Is the IRS Driving Americans To Leave Their Citizenship?

In the last half decade, the IRS launched efforts to punish and penalize Americans for using private banks in countries outside the United States, and what has been the effect? Quadrupling the number of Americans choosing private banks and international finance over citizenship. Before the IRS actions, only 200 to 400 Americans exercised their right to renounce the protection (and burden) of citizenship; in 2011 that number jumped to an extraordinary 1,780 Americans. At least, the IRS dodged a number like 1776 Americans choosing their original rights over IRS micro-management. A growing number of U.S. citizens who live abroad and have bank accounts there are making a dramatic decision to avoid paying taxes: giving up their U.S. citizenship. Last year, 1,780 Americans relinquished their citizenship to avoid disclosing foreign account information to the Internal Revenue Service. This is a sharp increase over the 226 Americans who did so in 2008. The increasing numbers of Americans renouncing citizenship results from IRS efforts to target, penalize and even indict U.S. citizens who placed their moneys and properties in the hands of private banks in foreign locales. Whether because of the IRS or the state equivalent, the franchise tax board or board of equalization, more Americans prefer favorable private banking and wide range of options to invest and protect assets.

How simple can act of renouncement be? You can even be in a foreign country when you do it. Just appear before a U.S. diplomatic representative anywhere in the world, such as any embassy offices in the world, from Paris to Berlin, Singapore to Zurich, the Republic of Georgie to the Cayman Island capital of Georgetown.

While IRS authorities attempt various to impose exit taxes as a condition of such effectuating renouncement, like a Berlin Wall of tax punishment, more and more hop over the wall to enjoy their freedom abroad from the intrusion and invasion of the Internal Revenue Service and its attempts to dictate your financial and tax decisions away from and outside the borders of the nation.  Lawful means to avoid taxes can be found without the extraordinary act of choosing another country’s protection for citizenship purposes. But for some, the simplest and surest is simply adopting another country’s citizenship.