- Dec 4, 2013
- 2,800
Why expats are ditching their U.S. passports
3,000 Americans around the world renounced their citizenship last year. Meet five U.S. citizens who have given up their passports -- or are thinking about it -- to escape an overly complicated tax code.
Full story: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/expats-ditching-u-s--passports-151127757.html
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/expats-ditching-u-s--passports-151127757.html
By Sophia Yan
'Invasion of privacy'
Christina Ammann
Name: Christina Ammann, 56
Lives in: Belp, Switzerland
When you're an American -- and I've always been patriotic -- it's extremely troubling to think about giving up your citizenship. But it's an option I am considering due to the invasive reach of the IRS and the U.S. government into my personal life.
I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and went to college in California. After I graduated, I entered the Peace Corps, stationed in Costa Rica. That's where I met my husband, who is Swiss. I moved to Switzerland to be with him in 1984, and received Swiss citizenship when we married.
The fact that I have signatory rights on my Swiss husband's financial accounts means that I must report them to the U.S. government, which I find quite unfair. I have no problem paying taxes -- I have problems with reporting my non-American husband's assets. It's an invasion of privacy. I've always filed my taxes with the help of my brother, who is an accountant, but neither of us knew I had to report those accounts until my bank here sent me a letter about it.
We also didn't realize until recently that my daughter, who has U.S. citizenship through me, was required to file taxes after she turned 18 three years ago. I didn't think she had to, because her wages from a part-time job as a university student are very low.
I'm now working with a lawyer to sort this out. I think it will cost me in the range of $10,000 when it's all done, which hurts.
My conclusion is that new disclosure laws have caused an enormous amount of grief for an overwhelming majority of expats, just to get a few bad apples. They may be hiding millions, but the target persons are a small percentage of the millions of Americans abroad.
A burden for my son
Richard Sikes
Name: Richard Sikes, 65
Lives in: Toronto, Canada
When I first moved to Europe in 1973, I didn't pay attention to my U.S. taxes for a few years. I am a native Oregonian who became something of a gypsy, living all over the continent -- Ireland, England, Switzerland and Germany. I hardly earned anything at the time as a ballet dancer, so I figured I probably didn't owe taxes.
After a while, I started to make a bit more. I went straight to a U.S. consulate in Germany and filed about eight years of tax returns all at once. Even then, I don't recall owing any taxes. That put me in compliance, and since then, I've always filed my returns.
When my older son, now 21, was born in Germany, I applied for U.S. citizenship for him immediately, because I thought I might eventually return. As things worked out, I ended up in Canada -- my wife's country and where I found a job in the IT industry. My oldest son and I now both have Canadian citizenship as well.
What I'm worried about these days is whether to apply for U.S. citizenship for my younger son, who is 16. He was born in Canada, and currently holds Canadian citizenship. He has the right to be an American citizen through me, and I wouldn't want to deny him that.
But do I want to impose a lifetime of paying to have U.S. tax returns prepared upon him? There are benefits -- having a U.S. passport would make it easier for him to study and work in the U.S., if that's what he wants. But at his age, he doesn't know yet what career direction he wants to follow.
As for myself, I have considered renouncing my U.S. citizenship -- my Canadian wife feels it is incredibly invasive that we are required to report our joint assets. But even after 40 years as an expat, I've kept my citizenship, because I still cherish the privilege of voting in national elections.
3,000 Americans around the world renounced their citizenship last year. Meet five U.S. citizens who have given up their passports -- or are thinking about it -- to escape an overly complicated tax code.
Full story: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/expats-ditching-u-s--passports-151127757.html
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/expats-ditching-u-s--passports-151127757.html
By Sophia Yan
'Invasion of privacy'
Christina Ammann
Name: Christina Ammann, 56
Lives in: Belp, Switzerland
When you're an American -- and I've always been patriotic -- it's extremely troubling to think about giving up your citizenship. But it's an option I am considering due to the invasive reach of the IRS and the U.S. government into my personal life.
I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and went to college in California. After I graduated, I entered the Peace Corps, stationed in Costa Rica. That's where I met my husband, who is Swiss. I moved to Switzerland to be with him in 1984, and received Swiss citizenship when we married.
The fact that I have signatory rights on my Swiss husband's financial accounts means that I must report them to the U.S. government, which I find quite unfair. I have no problem paying taxes -- I have problems with reporting my non-American husband's assets. It's an invasion of privacy. I've always filed my taxes with the help of my brother, who is an accountant, but neither of us knew I had to report those accounts until my bank here sent me a letter about it.
We also didn't realize until recently that my daughter, who has U.S. citizenship through me, was required to file taxes after she turned 18 three years ago. I didn't think she had to, because her wages from a part-time job as a university student are very low.
I'm now working with a lawyer to sort this out. I think it will cost me in the range of $10,000 when it's all done, which hurts.
My conclusion is that new disclosure laws have caused an enormous amount of grief for an overwhelming majority of expats, just to get a few bad apples. They may be hiding millions, but the target persons are a small percentage of the millions of Americans abroad.
A burden for my son
Richard Sikes
Name: Richard Sikes, 65
Lives in: Toronto, Canada
When I first moved to Europe in 1973, I didn't pay attention to my U.S. taxes for a few years. I am a native Oregonian who became something of a gypsy, living all over the continent -- Ireland, England, Switzerland and Germany. I hardly earned anything at the time as a ballet dancer, so I figured I probably didn't owe taxes.
After a while, I started to make a bit more. I went straight to a U.S. consulate in Germany and filed about eight years of tax returns all at once. Even then, I don't recall owing any taxes. That put me in compliance, and since then, I've always filed my returns.
When my older son, now 21, was born in Germany, I applied for U.S. citizenship for him immediately, because I thought I might eventually return. As things worked out, I ended up in Canada -- my wife's country and where I found a job in the IT industry. My oldest son and I now both have Canadian citizenship as well.
What I'm worried about these days is whether to apply for U.S. citizenship for my younger son, who is 16. He was born in Canada, and currently holds Canadian citizenship. He has the right to be an American citizen through me, and I wouldn't want to deny him that.
But do I want to impose a lifetime of paying to have U.S. tax returns prepared upon him? There are benefits -- having a U.S. passport would make it easier for him to study and work in the U.S., if that's what he wants. But at his age, he doesn't know yet what career direction he wants to follow.
As for myself, I have considered renouncing my U.S. citizenship -- my Canadian wife feels it is incredibly invasive that we are required to report our joint assets. But even after 40 years as an expat, I've kept my citizenship, because I still cherish the privilege of voting in national elections.
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