That's incorrect and misleading. There are two things here: US law, and what the State Department does, which are sometimes contradictory. Current US law says c

That's incorrect and misleading. There are two things here: US law, and what the State Department does, which are sometimes contradictory. Current US law says citizens can renounce citizenship regardless of tax obligations, although it does not remove these obligations - the IRS could still take steps to get their money back. In practice, the State Department slows down or blocks people renouncing citizenship for all kinds of reasons (tax reasons, they may be under duress, age, lack of second passport, etc etc.) This does not change the law, and ultimately if you're wealthy and persistent enough to go through the enormously complex procedure of renouncing citizenship, you will be able to get it renounced despite tax obligations. Once that happens (rich person is no longer a citizen & owes taxes) they'll face many consequences, and the two largest are 1) the IRS will take steps to get their money and 2) they will be barred from entering the US if their renunciation was for tax purposes. Note that in 2) the Attorney General must state that your renunciation was for tax purposes, so if the AG is busy with other things, you're not high-profile enough, or nobody cares, you will probably be able to return to the US. In reality, of course, things are a bit more complex: the State Department officers are usually unfamiliar with renouncing citizenship and mess up with one or more steps. Some people are never put on a list of renunciants and some do not have their US passport taken away or cancelled. Even some high-profile renunciants have not been put on the list - or were not put on the list until people complained. If anyone wants to read more, this [0] is mostly factual and pretty well researched. I am not a lawyer, I am not a renunciant (and never will be), and if you make any decisions about renouncing your citizenship based on this comment you are insane. Sidenote: renouncing citizenship is not a right everywhere (many countries don't allow it.) [0] http://www.renunciationguide.com/expatriation-process/renunciation-step-by-step/ http://www.renunciationguide.com/expatriation-process/renunc...