Comment by crowf | Hacker News Reader

Comment by crowf | Hacker News Reader

I don't live in America, and haven't lived there for nearly my entire life. But my parents are citizens, and they graciously gave me US citizenship. Now, while I earn money abroad, live abroad, receive support from my government abroad, I still have to file taxes in the US. For the most part I don't have to pay, but I end up paying a couple hundred dollars for someone to file my taxes. Most of the online tools don't know what to do about people not living in the US. Also, as a fortunate Hi-Tech worker, I will soon earn enough money that I will have to pay the US government taxes for money that I earned abroad.

I've looked into renouncing my US citizenship, but that costs a few thousand dollars. And, the US can reject it for several reasons, one of which is tax avoidance. Also, as per the rumors, it is nearly impossible to get a US Visa after that (and I still have American relatives who I would like to see). Seeing as us expats don't have a senator or congressman, we don't really have someone to fight for us. At least I am still allowed to vote. Before every election that I am eligible to vote in, I email the candidates and ask them what their stance is on taxing foreigners (and don't get me started on the fbar). Based on their response I vote.

The American system of worldwide taxation based on citizenship is extremely strange and shared by just a handful of other nations such as Eritrea, Hungary, and Myanmar. [1] Even more odd was the decision to shift to territorial taxation with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, but only for corporations and only for income earned with tangible assets overseas. [2]

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation

[2]: https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-territori...

Thanks for the second link. I remember hearing rumors about how the Trump administration would finally remove worldwide taxation. I guess the result was the end (or ease) of worldwide taxation for corporations only.

Very thoughtful comment.

I’m an American living abroad and got US citizenship for my children. I constantly wonder if I made a mistake.

I do get some tax savings, and most of my income and assets are in the US so I save for them there. But I know the burden of having to file taxes and possibly pay them when they’re old enough is a heavy one.

I'm sorry if my comment sounded very harsh to you. On the "bright" side, if my country ever gets destroyed, I have an insurance citizenship that "only" costs a few hundred dollars per year (and the nearly impossible restrictions when doing "weird" things like becoming a private contractor)

It wasn’t harsh. I meant it when I wrote that it was very thoughtful. I really appreciated your comment.

No. A few hundreds US dollars for US citizenship is beyond worth it. If anything, this coronavirus pandemic has showed us that citizenship does matter and it's actually worth a lot.

You might already know this but taxes you pay to the country you're resident in are (in most cases, depends on the country and the tax treaties) deducted from your taxable income.

You only need to pay Federal income tax and since most countries have higher taxation rates than the US, most expats and up with no tax liability on their income. Capital income taxes are a major pain though.

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