onezero4u wrote:can any savvy members here provide a succint pros & cons list for U.S. citizenship renouncement???
also do you HAVE to replace it with some other f***ing citizenship or can you just go without all together??
Unfortunately, one has to have some sort of identification/travel document. Thus, you cannot enter a nation legally, without some sort of govt issued ID, like a passport. And then, for many countries, if your passport isn't USA, Canada, Japan, western Europe, a/o Aussie/NZ, then you may need to get approved for a tourist visa from a local embassy.
Thus, for travel purposes, a US passport is necessary for most of us. But then, don't forgot, if you permanently ex-pat, then you're exempt the first ~$91K of your income, as an American, living abroad. So while John Templeton, a billionaire fund manager, was wise in giving up his US passport for a British one, the average person doesn't earn that much money, every year. If you have a passive or active income between $92K and $180K, then what's the big deal in paying US taxes? You're not paying your local former state taxes and your deduction is now $91K.
My recommendation is that if you make the real big money, from currencies, futures, residual income from owning businesses, etc, then move to Canada first, and get yourself a passport within 3 years of being a permanent resident. Then, once you're a Canadian, go to the US consulate and renounce your US citizenship. Then, permanently leave Canada, and then, you're basically tax free, and can pocket most of your earnings.