AMERICANS RENOUNCE THEIR CITIZENSHIP – IRS AND TAXES

Tax Time Pushes Some Americans to Take a Hike and Renouce American Citizenship because of IRS Regulations GOING BACK YEARS

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/16/us-usa-citizen-renounce-idUSBRE83F0UF20120416

Reuters – Atossa Araxia Abrahamian – 4/16/2012

The United States is one of the only countries to tax its citizens on income earned while they’re living abroad. . . . estimated 6.3 million U.S. citizens living abroad brace for what they describe as an even tougher process of reporting their income and foreign accounts to the IRS.

The National Taxpayer Advocate’s Office, part of the IRS, released a report . . . It cites heavy paperwork, a lack of online filing options and a dearth of local and foreign-language resources.

For those wishing to legally escape the filing requirements, the only way is to formally renounce their U.S. citizenship.

But those of more modest means renounce, too. They say leaving America is about more than money; it's about privacy and red tape.  . . . AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP HAD BECOME MORE OF A LIABILITY THAN A PRIVILEGE.

"The foreign banks are upset enough about the regulations that they're saying they just won't keep American customers, and it's giving (Americans living abroad) a lot of sleepless nights."

"The complexity of international tax law, combined with the administrative burden placed on these taxpayers, creates an environment where taxpayers who are trying their best to comply simply cannot," the report reads. "For some, this means paying more U.S. tax than is legally required, while others may be subject to steep civil and criminal penalties. For some U.S. taxpayers abroad, the tax requirements are so confusing and the compliance burden so great that they give up their U.S. citizenship."

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