For what it's worth, the US government requires income tax to be paid on foreign earnings, even while living and working overseas. To avoid that, you'd have to also renounce citizenships, which is expensive and at the government's discretion.

Indeed. It is very difficult to renounce citizenship entirely. Doubly so because most emigration targets don't grant full citizenship.

The US is really awful about this. Americans are not allowed to opt out of their citizenship without extreme measures.

"Niemand hat vor eine Mauer zu bauen" :-)

Maybe that wall isn't for keeping Mexicans out?

EDIT: I was wrong about this, see comments below.

False. If you renounce it it's expensive and difficult to get it back, and but renouncing itself is free and unilateral.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal-considerati...

How does that square with this article?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/10/23/u-s-has-w...

To sum up, there was a $450 renunciation fee as well as a $450 fee for relinquishment, but both were jacked up from $450 to $2,350. This does not include exit taxes and the like, but while $4700 might seem trivial to the well-heeled, it's a far cry from free (and unilateral).

You're right, I was wrong. I forgot to check because the fees are set by federal rule but then billed in local currencies at different consular offices around the world, and the fee schedule is (oddly) not centralized at state.gov.

Thanks for catching my error.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/08/28/2014-20...

No problem. I was fully prepared for the possibility that something had changed with the administration. I tend to follow politics pretty closely, but not all factually true statements maintain their truthiness over time.

> [the US] requires income tax to be paid on foreign earnings

Which is a common reason to wish to renounce US citizenship. But there is a trap which prevents renunciation because you don't like to be unfairly taxed:

"If the Department of Homeland Security determines that the renunciation is motivated by tax avoidance purposes, the individual will be found inadmissible to the United States under Section 212(a)(10)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act"

That doesn't prevent renunciation to avoid taxes, it just prevents you from coming back.and enjoying the benefits Americans taxes pay for after you decide you don't want to be an American because that means paying taxes.

Which seems perfectly fair to me.

What wear and tear of the road am I contributing to?

Or to the aging of the infrastructure?

When I go on holiday, am I obligated to leave my water turned on? My power? My cable service? Or can I turn it off, and come back?

Fun fact, for many immigration classes, a US citizen is required to sign a security document saying that even though you are paying SS and other taxes, that the government, for ten years, may come after them for every dollar of benefits you may claim.

So an eighteen year old who has yet to pay taxes can claim these benefits, but a thirty year old immigrant has to pay taxes without access to services for ten years (well, with access but with the government reserving a right of recovery for any use).