Adios Trumpian Shithole: Surrendering US Citizenship

Well, OK, Trump is not really the main cause of expatriate Americans wanting to surrender their citizenship...but it likely doesn't help matters. 2020 is shaping up to be a banner year for citizenship renunciations, and the proximate cause is the ridiculous amount of paperwork expats must fill to be in compliance with US financial regulations. Especially after 9/11, American authorities have kept a tighter leash on financial record-keeping worldwide. And, unfortunately, US citizens abroad have borne a disproportionate share of the pencil-pushing burden. So, it was only a matter of time that more wanted out of America for good:

A record number of Americans are renouncing their citizenship. In just the first half of this year, 5,315 Americans gave up their citizenship. That puts the country on track to see a record-breaking 10,000 people renounce U.S. citizenship in 2020. Until a decade ago, fewer than 1,000 Americans per year, on average, chose to renounce their citizenship... 

In surveys and testimonials, these people say they’re dropping their U.S. citizenship because American anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism regulations make it too onerous and expensive to keep... 

Still, all American expats — even those who’ve lived abroad for decades, earn no income in the U.S., and hold no U.S. assets — must submit an annual tax return to the Internal Revenue Service. Now, ever since Congress strengthened anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financial reporting requirements, many have had to hire costly international accounting firms to do their taxes.

A firm offering tax services to expats cites its straw poll indicating almost a quarter of all US expats want to give up citizenship already. You'd think the firm is honest since it would be lost business to them:

89% of expats feel their concerns are less likely to be addressed than those of Americans living in the U  23% of expats are seriously considering renouncing their US citizenship or already have plans to renounce. 23% said they were interested in citizenship renunciation because they were disappointed with the direction of the US government—a 6% increase from last year. 

The world looks at America and sees an inequitable, racist and violent society with next to nothing going for it. Filled with COVID-19 and massive debt loads, what person in his or her right mind would want to be financially shackled to such a decrepit society? Why pay for the "privilege" of being American, in short? To invert Trump, before calling other countries "shitholes," see just how your people with knowledge about the wider world regard your country. 

Unsurprisingly, more and more expat Yanks want out... for good.