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anyone denounced their citizenship and moved abroad?

by pauljones99
13 replies
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To be 100% legally free of the Western tax grab you have to denounce your citizenship and move lock stock to your country. Right?

So I guess you have to have the mind-set you aren't going back. Anyone done this? Anything to say about the experirence? Glad you did it? Sorry?

What happens if you want to come back one day?
  • Profile picture of the author salegurus
    I was born in a third world country, lived there for 35 years. When my wife and i got the opportunity to move to the USA we decided to give up family, life long friends, my business etc.

    It was not easy but why did we make the decision and why am i happy to pay my taxes:

    1) Don't have to pay bribes to Gov officials, Police etc
    2) Don't have to be without water or electricity for days at a time
    3) The Police / Fire Dept actually come when you call them
    4) You don't have to live behind 8" walls, barbed wire and burglar bars
    5) Your kids future is pretty much secured
    6) You don't live in fear that everything you worked for could be taken away with the stroke of a pen

    And so on....
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      If you are denouncing citizenship to avoid paying taxes owed, you may not be allowed to stop being a citizen that easily.

      Some people renounce citizenship because they live abroad and plan to continue that.

      What happens if you want to come back one day?
      You get in line as you are no longer a citizen. You can't have it both ways.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by salegurus View Post

      I was born in a third world country, lived there for 35 years. When my wife and i got the opportunity to move to the USA we decided to give up family, life long friends, my business etc.

      It was not easy but why did we make the decision and why am i happy to pay my taxes:

      1) Don't have to pay bribes to Gov officials, Police etc
      2) Don't have to be without water or electricity for days at a time
      3) The Police / Fire Dept actually come when you call them
      4) You don't have to live behind 8" walls, barbed wire and burglar bars
      5) Your kids future is pretty much secured
      6) You don't live in fear that everything you worked for could be taken away with the stroke of a pen

      And so on....
      OK, I don't understand your post! It looks like you are attempting to talk about why you decided to come to the US. THAT can't be it though!

      6? WRONG! That is the whole point of this thread!
      5? WRONG! That is the whole point of MANY threads here!
      4? WRONG! That is the whole point of many threads here!
      3? Is that true? I don't know! Some say it is NOT! AMBULANCES cost a FORTUNE!

      1&2? Well it isn't as bad as SOME places I have heard, but it has been known to happen!

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        Steve -

        Actually, with all the warts - this country is still BETTER than many places. I think perhaps you have to live in those places to appreciate what we have here.
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        Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
        ***
        Live life like someone left the gate open
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        • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
          Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

          Steve -

          Actually, with all the warts - this country is still BETTER than many places. I think perhaps you have to live in those places to appreciate what we have here.
          I have traveled a lot. In some places, what I saw would make a sane person run in horror.

          Others, some of it did appear at first glance to be better then USA.

          In the long run, home is home, I would rather try to fix our warts
          then run away and deal with someone else's.

          I will say this - I was never one for voting - until after I started traveling.
          It is a real eye opener and began my journey of understanding politics
          and some of what we need to change here.
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          Selling Ain't for Sissies!
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      • Profile picture of the author salegurus
        Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

        OK, I don't understand your post! It looks like you are attempting to talk about why you decided to come to the US. THAT can't be it though!

        6? WRONG! That is the whole point of this thread!
        5? WRONG! That is the whole point of MANY threads here!
        4? WRONG! That is the whole point of many threads here!
        3? Is that true? I don't know! Some say it is NOT! AMBULANCES cost a FORTUNE!

        1&2? Well it isn't as bad as SOME places I have heard, but it has been known to happen!

        Steve
        Thought i was quite clear, maybe it's my writing style..

        OH and as bad as the US may seem to some people i can guarantee you that there are far worse places to live...
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        Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

        ― George Carlin
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    • Profile picture of the author BigFrank
      Banned
      Originally Posted by salegurus View Post

      It was not easy but why did we make the decision and why am i happy to pay my taxes:

      And so on....
      You are fortunate at some level to be able to make a valid comparison between then and now.

      Too many people in the U.S. take what they have for granted. They do nothing but constantly complain about living in the greatest country on Earth but given the opportunity would never actually leave.

      Those people should be shipped off to where you came from. Maybe then they will learn to appreciate how good they have it and stop their constant moaning about how great this country "used to be."

      That just makes me sick to my stomach.

      I'm glad that you are happy, here - after all you have sacrificed to uproot yourself and your family. It's people like you that continue to invigorate our nation and set an example for others. You're a better American than they could ever hope to be. I applaud your courage and your honesty. I hope you always remain appreciative of your new home and the promise it holds for a great life.

      Cheers. - Frank
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by pauljones99 View Post

    To be 100% legally free of the Western tax grab you have to denounce your citizenship and move lock stock to your country. Right?
    No - not right at all.

    It may possibly have some truth in it in the case of US citizenship and tax obligations (I'm not sure), but I certainly don't think that's true of any other Western country.

    You'd need to ask an accountant, to be sure, but even in the case of the US, I don't think it's quite right, because the US has "double tax treaties" with so many other countries anyway, and effectively waives its right to tax the incomes of its citizens who are paying due income taxes in other countries. (For example, American citizens living in the UK don't get their earned-in-the-UK incomes taxed by the US government, as long as they've paid their UK income tax - and that's also true for Americans living in some other countries such as Malta and Latvia, where the income-tax rates are much lower. I suspect it's probably even true for Americans living in the Bahamas, where there's no income tax, per se, at all.)

    .
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Most expats keep to themselves and don't document their moves and beliefs on public forums. Just sayin'
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Exactly - and the tax situation for ex-pats with US citizenship is not that simple.

      As it stands, people earning less than $97,600 in foreign income are exempt from paying U.S. income taxes. That does not, however, mean they don't have to file taxes. And that's where the confusion begins for many expats.

      "It's very difficult to understand why you have to file when you don't have to pay any taxes," says Ronald Marini, a tax attorney based in Miami who deals with tax compliance. "You could be earning $90,000 in Spain, paying income taxes there and doing nothing wrong. If you forget to file taxes in the U.S. or you got confused, even with your exemption, you are still on the hook for penalties for failing to file."
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      Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
      ***
      Live life like someone left the gate open
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    I think it`s a good option if you have close blood ties within the ruling party.You get tons of perks like armored motorcade coming to pick you up at the airport.

    My advice would be to seek and marry a princess of the country of your choosing.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Right now our rule of law is in collapse. We might be able to turn that around in Nov if we watch the polls closely to avoid vote fraud. I've thought of leaving.......but........
    where else is there to go that's running smoothly right now? The whole globe seems to be in meltdown. I am hoping the US can calm down enough to work through the problems we've got .......and if it came to civil war, I know what side I would be on.

    I honestly don't know of anywhere else I'd be any better off - and I'd be split from my family if I left. I suppose if situations got deadly enough for me here I might take flight, but right now, I don't foresee it coming to that. The corruption has gotten out of hand enough that people recognize where it is and are making efforts to turn it back around. I think I'd rather try to save it than to flee it. We're the last truly democratic republic on earth..........if we can't save that.........there's nowhere really left to run to.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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  • Profile picture of the author Tom B
    Banned
    Originally Posted by pauljones99 View Post

    To be 100% legally free of the Western tax grab you have to denounce your citizenship and move lock stock to your country. Right?

    So I guess you have to have the mind-set you aren't going back. Anyone done this? Anything to say about the experirence? Glad you did it? Sorry?

    What happens if you want to come back one day?
    Do you have citizenship in another country? If you do, and depending on the country, you may be able to come back as a tourist.

    If you are renouncing, you should have the mindset you won't be back. This isn't a "sorry, I was wrong" type of thing.

    Most people renouncing have already been living in another country and have no plans on coming back.

    I would never say America is the greatest place on the planet. For some, it fits quite nicely while others may enjoy a different place. You would be better off choosing a place that fits you and you it over saving some money on taxes.
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