If you are one of the many US citizens contemplating renouncing your US citizenship, Congress recently sent a fairly clear message that now, as opposed to later, may be the right time to get out of the club. On June 12, 2013, US Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attempted to add yet another hurdle in the ongoing saga for those individuals looking to renounce their US citizenship in filing an amendment to the immigration reform bill, which attempted to ensure that the US Department of Homeland Security could exclude certain individuals from re-entry into the US forever. The proposed amendment was never voted on in the House and died before reaching the floor. If the proposed amendment had made its way into law, it would have excluded from re-entry not only former US citizens who renounce for tax avoidance purposes (as is the current law), but also renouncing individuals who are considered “Covered Expatriates” under Internal Revenue Code § 877A.
Maybe this is a response to the fact that Americans Renouncing U.S. Citizenship Increased 6 times so far in 2013!
What is most important to take away from this failed passage of legislation is that the issue of renouncing one’s US citizenship is again front and center on Congress’s radar and the only guarantee moving forward is that any potential changes will not make things any easier to get out. Read More
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