4 ms·

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

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.
        nobody9999 6y ago
        I was unaware of the change in the law. I assume you're referring to the Child Citizenship Act of 2000[0], yes? Thanks for setting me straight. But I'm a little confused about that. I assume you're talking about Eduardo Saverin[1] the Facebook co-founder. According to his Wikipedia page, he turned 18 (born 19 March 1982) before that law went into effect on February 27, 2001. As such, are you sure he was automatically made a citizen rather than going through the naturalization process? [0] https://www.passportvisasexpress.com/news/article/child_citizenship_act_of_2000 https://www.passportvisasexpress.com/news/article/child_citi... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Saverin#Early_life_and_education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Saverin#Early_life_and...
- Barrin92 6y ago
  you gotta love the impartial quality of the Forbes op-ed section "It is very sad that America’s tax system is so onerous that some rich people feel they have no choice but to give up U.S. citizenship in order to protect their family finances. I’ve written about this issue before, particularly in the context of Obama’s class-warfare policies leading to an increase in the number of Americans “voting with their feet” for places with less punitive tax regimes." guy makes it sound like some immigrant father with 10k in the mattress was going to get fleeced by the authorities
- gamblor956 6y ago
  Sauverin wasn't originally a US citizen to begin with. He acquired US citizenship when his parents moved here when he was a child and he got citizenship automatically. He left the US in 2009 and renounced his US citizenship several years later. While he saved a lot of money on taxes by doing so, he had been living overseas prior to renouncing his citizenship and has remained overseas since doing so.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- leetcrew 6y ago
  the answer is in the article you linked. he expected (correctly) that his equity was going to be worth considerably more after the IPO, so he renounced his citizenship before that happened. I have no idea what mcafee's portfolio looks like, but I'd guess he's not in the same situation. plus like he said, he doesn't feel obligated to pay taxes in the first place.

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.
      - nobody9999 6y ago
        I was unaware of the change in the law. I assume you're referring to the Child Citizenship Act of 2000[0], yes? Thanks for setting me straight. But I'm a little confused about that. I assume you're talking about Eduardo Saverin[1] the Facebook co-founder. According to his Wikipedia page, he turned 18 (born 19 March 1982) before that law went into effect on February 27, 2001. As such, are you sure he was automatically made a citizen rather than going through the naturalization process? [0] https://www.passportvisasexpress.com/news/article/child_citizenship_act_of_2000 https://www.passportvisasexpress.com/news/article/child_citi... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Saverin#Early_life_and_education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Saverin#Early_life_and...
Barrin92 6y ago
you gotta love the impartial quality of the Forbes op-ed section "It is very sad that America’s tax system is so onerous that some rich people feel they have no choice but to give up U.S. citizenship in order to protect their family finances. I’ve written about this issue before, particularly in the context of Obama’s class-warfare policies leading to an increase in the number of Americans “voting with their feet” for places with less punitive tax regimes." guy makes it sound like some immigrant father with 10k in the mattress was going to get fleeced by the authorities
gamblor956 6y ago
Sauverin wasn't originally a US citizen to begin with. He acquired US citizenship when his parents moved here when he was a child and he got citizenship automatically. He left the US in 2009 and renounced his US citizenship several years later. While he saved a lot of money on taxes by doing so, he had been living overseas prior to renouncing his citizenship and has remained overseas since doing so.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
leetcrew 6y ago
the answer is in the article you linked. he expected (correctly) that his equity was going to be worth considerably more after the IPO, so he renounced his citizenship before that happened. I have no idea what mcafee's portfolio looks like, but I'd guess he's not in the same situation. plus like he said, he doesn't feel obligated to pay taxes in the first place.