越来越多的美国人选择放弃美国籍

Americans Who Gave Up Passports Tell Why 越来越多的美国人选择放弃美国籍

Donna-Lane Nelson was so upset after giving up her U.S. citizenship¹ that she threw up.

“Like the day I was divorced, this was one of the saddest of my life,” Nelson wrote of the day in 2011 her paper work to renounce² U.S. citizenship was approved.

In 2011, Nelson was one of nearly 2,000 Americans to give up their citizenship. Last year, a record 4,279 people gave up their American citizenship, according to the U.S. Treasury³ Department.

This year, the Google search “How to move to Canada?” surged as businessman Donald Trump⁴ won seven of 11 Republican contests on Super Tuesday.

Peter Spiro is a Temple University law professor. He is not sure if those who oppose Donald Trump would consider leaving the U.S.

“Trump, if he wins, may be president for only four years (eight years if he wins a second term) and giving up your citizenship cannot be reversed,” Spiro said.

Why do people give up U.S. citizenship?

Most of those giving up their U.S. citizenship do so for tax reasons. The surge, Spiro said, is due to a 2010 law to increase enforcement of an existing law requiring U.S. citizens to pay taxes on worldwide income, not just money earned in the United States.

Joyce Angio of Quebec, Canada, gave up her U.S. citizenship last year. She is an English as a Second Language teacher at Université Laval in Quebec City.

Angio never planned to live in Canada. But in 1973, while studying French in Quebec City, she met a man who would become her husband.

Angio said she had no idea Americans must pay taxes on income earned outside the United States. Even her father, an accountant, she said, never told her, “Joyce, you'd better file every year because the U.S. law requires” it.

In 2013, she learned that the U.S. government was ready to collect fines on Americans who did not pay U.S. taxes while living outside the country.

“Emotions: I hesitated for two years,” Angio wrote in an email to Voice of America. “Lost sleep. Read. Discussed. Debated. Cried twice in front of the Consul⁵ on the date I was given to formally renounce my citizenship. Felt heartbroken the day I had to go back to pick up my cancelled passport.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans pay their taxes.

“Offshore tax evasion⁶ undermines confidence in our tax system and deprives the United States of revenues necessary to protect and provide for its citizens,” Lew said in a statement.

Donna-Lane Nelson lives in Switzerland. She also writes a blog and has reported for trade newspapers. It was not just the tax burden that led her to give up U.S. citizenship. It was all the additional paper work, she said.

Also playing a role was the refusal of Swiss banks to accept deposits from U.S. citizens. Banks, Nelson said, want nothing to do with increased reporting required now by the U.S. government.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Americans living abroad are required to pay income taxes based on their “worldwide income.” They can exclude up to $100,800 from their income as well as certain housing costs, the Treasury Department said.

The State Department estimates 7.6 million Americans live outside the United States. Better enforcement can bring in an extra $800 million a year to the United States government, according to a congressional report.

Spiro, the Temple University law professor, said the cost of filing and paying taxes on Americans overseas is falling most heavily on people of “modest means.” The United States, he said, is the only major country that taxes its citizens on income earned overseas.

Downsides of giving up U.S. citizenship

As for downsides of giving up citizenship, there definitely are some. Fees for completing the application process went up recently from $450 to $2,350.

And before Americans can give up their citizenship, they must settle U.S. tax liabilities covering the last five years, according to the Treasury Department.

U.S. Tax Services is a private tax services company. It says Americans who renounce their citizenship can still return to the U.S. for short visits. But longer visits are a problem.

”For example, if a relative who lives in the U.S. were to become sick, you would not be allowed to simply move to the U.S. to take care of them,” Tax Services says in its guide to renouncing⁷ citizenship. “Or if your kids end up residing in the U.S., you would not be able to simply move in with them as you grow older.”

Angio, the Canadian English instructor⁸, said she can use her Canadian passport to continue regular visits with friends and family in the United States.

“The difference is emotional,” Angio said. “I'm bitter that I have to use the non-citizen line at the airport. I'm resentful that the immensely wealthy will still find clever ways to illegally hide their money while I had to make a painful decision to renounce.”

Words in This Story

threw up – v. to have the food, liquid, etc., that is in your stomach come out through your mouth

divorce – v. the ending of a marriage by a legal process

reverse – v. to change something to an opposite state or condition

surge – v. to move very quickly and suddenly in a particular direction

renounce – v. to formally give up something

exclude – v. period of time during which someone does not work at his or her regular job

evasion – n. the act of avoiding something that you do not want to do or deal with

modest – adj. not very large in size or amount

resentful – adj. having or showing a feeling of anger or displeasure about someone or something unfair

immensely – adv. very great in size or amount

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

6 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

7 renouncing   

v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• He enraged the government by renouncing the agreement. 他否认那项协议，从而激怒了政府。 来自辞典例句
• What do you get for renouncing Taiwan and embracing Beijing instead? 抛弃台湾，并转而拥抱北京之后，你会得到什么？ 来自互联网

8 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。