3 ms·

It currently wouldn't matter for the US, since it's one of the few country doing worldwide taxation of its citizens.

• danw1979 2y ago
  What if the tax is applied at the state level ?
• dayjah 2y ago
  … on incomes. This article is talking about wealth tax. And specifically mentions policies around unrealized capital gains tax. So it would matter a lot for many people in America, and California specifically.
  • ghusto 2y ago
    Unfortunately, I think that's right. I've always thought this policy outrageous, but in this context I think it could make sense the other way around; don't double-tax income, but wealth.
• sgt 2y ago
  Only if you make a very decent amount of money, like more than $100k USD a year. In the US this may not seem like much, but you'd be surprised how little e.g. developers make in countries like Germany or Poland.
• mythz 2y ago
  Sure it does, you can always rescind your citizenship / green card if you have no intentions of returning to live in the US.
  • shiroiushi 2y ago
    It costs thousands of dollars to renounce US citizenship. There's also an "exit tax", though that doesn't come into play unless you have millions in assets.
    • mythz 2y ago
      It costs USD $2,350 [1], which is a low price to pay to avoid double taxation for life. [1] https://au.usembassy.gov/loss-of-nationality/ https://au.usembassy.gov/loss-of-nationality/
      • eesmith 2y ago
        Not everyone has US $2,350 handy. Not everyone has the time and money to visit the U.S. Consulate for the second visit. Thus it is not true that 'you can always rescind your citizenship'. Also, your 'no intentions of returning to live in the US' is incomplete. Some US citizens have never lived in the US, do not want to be US citizens, but are so because one of their parents was a US citizen.
        • drpossum 2y ago
          You're aware this discussion is about wealthy people trying to avoid taxes? The person who doesn't have $2350 handy is the person furthest from this conversation.
          • eesmith 2y ago
            I am aware that this specific thread, started by tonfa, concerns how non-resident US citizens have a tax obligation to the US. I am also aware that the billionaires and multimillionaires that this article is about would need to pay taxes on their unrealized capital gains (part of the 'exit tax' shiroiushi earlier in this thread pointed out). The article also points out that avoiding taxes on unrealized capital gains is one of the reasons for these fuck-you-got-mine people to move, which means the US $2,350 you quoted is an abstract lower bound, and not meaningful to the thread topic or the people involved.