I live and pay taxes in Germany. Do not lecture me on collective freedom. I pay a lot to support my neighbors, and in turn, have enjoyed a year home with my kid

I live and pay taxes in Germany. Do not lecture me on collective freedom. I pay a lot to support my neighbors, and in turn, have enjoyed a year home with my kid (could I have saved far more than what I got in German maternity payments, in the US? Without a doubt. Am I glad for the system anyway, which got me out of the office for a year with full confidence that I’d still have my job? Yes.) No other democracy taxes its citizens living outside the country on money they earned in their countries of residence. For example, Germany would not tax my husband on money he earned while living and working in the US, and would not require him to file income taxes. He would be perfectly free to have both a 401k and Roth account without any concern for reporting back to Germany, as long as he was still a US resident. Should he decide to move back to Germany, it would be easy enough for him to transfer that money to similar German accounts, perhaps with some penalties on the way out. I do not have a parallel ability to save for my retirement as a US citizen in Germany. FATCA makes US citizens with small accounts radioactive - we cost far more to deal with than we’d likely pay in fees. I’m thankful to still have a plain checking account - I know other Americans who had theirs closed. I’m a reasonably content German taxpayer, feeling like I get relatively good value for my tax euros. I’m a sour US tax filer, feeling like my country is doing all it can to force me to work till I’m 70, despite not actually collecting any taxes from me, because I pay so much more in tax to Germany than I’d ever owe in the US (thank God for the small mercy of the US-German tax treaty) Save your vinegar for Americans who want that American cake without paying any taxes, and spare those of us who are eating (and paying for) Strudel or baklava.