Those who renounce citizenship of US defy stereotypes
Inside the long-awaited package, six pages of government paperwork dryly affirmed Carol Tapanila's anxious request. But when Tapanila slipped the contents from the brown envelope, she saw there was something more.
Her US passport now had four holes punched through it from cover to cover. Her departure from life as a US citizen was stamped final on the same page: "Bearer Expatriated Self".
With the envelope's arrival, Tapanila, who has lived in Canada since 1969, joined a largely overlooked surge of US citizens rejecting what is, to millions, a highly sought prize: US citizenship. Last year, the US government reported a record 2,999 people renounced citizenship or terminated permanent residency; most are widely assumed to be driven by a desire to avoid paying taxes on hidden wealth.
The reality, though, is more complicated. The government's pursuit of tax evaders among US citizens living abroad is indeed driving the jump in abandoned citizenship, experts say. But renouncers - whose ranks have swelled more than fivefold from a decade ago - often contradict the stereotype of the financial scoundrel. Many are from very ordinary economic circumstances.
Some call themselves "accidental Americans", who recall little of life in the US, but long ago happened to be born in it. Others say they renounced because of politics, family or personal identity. Some say signing away citizenship was a huge relief. Others recall being sickened by the decision.
At the US consulate in Geneva, "I talked to a man who explained to me that I could never, ever get my nationality back," said Donna-Lane Nelson, who has lived in Switzerland for 24 years. "It felt like a divorce. It felt like a death. I took the second oath, and I left the consulate and I threw up."
One of the few times rejected US citizenship has gotten significant attention was Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's 2011 decision to turn in his US passport after moving to Singapore. Saverin likely avoided millions of dollars in taxes by doing so shortly before Facebook's initial stock offering.
Other wealthy US citizens have relinquished US citizenship. Denise Rich, the ex-wife of pardoned trader Marc Rich, expatriated in 2012 and lives in London. Last fall, singer Tina Turner, a resident of Switzerland since 1995, relinquished her US passport.
In recent years, federal officials have increased pursuit of potential tax evaders, using the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
Decisions to renounce "are driven by a whole range of emotional considerations. ... You've got anger, you've got fear, you've got a strong sense of indignation," said John Richardson, a Toronto lawyer who advises people on expatriation. "For many of these people, this is not a tax issue at all."
Associated Press
(China Daily 04/29/2014 page10)
