Record Number Of Americans Abroad Give Up US Citizenship
About 1,335 Americans have given up their citizenship in the first three months this year, compared to 854 during the same period in 2014, and 3,415 throughout last year, according to Forbes.
Experts have revealed that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), calling for US citizens abroad to pay taxes to the US, is the main reason for them to give up their citizenship. The Internal Revenue Service asks foreign banks to inform the US citizens to pay tax on their worldwide income.
"The mountain of paperwork can be so complicated that expats are often forced to fork over high fees to hire an accountant -- some say they pay as much as $1,000," according to cnn.
In February, Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced that he intended to renounce his citizenship of the US so that he could prove his "commitment to Britain." Johnson had reportedly faced some directives from the US to "pay tax on the profits on sales of his London house," according to sputnik.
Eduardo Saverin, a Brazilian-born co-founder of Facebook, gave up his US citizenship in 2012. The billionaire moved to Singapore, where top earners are taxed only 20 percent on their earnings, and where capital gains taxes are not be imposed, according to rt.
