“SOMETHING HAS CHANGED”
by Fergus Hodgson, Tax Revolution Institute, ©2016
(Aug. 22, 2016) — In the latest quarter of 2016, through June 30, 1,158 individuals renounced US citizenship and cut legal ties with the land of the free. How many do you think renounced during the same period 10 years prior?
A grand total of 31.
That equates to an increase of 3,635 percent. The list from the past decade includes celebrities such as Tina Turner in 2013, who lives in Switzerland, and Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin in 2012, a Brazilian native who now lives in Singapore. Even the United Kingdom’s New York-born secretary of state, Boris Johnson, is caught in this dilemma and has signaled his intention to join the exodus.
One need not be a mathematical genius to realize that something has changed. US citizenship is more burdensome than it used to be, but why?
First, we need to be aware that renouncing citizenship is no walk in the park or a decision made lightly. As you might guess, it entails plenty of bureaucracy and a fee of $2,350. Prior to 2010, however, there was no charge. A Canadian lawyer charges $500 per person for seminars on how to pull this off successfully, and the Toronto-based Globe and Mail notes that expats in Canada can expect to wait over a year for processing. Some are even flying to other countries for their mandatory meetings to hurry up and be done with it.
Read more: https://taxrevolution.us/why-american-expats-are-renouncing-citizenship-like-never-before/