Congress makes the tax laws, the IRS just enforces them.

Over the threshold, you only pay taxes if you live in a country where taxes are less than the US, which is, to be honest, not that many countries.

Yes, but you still have the time and pain of filing. This is not minor. To ensure you're not making a mistake you basically have to pay an expert to do it.

Also the US has now imposed laws that require financial institutions to report to the IRS if you are a US citizen. I'm not in the financial industry so can't verify first hand, but all reports are that the paperwork and reporting burden is significant. So much so that many banks now have a "no US citizens" policy.

> Over the threshold, you only pay taxes if you live in a country where taxes are less than the US, which is, to be honest, not that many countries.

It's (sort of) that simple for earned income. In another country you may throughout your life receive money from a wide range of sources (health benefits, health recovery, child benefits, pensions, scholarships, the list goes on...) - the US tax status on these is incredibly complex at best. The punishments for making a mistake can be severe.

My income is earned and heavily taxed. I even have to pay taxes for my medical insurance, which are otherwise exempt in the states. Ya, it can be nightmare, and I have no idea what I would do if I ever got audited; its not like we get official documentation about pay since taxes in earning country are deducted automatically. At best, we have some pay stubs.

If you're on a greencard these tax laws don't apply to you. You're only taxed for what you make while in the US.

(User woe, you have been hellbanned which is a shame because your points in this thread have been quite true.)

Totally incorrect.