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from the breaking-up-is-hard-to-do dept.
The USA has been making life difficult for Americans residing abroad; FATCA causes plenty of problems; but so does citizenship-based taxation. The IRS and Treasury department have made the reporting and taxation more onerous, and stepped up their collection efforts.
The result should be a surprise to no one: more and more Americans are handing in their US citizenship. Total numbers are unavailable (the lists published by the government include only a portion of the total), but undisputed is the fact that the numbers are increasing rapidly.
Having lots of citizens want to leave is...embarrassing. One solution could be to review the policies leading to people to hand in their citizenship. Another would be to make the fee unaffordable, especially for people living on second- or third-world incomes. It's obvious, of course, which route the USA has chosen: It now costs $2350 to hand in your US passport; more than 20 times the international average.
(Score: 2) by hubie on Wednesday December 03 2014, @06:35PM
I have received rebates in the form of debit cards that you have to call and activate just like you would a credit card. I have not yet activated the card, so I can't tell you what information (if any) I have to provide, but the rebate cards are honest-to-goodness pre-paid debit cards and come with the usual pamphlet of small-type disclosures and liability waivers that you'd get when your bank mails you a new debit/credit card.