http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-459-16910-a-very-nice-article-for-expats-but-the-author.html
Excerpt below:
Taxing Matters I also met another type of American expatriate, particularly in London: high rollers who sported American accents but discreetly reminded everyone that they were no longer American. These were the tax expatriates, super-high earners who renounced U.S. nationality in large part to avoid the global reach of U.S. tax law. Facebook’s co-founder, a Brazilian-born U.S. citizen now residing in Singapore, recently denationalized himself in this manner. No doubt, just as legal persons (corporations) often decamp to more favorable tax locations, more and more natural persons will seek to expatriate themselves in the same manner.
As much as I think of myself as a practical individual, I am emotional to the extent that I believe that to take on a nationality, you should identify with and love the country in question. I love both the United States and Greece, and I would never renounce either nationality, regardless of some potential tax benefits.
U.S. citizens must file income tax, no matter where they live. Having said that, the vast majority of your foreign income is exempted, unless you are a super high earner. As an American abroad, it’s important that you file your taxes and keep the IRS apprised of your income. Many Americans living and working abroad forget to do this, and it’s a potentially costly mistake.
Certain actions can cause you to lose your U.S. nationality, such as taking up arms against the United States, formally renouncing your U.S. nationality or, surprisingly, entering the U.S. on a foreign passport. This is a lesser-known detail passed on to me when I lived in London. We were registering our London-born daughter as a U.S. citizen, and the consular official warned us not to travel with her to America before she got a U.S. passport, “as she could forfeit her nationality.” When I took up Greek nationality, I consulted an immigration attorney with a specialty in dual nationality. The reader should do the same: Always seek legal advice when making such key decisions.
So all of you Brockers do you REALLY think this guy is fully compliant with US tax laws . Yes thats what I thought.
The article fails to discuss the notion of Dominant Nationality, unless I read through it too fast.
*I commented on this article a few days ago when someone posted a link to it on another thread (I can’t remember which). Anyway, the author is obviously passing on misinformation when he says [emphasis added]
Don’t we all wish it were that easy to lose U.S. nationality? 🙂
@AnonAnon Geee Wizz. The last time I was in the US I had a Swiss passport in my Pocket (to go on to Cuba). Will they let me give up my US Person status, or will they just jail me for smoking cubans?
FATCA, This Machine Destroys Everything
*@Jefferson D. Tomas
Soylent Green is People!
*or, surprisingly, entering the U.S. on a foreign passport.
Ok! I’m home free.
i could not get that site to accept a comment
About entering the US on a foreign passport, has anyone actually tried that and was given a CLN? Doesn’t customs people hassle you if they see a US birthplace? It might be a good way to get out of paying the $450…
About the article, I don’t see it as bad. He was just giving he probably DID meet some ex-American banker types that were making gobs of money back then. Out of all of the millions of middle class like me, there has to be at least 5-10% who really do make a lot of money.
Last thing, this guy is a mormon. These mormons never stop amazing me. I’m still technically the underling of a mormon who grew up dirt poor and makes about R$ 4 billion (US$ 2 billion) a year. I know keeps most of it (or passes it to his family) because he only has around 100 employees. What are mormons teaching, entrepreneur classes :-)?
How the Mormons Make Money
usx… very interesting! Thanks!
*Jefferson D. Tomas, go to Cuba, get the Cuban press to publish that you wish to renounce your US citizenship, then get caught trying to sneak into Florida illegally and show the border patrol your Swiss passport. That should be enough for your US citizenship to be revoked. Giving Castro a kiss on the cheek should accomplish the same though, and much quicker.
Afterwards, you can write a book on it and earn millions!
Oh, I get it now. To follow US tax laws, I have to submit to the IRS tax slavery, filing ridiculous forms, and spend thousands of dollars to avoid tens of thousands of dollars worth of penalties, just to find out I might owe nothing! And I get to do this every year!
Yay!
I just love the concept of pulling food from my family’s mouth every year, just to comply with the draconian rules of a hopelessly corrupt, and sanctimonious government, that same government that wants to snoop in my Canadian wife’s financial business where it doesn’t belong, just because we share an account, and then get to read about some idiot flag waver of dual loyalties, ‘lecturing’ us on what is the ‘right thing to do’ for America!
If the Founding Fathers were to follow this guy’s example on the ‘right thing to do’, they would’ve just paid their taxes and liked it, in spite of their lack of representation, and they never would’ve taken up arms against the British! Who is this guy kidding? They think they can violate our rights in the country we live in, tell us tough shit, and then demand me to be loyal to THEM?
You see, the issue of taxes is really not the reason why I want to renounce, but thanks to the tyranny of citizenship based taxation, there is no way to separate the issue of taxes from the real issue I’m having here, which is political. It’s one thing to suffer through these forms all be myself, but it’s another thing when my wife can be subjected to the nosiness of a foreign entity, contrary to her charter rights as a Canadian. That is bullshit! There is no way I can be of good conscience, and pledge allegiance to a country like that!
But, to answer the question being posed, I’ll have to say no. If he’s got a substantial amount of money, then I don’t think he’s fully compliant. Especially so if even the experts don’t even know all the rules. Instead, I would surmise that the easiest way to comply with the IRS, as an expat, is to essentially have nothing.Then, it’s just a 1040 form, and you’re done. But then again, even if you have nothing, it’s not really that simple anymore, is it?