BC Doc says…

@JC says

“@Calgary411 I suggest for consideration that blog from Rachel Heller for an IBS feature.

As part of renunciation, one must sign a statement that they have not done it under duress ! I suppose US goverment duress is not to be considered!”

+1 JC. Many of those who renounce or relinquish are doing so with a metaphorical Smith and Wesson revolver held to their temple by the USG.

I will use myself as an example. I am a naturalized Canadian citizen here for over two decades. I have Irish citizenship via my parents and grandparents. Their is no disincentive which has forced me to give it up. My Irish passport sits in a lock box and generally gathers dust save for the odd trip to Europe. I was a US citizen by birth– Boston will always be my home town. Given that I still have family in the US and right of return was my birthright, even though I had no intention of living their again, Citizenship Based Taxation combined with FATCA made retaining my US citizenship untenable. The result? US citizenship destruction, under duress.

Good for Rachel for throwing a wrench in the US citizenship destruction machine.

From Rachel’s Ruminations, January 8, 2016, *THE IRONY OF RENOUNCING UNDER DURESS*

When Americans renounce their citizenship, as I did, we are required to sign a form called “Statement of Understanding Concerning the Consequences and Ramifications of Relinquishment or Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship” (Form DS-4081) that includes the following:

I am exercising my right of renunciation/relinquishment freely and voluntarily without force, compulsion or undue influence placed upon me by any person.

…

Renouncing Under Duress

‘Under duress” means that you were somehow forced or pressured to renounce citizenship, and I agree that no one should be forced. However, many people who have renounced recently, or are planning to renounce, state that they have to do so: they are forced into it by circumstances.

For some, it’s a matter of being unable to find a bank to do business with because the banks don’t want the expense of complying with the new FATCA disclosure rules.

For some, renunciation is necessary because otherwise, according to their adopted country’s IGA with the US, they’ll be double-taxed on sales of property or pension payments.

For some, including me, it’s a matter of the cost of paying an accountant and dealing with a resentful non-US spouse who ends up handing his financial information over to the US government.

You could, then, interpret our reasons for renouncing as being an example of acting “under duress,” except the pressure comes from the US government itself!