The number of Americans choosing to renounce their citizenship jumped by 1,210% during the first six months of this year, setting a new record according to research by the Enrolled Agents and Bambridge Accountants New York.
According to a report this week, 5,816 renounced their U.S. citizenship in the first six months of 2020, compared to the previous six months ending December 2019, when just 444 cases were reported.
The report also found:
- A total of 2,072 Americans gave up their citizenship in 2019 overall.
- The current quarter year was the second-highest on record, with the record quarter being 2,909 for the first quarter of 2020.
- The pandemic seems to have motivated U.S. expatriates to cut ties and avoid the current political climate and tax reporting.
It costs Americans a $2,350 government fee to renounce their citizenship. People based overseas must report in person to the U.S. Embassy in that country to drop citizenship.
Overall, there are an estimated 9 million expatriates from the United States, but until 2020, there had been a steep decline of people renouncing their citizenship.
The IRS requires that the United States publish the names of all those who have given up their citizenship, said the report while citing the source for its current numbers.
"The huge increase in U.S. expats renouncing from our experience is that the current pandemic has allowed individuals the time to review their ties to the U.S. and decide that the current political climate and annual US tax reporting is just too much to bear," said Alistair Bambridge, partner at Bambridge Accountants New York.
U.S. citizens living abroad are still required to file tax returns, pay taxes and report all foreign bank accounts, investments, and pensions held outside the country, leading many Americans to renounce their citizenship if they don't plan to return to the United States to live.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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