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Every single bank in every country that wishes to use USD is in that position today, it is not related to whether they were shown to help in some criminal activ

Every single bank in every country that wishes to use USD is in that position today, it is not related to whether they were shown to help in some criminal activity. > US citizens residing in other countries can still receive some services and protection from the US federal government. Seriously, like what? In how many percent of situations does this ever come up. Sure it's more than >0, but if it is like 1$/person does it really make sense? This is economic bullying by a country that right now happens to be in a position (having strong military, influence and their currency being the reserve one) to be able to get away with it.

kube-system 7y ago
The most obvious is something like state department emergency assistance, but there's plenty of US government programs without a residency requirement. For example: federal student aid doesn't require US residency. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/international https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/international Also, the taxes that the US imposes on citizens overseas has some pretty significant exceptions. US citizens can deduct over $100,000 worth of their foreign-earned income and part of their housing expenses.
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  That’s part of the mess: the US tax system isn’t the same as others’, so you now have to optimize for 2 systems. Differing rules of what’s a short-term vs long term capital gain. E.g.: Canada doesn’t tax capital gains on your Primary residence when you sell it, but US does. And buying a non-US ETF can create another tax mess since you’ve now bought into a multibillion dollar trust that doesn’t file with the US gov. The US doesn’t see your Canadian Tax-free savings account as tax free, so now you have to keep track of every transaction in there.
  - MR4D 7y ago
    The us does not tax capital gains on your primary residence unless you lived in it for less than 2 years. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/capitalgainhomesale.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/capitalgainhomes...
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      Seems even more complicated than that. It's only on $250k in gains, or $500k if you're a couple filing jointly. It's a lot of money, but if you bought a house in Canada in Toronto/Vancouver 30 years ago, you'd be paying US CGT on its sale. And can a US-citizen/non-US-citizen couple still file jointly?
      - generatorguy 7y ago
        In the US you also got to deduct the interest you paid on your mortgage from your taxable income for 30 years.
  - kube-system 7y ago
    I never said our tax code wasn’t complicated. I simply said expatriates still get some services for their tax dollars. I’ll be first in line to complain about complicated taxes. I file three income tax returns, thanks to the fact I live in a jurisdiction with local income taxes as well as state and federal.
colechristensen 7y ago
For starters the first $103,900 is tax free if you qualify and are living abroad. What it comes down to is that because of its size and economic power there is an enormous incentive for wealthy people who earn their income (in an actual sense, not a tax law menagerie sense) in the US to try to avoid US taxes by living abroad and moving assets, their "home", etc outside of US jurisdiction while still in reality earning their income from the US. One of the basic benefits is always being able to return to the US. Being inside American borders is very much safer than being anywhere else if/when the next major global military issue arises. You also get the benefits of the US legal system if you maintain ties, investments, etc. If you don't want to pay those taxes you are welcome to renounce your citizenship, but you have to get another country to accept you first. (they won't revoke your citizenship if the result is your being stateless)
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  > One of the basic benefits is always being able to return to the US. Being inside American borders is very much safer than being anywhere else if/when the next major global military issue arises. It’s a funny fear, because today, being in the US vs. some other developed country takes about 7-8 years off your life. Meanwhile, those developed countries with functioning health care systems that you can return to whenever don’t bother with worldwide taxation.
  - gruez 7y ago
    >It’s a funny fear, because today, being in the US vs. some other developed country takes about 7-8 years off your life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expe... When accounting for all sexes, US sits at 79.3 years and the top country sits at 83.7 years. Where is this "7-8 years" coming from?
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      > Where is this "7-8 years" coming from? My poor recall.
Mirioron 7y ago
>This is economic bullying by a country that right now happens to be in a position (having strong military, influence and their currency being the reserve one) to be able to get away with it. I wonder if this is the kind of stuff that pushes EU politicians forward with their notions that they cannot rely on the US?

kube-system 7y ago

The most obvious is something like state department emergency assistance, but there's plenty of US government programs without a residency requirement. For example: federal student aid doesn't require US residency. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/international https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/international Also, the taxes that the US imposes on citizens overseas has some pretty significant exceptions. US citizens can deduct over $100,000 worth of their foreign-earned income and part of their housing expenses.

Scoundreller 7y ago
That’s part of the mess: the US tax system isn’t the same as others’, so you now have to optimize for 2 systems. Differing rules of what’s a short-term vs long term capital gain. E.g.: Canada doesn’t tax capital gains on your Primary residence when you sell it, but US does. And buying a non-US ETF can create another tax mess since you’ve now bought into a multibillion dollar trust that doesn’t file with the US gov. The US doesn’t see your Canadian Tax-free savings account as tax free, so now you have to keep track of every transaction in there.
- MR4D 7y ago
  The us does not tax capital gains on your primary residence unless you lived in it for less than 2 years. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/capitalgainhomesale.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/capitalgainhomes...
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    Seems even more complicated than that. It's only on $250k in gains, or $500k if you're a couple filing jointly. It's a lot of money, but if you bought a house in Canada in Toronto/Vancouver 30 years ago, you'd be paying US CGT on its sale. And can a US-citizen/non-US-citizen couple still file jointly?
    - generatorguy 7y ago
      In the US you also got to deduct the interest you paid on your mortgage from your taxable income for 30 years.
- kube-system 7y ago
  I never said our tax code wasn’t complicated. I simply said expatriates still get some services for their tax dollars. I’ll be first in line to complain about complicated taxes. I file three income tax returns, thanks to the fact I live in a jurisdiction with local income taxes as well as state and federal.

colechristensen 7y ago

For starters the first $103,900 is tax free if you qualify and are living abroad. What it comes down to is that because of its size and economic power there is an enormous incentive for wealthy people who earn their income (in an actual sense, not a tax law menagerie sense) in the US to try to avoid US taxes by living abroad and moving assets, their "home", etc outside of US jurisdiction while still in reality earning their income from the US. One of the basic benefits is always being able to return to the US. Being inside American borders is very much safer than being anywhere else if/when the next major global military issue arises. You also get the benefits of the US legal system if you maintain ties, investments, etc. If you don't want to pay those taxes you are welcome to renounce your citizenship, but you have to get another country to accept you first. (they won't revoke your citizenship if the result is your being stateless)

Scoundreller 7y ago
> One of the basic benefits is always being able to return to the US. Being inside American borders is very much safer than being anywhere else if/when the next major global military issue arises. It’s a funny fear, because today, being in the US vs. some other developed country takes about 7-8 years off your life. Meanwhile, those developed countries with functioning health care systems that you can return to whenever don’t bother with worldwide taxation.
- gruez 7y ago
  >It’s a funny fear, because today, being in the US vs. some other developed country takes about 7-8 years off your life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expe... When accounting for all sexes, US sits at 79.3 years and the top country sits at 83.7 years. Where is this "7-8 years" coming from?
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    > Where is this "7-8 years" coming from? My poor recall.

Mirioron 7y ago

>This is economic bullying by a country that right now happens to be in a position (having strong military, influence and their currency being the reserve one) to be able to get away with it. I wonder if this is the kind of stuff that pushes EU politicians forward with their notions that they cannot rely on the US?