I don't even have to click to know what this is about. God damn government wants to tax me despite being overseas.
Don't get me wrong here. I love my country but hot damn do I hate our government. HK or UK or Canadian passport would probably be nearly as good but without any of the bullshit.
> I don't even have to click to know what this is about. God damn government wants to tax me despite being overseas.
So turns out you don't know what this is about. It's not about the century-old citizenship-based taxation, it's about the additional legal and bureaucratic overhead of FATCA on both the citizen and the structures around them e.g. non-US banks refusing to deal with US citizens because they don't want to deal with the legal and financial risk of FATCA.
No, this is NOT primarily about taxes. It is about expensive reporting requirements -- the sort of paperwork usually done by billionaires and big corporations must be filled out by every American, even those with low-incomes.
Yes, taxes are still an issue! Look at how the Mayor of London just had to pay capital gains taxes to the US because he was born there. He sold his primary residence, which is cap gains tax exempt in the UK, and the profit exceeded the threshold in the US, so he had to fork over money to the IRS. It's a complete joke and scam.
Forms can be filled out. Look at Australia. If I want my retirement fund to be self-managed, I basically cannot because of inconsistencies in the tax treaty. And, what if I choose to live and work in Hong Kong or Singapore or the Cayman Islands? Why should the US have rights to tax my income above $100k if those states are tax-free? Did the US pay for my education? No. Not even my healthcare! The socialist states don't even do this.
The majority of people that I've read about who are complaining about the situation are not complaining about having to pay taxes, because they don't have to pay taxes. I don't have to pay taxes to the US because I don't make enough in Sweden.
But I do have to spent the time and money to have someone to fill out the forms.
I also have to worry that my bank might decide to cut me off, because they also have to "fill out forms", that is they also have "expensive reporting requirements". Even if you paid no taxes and had no problems with the tax treaty, you still might not be able to get a bank account in Singapore.
Yes, there are a lot of people who also don't like the taxes. It's an important point. But not the primary point, which is the expensive reporting requirements for both American citizens and banks which do business in the US and which have American citizens as clients.
That shows it tied with Finland and Sweden, and the only ranking it uses is how many countries you can travel to without a visa, which is a bit limited as a statement of 'power' (though it is definitely an important measure). Other important measures would be in how many countries there are consular services available for holders of a certain passport and a couple of others.
In addition to the additional metrics you mentioned, perhaps yet another to take into account is how hostile natives feel towards you when traveling in certain parts of the world--up to and including harassment, kidnapping, and (in limited locations) beheading risks.
In places (even here in Europe) where people tend to by default assume good English speakers to be American, I get better treatment by managing to convey that I'm not.
I find this topic very interesting and have been thinking about it for a few years now since I'm now allowed to get British citizenship. A few other things which might be important:
- The government and future possibility of US tax arrangements being implemented;
- How war prone the country is because one might be under the obligation to be sent to a war theatre being a citizen (not sure about this, just me thinking out loud).
Many nation-states impose not only conscription in wartime, but also universal conscription in peacetime for males of certain age. Some citizenships (e.g. Switzerland or Israel) would thus come with some pretty significant strings attached, buyer beware.
Don't get me wrong here. I love my country but hot damn do I hate our government. HK or UK or Canadian passport would probably be nearly as good but without any of the bullshit.