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So stupid, and it ruins the perception of the US worldwide. The result of this change is going to be exactly as described, a lot of US citizens living outside o
by InclinedPlane 13y ago
So stupid, and it ruins the perception of the US worldwide. The result of this change is going to be exactly as described, a lot of US citizens living outside of America are going to renounce their citizenship and not a single dollar is going to flow into the federal budget. No upside, a lot of downside.
- joelandren 13y agoThe statistics tell a different story. The plural of anecdote is not data.
- InclinedPlane 13y agoStatistics you say? Produce them. Please.
- vacri 13y agoIn the article, 6M expats, 1k renouncers. That's less than 0.02%. Taken over a year, it's still not enough to hit 0.1%. It's not like money would be flowing from these people anyway - they were hiding assets, according to the article, and now that those assets have to be disclosed, they want to cut the ties. These weren't people who were already contributing their fair share.
- InclinedPlane 13y agoThese are citizens, not statistics. A lot of people are choosing to renounce their citizenship not because they are hiding assets but because the burden of having to prove that they are not is becoming excessively onerous. Moreover, using statistics from when the program has just changed and pretending that a massive uptick in renunciations won't continue and will merely flatten out after a temporary bump is at best intellectually lazy and at worst dishonest and misleading.
- vacri 13y agoAssuming that an uptick will increase exponentially isn't intellectually lazy or dishonest and misleading?
- InclinedPlane 13y agoWho is assuming that? It's bad enough that it's increased substantially. Even if it increases sub-linearly it will be that much worse. Renouncing US citizenship should be a "big deal", but increasingly the IRS is forcing people into it, that's not the America that anyone should want.
- Aloisius 13y agoReally? What upside is there to having US citizens living outside the US and not paying taxes? They enjoy the benefits of being a US citizen without any of the shared sacrifice. I say, let them renounce.
- vl 13y agoErr, how do they enjoy benefits if they are living abroad?
- northwest 13y agoBeing a US citizen abroad may even come at a "social" price, given the negative PR campaign the US has been running for a very, very long time now.
- bloodorange 13y agoYes, I have considered mentioning "No Americans Please" on couchsurfing profile on some days, but eventually decided against it when I felt that an individual traveller may not be responsible for the atrocity that his/her government is.
- madaxe 13y agoIt does. I know plenty of Americans or ex-Americans around the globe who tell folks they're Canadian. I'm afraid to say your government is making you intensely unpopular, pretty much everywhere.
- vegasbrianc 13y agoI am an American who has lived in Europe (Netherlands and now Switzerland) for over 10 years. I have also traveled all over Europe and Asia without ever having a problem of being an American or apologized for the fact. Nor will I ever put a Maple leaf on my suit case or backpack (Nothing against Canucks BTW)but I am proud of where I come from. If you cannot take criticism from other people from other countries then stay home. I find it a great way to understand other people/cultures.