Americans Renouncing Their Citizenship at Lowest Levels Since 2012 Reports Bambridge Accountants New York

NEW YORK, March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans are renouncing their citizenship at the lowest rates since 2012, and if the trend continues we will see the lowest rates since records began, according to research by the Enrolled Agents and accountants Bambridge Accountants New York.

• 2,072 Americans gave up their citizenship in 2019, a 48% decrease on the previous year
• Americans are abandoning their citizenship at the lowest rates since 2012
• "Trump and taxes" credited for the decline in the number of Americans turning their backs on the US
• If the trend continues, US citizens will renounce at the lowest rates since records began in 1994

The process is neither quick nor cheap. Americans must pay a $2350 government fee for the privilege of renouncing their citizenship, and those based overseas must do so in person at the US Embassy in their country. 

There are an estimated 9 million US expats, the trend is a global one. In the third and fourth quarters of 2019, 183 and 261 Americans around the world renounced their US citizenship – the lowest levels since 2012.

Under rules which critics say amount to naming and shaming, every three months the US Government publishes the names of all Americans who give up their citizenship. The last two lists of 2019, published 4 years in to the Trump presidency, show Americans are renouncing at the lowest level since 2012 when Barack Obama was in the White House.

The rates are now lower than the majority of quarters reported under President Obama and if the trend continues we will see the lowest number of Americans giving up their citizenship since records began in 1994.

Alistair Bambridge, partner at Bambridge Accountants New York, explains: "Americans tend to be patriotic people, for whom cutting ties with their homeland is a drastic and often highly emotional step."

"The decline in US citizens renouncing their citizenship speaks volumes about how strongly many of them feel about two things – Trump and taxes."

"President Trump's tax reform and continued presidency has reversed the trend of Americans renouncing their citizenship to avoid intrusive tax rules for US expats. The reach of the US Treasury is famously long, and US citizens must complete a US tax return every year – wherever they are in the world – as well as declaring any money they, their spouse or their children hold in a foreign bank account. Failure to do so can result in a $10,000 fine."

"Such draconian rules were introduced to stop tax evasion, but for Americans who have made their home overseas, they have become an expensive and unpleasant burden."

Contact Alistair Bambridge, [email protected], 646 956 5566.

Bambridge Accountants New York is a New York-based firm specializing in actors, other creatives and expats.

www.bambridgeaccountants.com

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