Happier Abroad Forum Community

When you fail to pay taxes in the US the government doesn't treat it as an accounting error, they file criminal charges against you no matter which country you live in.

Renounce U.S. Citizenship While You Still Can
http://www.internationalman.com/article ... -still-can

Taco wrote:When you fail to pay taxes in the US the government doesn't treat it as an accounting error, they file criminal charges against you no matter which country you live in.

Renounce U.S. Citizenship While You Still Can
http://www.internationalman.com/article ... -still-can

Excellent article!!!

It would be unwise to renounce US citizenship. Don't think you'd escape taxes. Ex-Americans still have to pay some weird tax if they void their nationality. My advice? If you plan on going Galt, best head to a country with no extradition or that has a record of giving America the finger like Ecuador or China. Other than that, it's not smart.

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Ghost wrote:Easier I would think to get a second passport. Not easy, just easier. The U.S. makes you pay out the a** and makes it strenuous to renounce. A second passport will still be difficult, but marriage to a foreign woman along with residing in her country for a few years should work in most cases.

Unless you are in a certain income and/or net asset bracket or above (around 2 mn in net assets or 150K annual income), renouncing USA citizenship is pretty easily with no exit tax and can be achieved usually in 2-4 months without much actual time required.

Getting a second passport OTOH is extremely difficult for most USA citizens at least. For lucky ones who somehow qualify for another citizenship such as Eurobrat did with Italy, there's all kinds of time involved and major hurdles to jump through. Here are the possibilities that come to mind:

1. Qualified in another country: Probably will take 1 year or more and masses of paper work, FBI clearance, etc.

2. Economic citizenship: These are available in a handful of countries and the cheapest I believe is still at least 100,000K plus lawyer fees for a single person. Similar time and effort requirement as 1 above or perhaps slightly faster. At minimum it's gonna take 6-8 months from start to finish.

3. Israeli citizenship for Jewish Americans: I don't know how long this takes or how difficult it it. I suspect it might be easier and faster than 1 and 2 above. But isn't Israel an extension of USA or vice-versa lol?

4. Naturalization: The fastest countries I know of now take 5 years and require residency status during that time. Once you qualify, there is a lot of paperwork as per 1 or 2 above and many will require you to renounce your current citizenship (USA) anyway as part of the process.

Unless you make enough money to where a little offshoot is nothing, or giving the US government a finger and not paying the permanent ex-citizen tax I mentioned, it's best you keep it.