4 ms·

American citizens living and working abroad still must pay taxes to the US Government. As far as I am aware, the US is the only country in the world with this

American citizens living and working abroad still must pay taxes to the US Government. As far as I am aware, the US is the only country in the world with this requirement. There is a reason the FBAR requirement is often called the "fubar" requirement.

prewett 6y ago
You get a pretty high exemption for salary earned abroad if you paid local taxes on it and the country has a tax agreement with the US, which most do. You're still taxed on income earned within the US normally, but it seems reasonable that if you earned income from rent from a US property, or received dividends from a US company, that you should pay taxes on it even if you are not in the country.
- eatmyshorts 6y ago
  You are taxed on income you make abroad, even if you never set foot in the country. I'm not talking about capital gains. I'm talking about income. Yes, up to a certain amount, you can deduct dollar-for-dollar taxes paid in the foreign country, but you are still taxed on that income. It's the only country in the world that does this. Because of this, among other bits, I do not think it is reasonable.
nso 6y ago
Norway has the same.
- Semaphor 6y ago
  Looking it up, it has the same rule as Germany: If your "center of life" is in Norway (roughly: spending more than 6 months out of a year there), then you have to pay your taxes. That is not what the US does which is "We don’t care what you do and where you live, if you have citizenship you better file your taxes"
- lb1lf 6y ago
  No, we don't. If you spend more than half the year in Norway, you are considered a resident for tax purposes, and chances are you will have to pay some tax. However, income is not subject to double taxation; if you've already paid taxes in another jurisdiction, Norwegian authorities are not going to tax the same income again. As opposed to the US.
eins1234 6y ago
I'm working in the US under a TN Visa at the moment as a Canadian citizen, and until this changes I'm never going to apply for a green card, and have been advising all my friends in similar situations to do the same. We choose to live & work here because SV is the Mecca of software development, but that could very easily change within our lifetimes, so tying ourselves down with this ridiculous obligation for life doesn't make any sense in the long term.
- ericd 6y ago
  You're free to renounce the citizenship, it's not a lifetime obligation to pay taxes to the US.
  - EduardoBautista 6y ago
    You are free to renounce the citizenship, although it's not free (as in beer) to do so.
    - eins1234 6y ago
      Exactly, the exit tax is no joke: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/expatriation-tax https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/expa... Never becoming a citizen in the first place saves so much money and headache.
- emiliobumachar 6y ago
  Did you mean you're not going to apply for citizenship? Does the global tax extend to green card holders who are not citizens?
  - Kranar 6y ago
    For the vast majority of scenarios, the U.S. taxes citizens the same way as it taxes non-citizens. It doesn't matter whether you have a green card or are even working in the U.S. illegally, the tax laws apply to you just as well as they apply to a citizen. Yes there are exceptions for some class of residents but they are quite fringe. Further reading: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/Tax/us-tax-taxation-of-foreign-nationals-by-the-us.pdf https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/...
_1tan 6y ago
Eritrea aswell.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
prussian 6y ago
given the high demand for US citizenship, I don't think it is unreasonable to attach a cost to carry it.
jfk13 6y ago
> As far as I am aware, the US is the only country in the world with this requirement. Not quite: I believe Myanmar (and perhaps Eritrea) have similar requirements. I'm sure Americans feel right at home in that company....

prewett 6y ago

You get a pretty high exemption for salary earned abroad if you paid local taxes on it and the country has a tax agreement with the US, which most do. You're still taxed on income earned within the US normally, but it seems reasonable that if you earned income from rent from a US property, or received dividends from a US company, that you should pay taxes on it even if you are not in the country.

eatmyshorts 6y ago
You are taxed on income you make abroad, even if you never set foot in the country. I'm not talking about capital gains. I'm talking about income. Yes, up to a certain amount, you can deduct dollar-for-dollar taxes paid in the foreign country, but you are still taxed on that income. It's the only country in the world that does this. Because of this, among other bits, I do not think it is reasonable.

nso 6y ago

Norway has the same.

Semaphor 6y ago
Looking it up, it has the same rule as Germany: If your "center of life" is in Norway (roughly: spending more than 6 months out of a year there), then you have to pay your taxes. That is not what the US does which is "We don’t care what you do and where you live, if you have citizenship you better file your taxes"
lb1lf 6y ago
No, we don't. If you spend more than half the year in Norway, you are considered a resident for tax purposes, and chances are you will have to pay some tax. However, income is not subject to double taxation; if you've already paid taxes in another jurisdiction, Norwegian authorities are not going to tax the same income again. As opposed to the US.

eins1234 6y ago

I'm working in the US under a TN Visa at the moment as a Canadian citizen, and until this changes I'm never going to apply for a green card, and have been advising all my friends in similar situations to do the same. We choose to live & work here because SV is the Mecca of software development, but that could very easily change within our lifetimes, so tying ourselves down with this ridiculous obligation for life doesn't make any sense in the long term.

ericd 6y ago
You're free to renounce the citizenship, it's not a lifetime obligation to pay taxes to the US.
- EduardoBautista 6y ago
  You are free to renounce the citizenship, although it's not free (as in beer) to do so.
  - eins1234 6y ago
    Exactly, the exit tax is no joke: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/expatriation-tax https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/expa... Never becoming a citizen in the first place saves so much money and headache.
emiliobumachar 6y ago
Did you mean you're not going to apply for citizenship? Does the global tax extend to green card holders who are not citizens?
- Kranar 6y ago
  For the vast majority of scenarios, the U.S. taxes citizens the same way as it taxes non-citizens. It doesn't matter whether you have a green card or are even working in the U.S. illegally, the tax laws apply to you just as well as they apply to a citizen. Yes there are exceptions for some class of residents but they are quite fringe. Further reading: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/Tax/us-tax-taxation-of-foreign-nationals-by-the-us.pdf https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/...

_1tan 6y ago

Eritrea aswell.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

prussian 6y ago

given the high demand for US citizenship, I don't think it is unreasonable to attach a cost to carry it.

jfk13 6y ago

> As far as I am aware, the US is the only country in the world with this requirement. Not quite: I believe Myanmar (and perhaps Eritrea) have similar requirements. I'm sure Americans feel right at home in that company....