1·
14 hours agoBut it paid for itself many times over in that I never had to pay US taxes for income I generated outside the US
Did it really? I was under the impression that foreign taxes paid reduced US taxes owed, so (unless you were in some low-tax country, which doesn’t seem likely given that you’re talking about countries with better government services than the US) wouldn’t your US taxes have been minimal, if not zero? I also understand that filing each year to claim that exemption could be a hassle, but it doesn’t seem like enough of one to be worth the “racket” of renunciation over.
I’m open to the idea that renunciation could be better than maintaining dual citizenship, but you haven’t convinced me yet. What other pros/cons are there?
You’ve said that twice now. I was under the impression that if your US tax liability is $X but you already paid >$X in foreign taxes, you file a form saying so and your US tax liability drops to $0. Is my understanding incorrect?
That’s an excellent argument for not living within US jurisdiction, but how is it an argument for not keeping US citizenship as an ex-pat? Are first-world countries like the ones you mentioned likely to force you to return to US jurisdiction even with you being a citizen of the other country?
No argument from me on any of that! (In particular, as a Not Just Bikes fan, I’m well aware and extremely envious of superior European quality of life.)
Are there any other concrete reasons why having secondary US citizenship would be a liability, though? For example, does it cause problems crossing borders even if you’re traveling on the other country’s passport, or some other practical issue like that? Or maybe I vaguely remember reading something once about it being problematic to open foreign bank accounts as a US citizen…? Those are the kinds of things I’m hoping you could expand upon.