Change: Number of Americans renouncing citizenship is 'soaring

Via the WSJ:

A growing number of Americans are exploring whether to renounce their U.S. citizenship or give up their green cards to avoid onerous tax obligations.

While the numbers of those renouncing their U.S. citizenship are small—more than 1,000 people in the second quarter of 2013, out of more than six million Americans estimated to be living abroad—the numbers have climbed this year, according to recently released figures.

The main trigger for cutting ties with U.S., several lawyers say, is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or Fatca, which requires foreign institutions to disclose the overseas assets of U.S. green-card holders and citizens to the U.S. government. The main objective of Fatca is to identify people who may be evading taxes through offshore investment vehicles. …

Some U.S. citizens say they are exasperated by a growing raft of paperwork that forces U.S. citizens living abroad to declare the minutiae of their financial holdings and other assets. That has increased the attraction of becoming a citizen in places such as Hong Kong, where the individual tax rate is capped at 15%.