Well aren't there gains if you are being taxed?

Wow that's complicated. As you hold the fund, each year you need to recalculate estimated cap gains. You do get a credit if the fund goes down.

But what if I (German resident US citizen) leave the country before I sell the fund? They would have to refund all they had taxed; otherwise how do you reconcile that with tax in a new country of residence?

https://www.howtogermany.com/pages/germantaxesforinvestment....