4 ms·

why didn’t he just renounce citizenship. he hasn’t been to america in a long time has he

• leetcrew 6y ago
  renouncing US citizenship is a taxable event itself if you have a net worth greater than $2mm. IIRC, you have to pay what the capital gains would be on all your assets if you sold them that day. you also have to settle any other unpaid obligations. if john mcafee already doesn't feel obligated to pay taxes, I don't see why he would go through a formality that just triggers another tax obligation.
  • plugger 6y ago
    Even if you don't have a high net worth it triggers a 5 year tax audit and fees. My mate just handed in his passport even though he's been doing his W2's annually and he still had to pay $2k to renounce.
    • Semaphor 6y ago
      Yeah, that’s how US Americans can get dual citizenship in Germany. If the fee for renouncing is an "unreasonable burden" for you.
    • heliodor 6y ago
      The $2k is the filing fee. Seems punitive when compared to other government fees.
  • EGreg 6y ago
    Then why did Facebook’s cofounder do it to save $600M? https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielmitchell/2012/05/11/facebook-billionaire-gives-up-citizenship-to-escape-bad-american-tax-policy/amp/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielmitchell/2012/05/11/faceb...
    • eli 6y ago
      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303360504577410571011995562.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230336050457741...
    • sonicggg 6y ago
      I don't understand why he got the citizenship in the first place, it's not like he was born there. If you have a green card already, there's no reason to go for the citizenship. The cons far outweigh the benefits. You're always on the hook with American citizenship.
      • xyzzy_plugh 6y ago
        Eh, it's not that much worse. With a green card, you're still subject to the 5-year tax thing after you leave. IMO the green card isn't worth it.
      • gamblor956 6y ago
        He didn't have a choice. His parents moved here and got US citizenship when he was under 18, and so he automatically became a US citizen.
        • nobody9999 6y ago
          >He didn't have a choice. His parents moved here and got US citizenship when he was under 18, and so he automatically became a US citizen. That's just not true. While I was born in the US, my (British) father moved here with two small children, and neither were made citizens "automatically." 50+ years later, my sister is a citizen, but she had to proactively do so. My brother still has a green card.
          • gamblor956 6y ago
            The applicable law didn't take effect until the Clinton administration.... So it would have applied to Sauverin but not to your siblings.
• olalonde 6y ago
  Maybe because he is running for president? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McAfee_2020_presidential_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McAfee_2020_presidential_...
  • eli 6y ago
    No he’s not
    • gring0 6y ago
      Yes I am (:
  • duskwuff 6y ago
    Well, "running" for president. Under a slogan of "Don't Vote McAfee", and with neither himself nor many of his campaign staff physically located in the country. (Indeed, it's likely that he would have been arrested upon entry, under the same charges that just got him arrested in Spain.) One gets the sense that he didn't take his "campaign" particularly seriously.
• newguy1234 6y ago
  It isn't easy to do if you are rich, basically.