The USA has FEIE, (no federal taxes the first $120k/yr), but not all states (like Cali) honor that and may still charge you state income tax.
and FEIE doesn't exempt you from self-employment taxes.
and doesn't exempt non-earned income (dividends, etc.).
Americans can come out ahead (if they earn less than $120k/yr and live in a 0% tax country). But a non-American (like Canadian) doing the samething, would have less restrictions.
The usual case where there is a tax treaty is that the expat pays taxes at the rate of the country in which they work. It's really that simple for most people.
Whoa, so before moving to a low tax country you should move to a state that is not insane for a while and then move abroad? Crazy.
Not sure how they get away with it really, small volume I guess.
Glad to hear it, because what Americans told me (that they get taxed for the same money they paid tax on in their host country) is bonkers.
EDIT: Seems there's some disagreement ;) The other commentor echoes what I've heard from Americans living in Europe. Absolute madness. I also heard it's very costly to try and give up your American citizenship, exactly to protect that juicy free tax America gets from it's expats.
> If they can do it to Apple, why not to regular citizens?
They already do. Knowledge worker migrants were promised eight years of tax breaks by the Dutch government, who later changed their minds after those people already moved to the Netherlands.
This isn't even that though, this is the EU saying the agreement made by Ireland with Apple wasn't legal. It's like how they get people who avoid tax by finding loopholes to pay back-taxes once the tax office catches them (yes, this happens too).