The article is about why Americans renounce their citizenship.

Quote:The United States is very unusual in this respect. Most countries in the world don't tax their citizens living abroad. So, for example, a Spaniard living in Canada won't pay Spanish taxes. Instead, he'll pay Canadian taxes. But the U.S. taxes American citizens wherever they are in the world.

"If I can compare it to romance, I say the U.S. is like Fatal Attraction," says Suzanne Reisman, a lawyer in London who advises Americans abroad. "Once they've got you, they never let you go. You have to renounce your citizenship, or you have to die."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/...itizenship

Its true but it's not. The article isn't complete enough to tell you how it actually works.

But, renouncing your citizenship is hard and expensive as hell.

Yea, but here's the deal. When a war breaks out, expatriate Americans call the government to come rescue them. That American passport and the government that backs it up helps them in many ways, including economic ones. That infrastructure costs money.

In 2005, when Israel invaded Lebanon, Canada discovered that they had 15,000 'citizens' south of the Litani River in Lebanon. They had to spend millions of dollars 'rescuing' them. Many of these citizens hadn't paid Canadian taxes in decades.

(08-02-2014 12:46 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Yea, but here's the deal. When a war breaks out, expatriate Americans call the government to come rescue them.

YEah that war in Canada was a real pain in the ass for me.

(08-02-2014 12:51 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  

(08-02-2014 12:46 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  Yea, but here's the deal. When a war breaks out, expatriate Americans call the government to come rescue them.

YEah that war in Canada was a real pain in the ass for me.

But you do use the services of the US Department of State too. And without the DOE, few of us would be working in Alberta. You use the US government's assets while in Edmonton (That's where you are right?)

And lets be clear, if you spend more than 11 months a year outside the US, you don't pay any taxes on any income until you reach the 97,300 level and higher. Its not like its a killer.

And the taxes you pay to a foreign government are deductable (with a carryforward too) against your US taxes. Since most other countries have higher tax rates, the impact is that most Americans working overseas pay little taxes on their foreign earned income.

I was in Calgary this week. I benefitted from the efforts of the US State Department, the US Department of Energy, the US Department of Transportation, the FAA, and any other number of US government funded agencies.