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I'm no fan of Johnson, but he did absolutely nothing wrong in that case, and his personal connection to the US was very weak. He renounced his citizenship short
by a_humean 7y ago
I'm no fan of Johnson, but he did absolutely nothing wrong in that case, and his personal connection to the US was very weak. He renounced his citizenship shortly after that episode as are record numbers of very ordinary (income wise) Americans abroad since FACTA was introduced.
The IRS makes overseas compliance for ordinary and accidental (just happening to be born on US soil, but otherwise no connection) American citizens very difficult and opaque, and the penalties are extraordinarily disproportionate when most of the time they usually owe absolutely nothing to US tax authorities other than paperwork.
It also makes access to financial products for American citizens and ex-citizens abroad difficult because local banks don't want to risk dealing with the millions on non-compliant citizens because they also face very high penalties for providing services to non-compliant citizens.
Essentially no other country taxes on the basis of citizenship instead of residency, and they are making a pig's ear of it.