More US wealthy opt to surrender their citizenship

Sep 08, 2009 14:32


More US wealthy opt to surrender their citizenship

"I know! We'll just tax the rich more to pay for everything! Hey, where are you guys going?!"

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Comments 12

morpheus0013 September 8 2009, 18:48:35 UTC
Yes. Because clearly the problem here is our Terribly Unfair Taxes On The Rich--NOT the offshore bullshit that's been allowed to go on for years and years. Calling a bunch of wealthy entitlement whores on their nonsense is, surprisingly enough, not the wrong thing to do. And attempting to surrender your citizenship in order to avoid the law is.

I fail to see why one could not be prosecuted for prior tax offenses regardless of current citizenship. I don't care where your citizenship lies now; if you've cheated on your taxes since 1990, you still owe that money.

Then again, I don't think "inquiries" about changes in citizenship indicate anything other than someone at the Wealth Bulletin was bored and needed a topic. And isn't very good at picking a relevant one. I imagine once the reality of how difficult it is to obtain citizenship in these other countries sets in, combined with how much higher the tax rates are in many instances, they'll shut their mouths and pay their lawyers to do what they do best: lie some more.

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ericthemage September 8 2009, 20:04:54 UTC
The point is not what to do with expatriates. The problem is that when you target them with higher taxes, they'll do whatever they can to escape that taxation. For example:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329282377252471.html

Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it ( ... )

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louderback September 8 2009, 19:05:53 UTC
I've heard that the ideal fiscal situation is to be a citizen of one country resident in a second with all your money in banks in a third country. I wonder if that is true?

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ericthemage September 8 2009, 21:24:29 UTC
Certainly would make it harder to track you down to tax you. :)

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rev_mom September 8 2009, 20:21:19 UTC
Let 'em go...if anyone wants their whiney ass...

and don't come back.

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ericthemage September 9 2009, 00:56:58 UTC
Then who will we raise taxes on when we want to fund things?

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rev_mom September 9 2009, 01:14:12 UTC
Probably would be able to cut back if we didn't have so much deadwood to support...go back to the old Biblical standard if you don't work, you don't eat?

there's plenty of funding, it is just rather poorly spent.

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puf_almighty September 9 2009, 00:03:44 UTC
Good, now all we have to do is write in a requirement that you be a US citizen to own more than X in the states and we can keep the fuckers out of hair altogether.

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ericthemage September 9 2009, 00:57:40 UTC
That sounds great. And who will pay increased taxes? :)

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puf_almighty September 9 2009, 02:01:00 UTC
Somehow I expect we'll get along.

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9/11 in n.z. writerspleasure September 10 2009, 21:46:24 UTC
happy birthday tooo you!!

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Re: 9/11 in n.z. ericthemage September 10 2009, 22:02:23 UTC
Thanks :)

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