
U.S. Hikes Fee to Renounce Citizenship by 422% - ethana
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/08/28/u-s-hikes-fee-to-renounce-citizenship-by-422/
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joelrunyon
The logic here is always mind boggling.

People leave their citizenship because of things like FACTA make compliance
hard. So, the response (rather than making it easier), is to make it _harder_?
I don't get it.

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dalke
Why would anyone want to leave the US? The US is the best country in the
world. Why do you think you'll be better off as a non-American? Is it because
you're stealing things from us? Are you one of those overseas tax cheaters
(who has the audacity to do it personally, instead of through a large
multinational country)? Are you stealing money from us? Just to be safe, we'll
make doubly sure to get your money. Because cheaters never win.

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droope
> Because cheaters never win.

ha not sure in what planet you live in

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dalke
Planet Sarcasm. It's one orbit in from planet Weltschmerz.

(I thought the reference to corporate taxes and that line revealed the
sarcasm. The down votes suggest otherwise. The sarcasm, by the way, reflects
my best explanation for the anger I've read when this topic comes up.)

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turingfail
For anyone who would like to comment:
[http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOS_FRDOC_0001...](http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOS_FRDOC_0001-2956)

(Comments from the public are "Due Oct 21 2014, at 11:59 PM ET")

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TazeTSchnitzel
The US is unusually fussy about renouncing citizenship compared to most other
countries. They assume anyone who does so is doing so for tax reasons, which
would make sense given the US has a lot of rich people and it taxes its
citizens even while they're abroad.

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bruceb
The US does tax people while they are abroad but it also extends it services
to Americans who are abroad. You are in some ways insured by the US. If you
get kidnapped you might just be rescued by the US gov't directly or
indirectly. Also having a US passport allows you to travel more freely than
some other nationalities.

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TazeTSchnitzel
Ehh. The UK doesn't tax its citizens abroad and lets you into more countries
with more rights than a US passport does.

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vacri
If you get into trouble though, the UK will say "well, it's your own silly
fault, then", while the US is more likely to chest-beat and cry "No citizen
left behind!". Not guaranteed, of course, but far more likely to do something.

I once travelled with a trinational lawyer. She self-identified as Dutch,
sounded English, but chose to travel on her third passport, the US one,
specifically for the above reason.

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doxydexydroxide
American living in Vienna, Austria. An insider secret for many of us who work
for international organizations such as the UN, OSCE etc and are US Citizens,
is to go to the British Embassy first! The US Embassy and Consular services
are so pathetic (awesome people work there, just their hands are tied by the
utterly pathetic broken system imposed above them).

The British system is 1st class worldwide. The US State Department is
worthless everywhere.

With the U.S. State Department, EVERY CITIZEN IS LEFT BEHIND.

