IRS: “The U.S. is on pace to see a record number of Americans shed their citizenship for the fifth year in a row, as the Internal Revenue Service expands its reach overseas.
More than 4,400 Americans renounced their citizenship in the first three quarters of 2017, including about 1,370 in the quarter that ended on Sept. 30, according to an Internal Revenue Service report published Thursday [11-2-17] in the Federal Register.
Compared with the roughly 320 million people who live in the U.S., the expatriations amount to a water molecule in the bucket, but the trend has been dramatic.
The consecutive records follow a 2010 law that requires foreign banks to report their U.S. account holders to the IRS. If Americans continue to forfeit their citizenship at their current pace, the total for 2017 will set another one, surpassing the 5,411 expatriations in 2016 by about 500, a 10% increase.
The U.S. taxes the assets and income of its citizens, wherever they are. Until the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the U.S. government had trouble collecting taxes from U.S. citizens who live permanently overseas. They could hold on to their U.S. passports but remain out of the reach of the IRS.”
-Joe Palazzolo, “Americans on Pace for Record Year in Renouncing Citizenship,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 2, 2017 06:22pm