Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowperson
The USA government gave foreign governments a choice . . . . comply or face trade penalties. Foreign governments have been deciding its a lot easier and cheaper to throw a few thousand people under the bus instead of having limited access to the world's largest consumer market. You can't eat your principles.
In fairness, there are lots of USA foreign resident tax dodgers and this is low hanging fruit for a USA federal government needing to shore up its tax base. You can see the motivation.
The depth of the crackdown, however, has been surprising. People who didn't even know they were USA citizens seems punitive and grabby.
Secondly, I've found it interesting that someone earlier in this thread said quitting Canadian citizenship is only $200 and some paperwork. I think that quitting USA citizenship is pretty difficult and you basically have to "settle up" with USA tax authorities before they let you go. It could be a large, large bill for many.
The tax grab also extends to former green card holders as well, not just citizens.
Cowperson
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I like your choice of using USA instead of America when referring to our friends south of the border. Referring to them as America is a recent phenomena that's followed the collapse of Communism and a subtle reference to American domination of our society. The USA is no more America than Chile is.