Americans In Record Numbers Abandon Citizenship And Move Abroad
According to the US Treasury Department, 2,999 US citizens and long-term residents moved abroad and gave up or abandoned efforts to obtain American citizenship in Y 2013. And in Y 2014 Treasury Department statistics showed a 14% increase in expatriations, to 3,415.
TaxNews.com noted that 1 July 2014 was the deadline for complying with the new US’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
FATCA requires taxpayers to declare assets and income owned abroad so that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can tax them. This is a Key reason that so many Americans decided to hand back their passports and leave the country last year.
It is not the only reason people are deciding to live abroad.
According to a new poll almost 35% of the Americans surveyed would consider leaving the US and move abroad. Only about 50% of those surveyed cited lower taxes as one of their Key motivations.
Nearly as important is the view that there are better educational opportunities abroad; 48% cited that as a major motivation, Vs 51% citing lower taxes. More important is the perception that healthcare is more affordable in countries outside the US.
While the dream of leaving the homeland may be more of a daydream than a real option for many, some Americans are giving a move serious thought.
About 35% of Americans would consider moving abroad eventually, perhaps around retirement age, they say they would consider a move within the next 5 years.
Taxes are not the Key reasons, the poll found that the 3 reasons most often named for considering a move abroad are, as follows:
1. a better quality of life, 36%
2. a lower cost of living, 33%
3. to have new experiences, 31%
Choosing a foreign country to relocate to based on cost of living alone could be a problem.
Countryranker.com just published a list of the Top 15 cheapest places to live, but 6 of the Top 10 cheapest places to live either have ongoing civil wars or active insurgencies. The 7th is a narco-state, and an 8th is at imminent risk of invasion by Russia.
Human resources consulting firm Mercer recently published its 2015 Quality of Living rankings covering 35 leading global cities.
Topping its list are:
1. Vienna, Austria
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Auckland, New Zealand
If you are an American seeking new experiences, a few weeks’ vacation abroad may be good enough.
Stay tuned…
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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