According to a recent New York Times article, more and more Americans abroad are renouncing their U.S. citizenship. Most cite difficulties with taxes and financial institutions as the number one issue. Recent changes in banking regulations put in place to hamper terrorists make it very difficult for American citizens abroad to do business with American banks.
We’re not talking about a huge number here — probably only about 1500-2000 folks for all of this year if the trend keeps up — but it’s a big spike from previous years. Speaking of previous years, here are a few of the notable folks throughout history who decided the red, white and blue just wasn’t for them.
1. Terry Gilliam
Famous for being the only American member of Monty Python, Gilliam is now 100% British—he renounced his citizenship in 2006. “I’m not at all happy with what America has been in the last 10 years,” Gilliam told The A.V. Club that year. “The reality is, when I kick the bucket, American tax authorities assess everything I own in the world—everything I own is outside of America—and then tax me on it, and that would mean my wife would probably have to sell our house to pay the taxes. I didn’t think that was fair on my wife and children.”
2. W.E.B. Du Bois
The Harvard PhD and spiritual father of the American civil rights movement grew somewhat cantankerous in his dotage. By the time he died in 1963 at age 95, he had moved to Ghana, renounced his U.S. citizenship, and embraced the Communist Party. He praised Stalin, decried America, and was mostly ignored by the civil rights leaders of the ‘60s. It’s a testament to his genius and insight that this period in his life is mostly forgotten and his pioneering work at the turn of the last century is what he remains known for.
3. Ted Arison
Billionaire, sports lover, cruise-ship magnate, Ted Arison renounced his citizenship in 1990 and lived out the rest of his life in Israel. As founder of Carnival Cruise Lines and original backer of the NBA’s Miami Heat, Arison amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune and was referred to at his death by the Jewish news weekly of Northern California, as “the world’s wealthiest Jew.”
4. Bobby Fischer
The reclusive chess champion ran afoul of a U.S. travel ban by competing in a 1992 chess match with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia. He never returned to the US, but was held in Japan in 2004 for traveling on an invalid U.S. passport. He eventually convinced Iceland to grant him citizenship and renounced his U.S. citizenship.
5. President John Tyler
OK, this one is cheating just a bit. Former President John Tyler, by accepting a post as representative of the Confederacy, basically renounced his U.S. citizenship (and technically was the only President to die on “foreign” soil when he passed in 1862 in Virginia).
6. Elizabeth Taylor
Though never accepted by the State Department, Liz renounced in 1965. Attempting to shield much of her European income from U.S. taxes, Liz wished to become solely a British citizen. According to news reports at the time, officials denied her request when she failed to complete the renunciation oath, refusing to say that she renounced “all allegiance to the United States of America.”
* * * * * *
How does one go about renouncing U.S. citizenship? The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 stipulates that Americans wishing to renounce their U.S. citizenship must sign an oath of renunciation in the presence of a diplomatic or consular officer. The oath reads: “I hereby absolutely and entirely renounce my United States nationality, together with all rights and privileges and all duties of allegiance and fidelity.” The renunciation must take place in a foreign country, and the State Department reserves the right to reject the citizen’s request. The oath must also be signed in person.
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Chocolate can fuel a car??? And be used as a band-aid?? Those are my two favorite facts. :)
posted by Mal Mal :) on 5-5-2010 at 2:58 pm
^^
Haaa yea… Chocolate is amazing?
But what about it’s American citizenship?
posted by Chrystani on 5-5-2010 at 3:06 pm
wait, becoming a UK citizen for..less taxes??? Something seems off here lol
posted by Chris on 5-5-2010 at 3:16 pm
W.E.B. Du Bois- it’s not a testament to his genius but to the typical whitewashing by academia every time one of their favorites turns out to be a communist sympathizer. Happens all the time.
posted by Hurricane on 5-5-2010 at 3:36 pm
John Nash, Jr. (subject of A Beautiful Mind, genius mathematician and paranoid schizophrenic), after being released from a psychiatric hospital, fled to Europe. He tried to seek political asylum in France and Germany. He went to the embassy, turned in his passport and claimed himself to be “a citizen of the world”. This didnt work so well and they rejected his request. He was arrested and then deported back in the U.S.
posted by Dee on 5-5-2010 at 3:45 pm
Sad that Terry Gilliam apparently never heard of estate planning. In 2010, there is virtually no estate tax in the US.
It does seem perplexing that he prefers the tax system that caused many of the wealthiest Britons to become tax exiles years ago. Still, the right to choose and the opportunity to experience are reasons to be thankful.
posted by Tom on 5-5-2010 at 3:49 pm
How about the other side of the coin–foreign-born people living in the US who have renounced their citizenship in their native lands and become American citizens? There are tons of examples, of course, but one interesting one recently is Irishman Liam Neeson who said he became a US citizen last year largely because of the outpouring of support he received from Americans following his wife’s death.
posted by rev on 5-5-2010 at 3:51 pm
I remember seeing an old movie as a child that basically was about a man who renounced his US citizenship & a judge sentences him to live the remainer of his life on US naval ships & vessels “never to step foot on US soil again” or something to the equivalent (the movie was set during the 19th century)
At first the man is quite happy about this & enjoys his life on the sea not being in America (when a ship was needing to go home to port he would change ships while still out to sea). Eventually as time wore on he became weary & wanted to go home again. Finally at the end of the movie he sees the error of his ways & thinking & while on his deathbed begins to wish for nothing more than to go back to America just to set foot on her one last time to see the purple mountains majesty & the amber waves of grain etc…
Anyway this is my very poor memory of an old movie seen as a young child in school, but if I remember correctly I think the movie was suppose to be “based on a true life story” but I could be wrong about that (literally I was probably like in the 3rd grade or something when I saw it back last century & the movie was pretty old by then too)
Anyway does anyone else remember anything like this, or at least remember the movie? I wonder if it really was based on a true story…
posted by Barn on 5-5-2010 at 5:31 pm
It’s messed up that the gov’t doesn’t have to accept your choice. If you don’t want to be a citizen, they shouldn’t be able to force you to be. It should be citizenship at will. If you don’t want the freedoms and protections the US offers and/or no longer want the responsibilities of US citizenship, you should be free to opt out.
posted by Melissa on 5-5-2010 at 5:53 pm
Hi Barn,
The story/movie you’re thinking of is probably “The Man Without a Country”. Check Wikipedia for a synopsis, but it was allegorical in nature, not based on a true story.
posted by Eric on 5-5-2010 at 6:06 pm
Thanks Eric that’s it – it was probably the 1937 film adaptation I remember seeing as a child – wikipedia says the story is historical fiction, yet is also loosely based on factual events LOL so there was someone with that name once who may or may not have done something along those lines etc…
posted by Barn on 5-5-2010 at 8:29 pm
It isn’t the estate planning, it’s the tax laws for
Americans living outside of the country that makes it so difficult to deal with. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/us/26expat.html
posted by nihil on 5-5-2010 at 8:42 pm
Sheesh, some Americans get so defensive when there is an article like this one. Actually, I find it hilarious.
Anyway, yes, American taxes are quite the burden for those of us living outside the US. As a tax accountant, I have it a bit easier than most, but it still irritates me that I have to file a tax return every year to report my FOREIGN income. Furthermore, only US$85,000/year is exempted. Fortunately I’m below that threshhold right now, but what if it doens’t increase as my wages do? I’ll pay tax to a country I no longer live in.
Also, anyone working as a contractor/self-employed in another country still has to pay SS taxes to the US government. On foreign income. *sigh*
posted by Logan on 5-6-2010 at 5:21 am
Wow. I feel so thankful to be an Aussie right now. How is can declaring your taxable income to a country you don’t live in be considered a civil duty?!
I have a HELP debt that is owed to the Australian government for my tertiary studies and its common knowledge that it doesn’t get paid if you live abroad and don’t file an Australian tax return so I look forward to the travel I have planned over the next couple of years!
posted by liz on 5-6-2010 at 7:58 am
I can understand not wanting to pay taxes to your country of citizenship when living abroad. However, if you plan on remaining a citizen, it does make some sense (especially with the exemption). At that point, you are helping to pay for the embassies and military while the exemption is helping you to avoid paying for roads and parks and things that you won’t be needing.
posted by Ian on 5-6-2010 at 8:38 am
Ian,
You’re absolutely right. Your taxes to the country you’re still a citizen of still pay for a lot of rights and protections that you may not be using all the time (or maybe ever) but many people see as still valuable. Like if you’re living in a country that suddenly becomes violently unstable and find yourself in danger, if you’re still a US citizen, the US is likely to help you get out and get to safety. If you are charged with a bogus crime or sentenced to some sort of heinous punishment, the US may be able to help intervene on your behalf and save you. If you have renounced, you’re on your own.
posted by Melissa on 5-6-2010 at 12:50 pm
“John Nash, Jr. (subject of A Beautiful Mind, genius mathematician and paranoid schizophrenic), after being released from a psychiatric hospital, fled to Europe. He tried to seek political asylum in France and Germany. He went to the embassy, turned in his passport and claimed himself to be “a citizen of the worldâ€. This didnt work so well and they rejected his request. He was arrested and then deported back in the U.S.”
So essentially he was proven right. He was truly a political prisoner. Arrested for not wanting to live in the usa. …Interesting. Sounds like a sort of slavery or prison to me. Wonder how more americans would feel about his story if widely known?
posted by larry on 7-18-2010 at 11:57 pm