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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 arashi no garou on Friday December 05 2014, @12:06PM
I seem to recall having used a Visa branded gift card online, and yes I had to supply my name and address (duh, online purchase = shipping address). But I've never once given my social security number for a gift card no matter how I used it. Are you sure you aren't using one of those prepaid debit cards, like GreenDot? That's a different animal; it's almost like having a bank account, which would explain giving out more info. I've never used one of those so I don't know their requirements, but I'd imagine it's more than just a gift card requires.