? My kid got a 2,100 on the SAT which is about 500 better than the national average. Mind you he has no idea what EBT stands for. He will in due time when he pays his taxes on legal fees he will charge your kids to help them get out of jail.
The MIC
April 18th, 2012
1:39 pm
Guess what America? We are the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Sure we have problems, like that foreign alien person living in the white house. He’s neither a U.S. citizen nor a Christian, says we’re not a Christian country and lives off government hand-outs. Yea, the alien has caused gas prices to soar, unemployment is at an all time high, the economy is the worst it’s been in history and all the president can do is read his teleprompter, which says “it’s Bush’s fault, it’s Bush’s fault”. Well America, I guess you know the results from Obama’s “blame Bush” campaign, everybody wanted to know, which Bush. All the president would say is, I don’t know, it’s what the teleprompter said. Well, if you don’t like being American…… good, just leave but, don’t come back!
Steve B
April 18th, 2012
1:40 pm
I love how the liberals always defend their position by calling conservatives uninformed and “buying the party line”, when in reality, it is usually the other way around. ABC news, not exactly a bastion of conservatism, recently published an article where they checked to see if rich people paid less than the middle class. Guess what? They don’t! The top 400 richest americans do, because they are hedge fund managers, and they know their way around the loopholes, but overall the richest americans pay almost twice of what middle class americans do, as far as percentage. In actual dollars this is much more than twice. You can read it yourself at http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/fact-check-the-richtheir-secretaries-and-taxes/
The problem in this country is not the rich. It is that the government takes care of far too many people who are very capable of taking care of themselves, but are too LAZY to do so, and have figured out ways around working for a living!
Holy Smoke..Tom's right!
April 18th, 2012
1:52 pm
They are trying to avoid taxes the way ex-Nazis were trying to avoid the hangman’s noose. No different. They are un-patriotic, unwilling to shoulder their fair share and should be permanently denied citizenship AND put on a permanent no-fly status for ever stepping foot on US soil again. All their assets in the US should be seized and sold immediately to pay for their malfeasance.
SugarHillDawg
April 18th, 2012
2:16 pm
Holy Smoke , every time you type on a blog EVERYONE is stupider for having read it. You actually compare Americans who’ve had enough of pulling the wagon to ex-Nazi’s who were responsible for killing millions of people. I get tired of hearing hyperbolic CRAP like you liberals are so good at spouting.I wish we could forcibly make IDIOTS like you ex-patriots. You are NOT a great American.Fair share my ass, they are paying the LION’S SHARE!!!!
Gentleman Jim
April 18th, 2012
2:52 pm
Ben, you should look into how many people worked here illegally, had SS taken out of their wages using a fake SS number, and then return to their country never to collect SS. They have donated billions to our SS system. Only non-citizens who are authorized to work here get a real SSN.
Hank Reardon
April 18th, 2012
2:54 pm
Atlas is shrugging.
The “gimme” class realizes that and is panicing, which is why they call names, type in all caps, and generally act like 5-year-olds (yes, poster at 1:22 pm, that is you).
Randy
April 18th, 2012
3:10 pm
I’m totally blown away by the political team playing on both sides. If you think democrats have all the answers, you need to open your eyes. If you think republicans have all the answers, you need open your eyes. Unless you want these politicians to continue to do dumb things on both sides, you need to educate yourself on the issues. Of course, politicians are counting on you to keep towing their line!