Regarding Renunciation

Why would you ever do it? Let me count the ways. August 08, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Regarding Renunciation SEAN RING Dear Reader, As you read this, I’m on my way to the airport to pick up Pam and Micah. The recent market and political upheavals have kept me from writing about topics like acquiring a second passport, starting an online business, or investing in cryptocurrency. I originally penned this edition of the Rude in October 2022. I've chosen to republish this for two reasons. First, to provide a respite from the current chaos. Second, to cater to the new Rude readers who might not be familiar with my origin story, especially on this sensitive topic. In these tumultuous times, it's crucial to revisit the fundamentals occasionally. Here we go: The question from Walt B. is this: You did not address one obvious question: why did you renounce your American citizenship? I get that you like Italy and being a global citizen of the world, but why? What event triggered that response? Honestly, a large part of your readership (and income stream, I imagine) derived from the U.S. I do not understand why you would "renounce" your citizenship from your birth country. Regards, Walt B. Walt, thanks for this. I’ve written my reasons before, but not recently. And you have a right to know why if I talk about it so much! So here we go. Most Shouldn’t Do It First, let me say that renunciation isn’t for everyone. I remember saying to a crowd at a conference, “If you have grandkids in America, don’t do it.” I’d add a large family, a big business, or a second passport from a spit of land in the Caribbean. I think those “advisors” who suggest renunciation when you’ve only got, say, a passport from Dominica aren’t acting as fiduciaries. They’re trying to make a quick buck. My situation was different. Because I partied my butt off at Villanova, I knew I had to add something special to my CV to get into a top 25 MBA program in the States. Getting international experience was a great way to accomplish that. I asked for and got a two-year transfer to London. I was 24 years old at the time. But then, something extraordinary happened. I fell head over heels for London. And I realized I could attend London Business School at night while working for my bank. So I ended up staying for ten years and skipping the MBA, which I now know stands for Mediocre But Ambitious. (I got a Master’s in Finance instead.) Now, let’s talk about my tax situation over there. [Stocks Crash Whenever This Happens]( Ever since 1955, there is ONE indicator that has been 100% right about stocks. Whenever it appears, stocks crash. Jim Rickards calls it “The Black Pattern.” Because it is quite literally an Angel of Death for the stock market. And this Black Pattern is telling us 2024 could be the worst year for stocks we’ve seen yet. Consider this a WARNING and to alert you of a MASSIVE opportunity that could be extremely lucrative to investors. [The full breakdown is here]( Citizenship-based Taxation As you know, America has the most asinine tax system in the world. And if you think it’s stupid for America-based citizens, you should see it for ex-pats. It's downright unfair. Here’s why: if you pay less tax in your host country than you would’ve in America had you been employed there, you have to “top-up” your taxes to the IRS even though you don’t live in America. For example, let’s say I paid the British pound equivalent of $35,000 in taxes to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. (HMRC is the British IRS and just as nasty.) If my US tax liability had been $40,000, I’d have to cut the IRS a $5,000 check—even if I hadn’t set foot in the US for the entire year. That’s citizenship-based taxation. And it's a heavy burden. Only the US and Eritrea work on this tax system. Most European countries work on residency-based taxation. That means you pay taxes to your home government on your worldwide income (regardless of where it was derived) if and only if you live in your home country. A Brit who lives in the US only pays US tax. While they live and work in the US, they don’t pay or have to file anything in the UK. That’s why most Europeans never even consider renouncing their citizenship. I got my British citizenship and passport in 2006. Since I was a dual US-UK citizen and UK taxes were higher, I only had to cut the IRS a check twice in the ten years I lived in the UK. Both times, the amount was under $2,000, so I didn’t care much. And then, I moved to Singapore in 2009. The Singapore Government did something unique at the time. Since the crash was so bad, the SG government reduced everyone's top tax rate to 8%! In essence, they wanted the residents to spend their few dollars in the stores, not on the government. I thought it was the most fantastic thing ever! But as I was still a US citizen, I had to pay a colossal top-up. It decimated my savings account, and I was furious but hadn’t renounced it yet. And then, I met Pam. Accidental Americans Pam and I only dated for a year and a half before marriage. I told her about the Accidental Americans. If you’ve never heard the term: [An Accidental American]( is someone who US law deems to be an American citizen but who has only a tenuous connection to that country. For example, American nationality law provides (with limited exceptions) that anyone born on US territory is a US citizen (jus soli), including those who leave as infants or young children, even if neither parent is a US citizen (as in the case of Boris Johnson until he renounced his US citizenship in 2016). It also includes children of US citizens, even if they’re born abroad. Since I worked in finance, I knew the IRS set up offices worldwide to go after these accidental Americans. Pam and I decided the only thing we could do to protect our yet-to-be-born was for me to renounce. We were married on July 3, 2011. I renounced my US passport four days later. How Do I Work? Oh, it’s easy, and I’m cheaper than the equivalent American worker. And that’s not because I charge less. It’s because I’m a 1099 from abroad - the same as if you hire a kid from India on Fiverr to do your graphic design work. That means companies don’t have to pay idiotic payroll taxes if they hire me. And yes, I work for American companies, UK companies, and other companies. This came in especially handy when we moved to the Philippines. The country has a territorial taxation system, which means income earned abroad isn’t taxable. If you’re an American living abroad, you get a foreign income exclusion of $120,000 (as of 2024). That’s great because you only have to file and not pay if you earn under $120,000 from non-Philippines sources. I paid zero and didn’t have to file because all my income was from abroad, and I no longer had to worry about US taxes. Now, as an Italian citizen living in Italy, I’m taxed on my worldwide income regardless of source and pay that here. However, since the Italian government passed its freelancer law in 2020, I have paid nowhere near the top rate. Wrap Up If my math is correct, I’ve saved over six figures by not being an American citizen. And if God grants me a long life that will exceed seven figures when all is said and done. Are there costs? Of course. I didn’t see my cousin’s kids grow up, and that’s a bummer. Most other American things are available on Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon. But I’m not in America much at all. I go to teach and visit my Paradigm colleagues on occasion, but since my parents moved here, I don’t need to visit them anymore. One last thing: you get named and shamed on the Federal Register when you renounce. You can see my name on [this list for April 30, 2012](. (There’s always a delay in reporting.) I’m also on that list with Denise Eisenberg (songwriter and ex-wife of infamous commodities trader Marc Rich), Matt Ridley (author and businessman), Eduardo Saverin (billionaire co-founder of Facebook), and Derek Sivers (author and founder of CDBaby.com). Keeping company like that, I felt reassured. I hope that answers your question fully, Walt. Have a great day. All the best, Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( Rate this email Like Dislike Thanks for rating this content! Looks like something went wrong. Please try to rate again. In Case You Missed It… Kamala’s First Big Mistake: The Red Peril for Veep SEAN RING Kamala’s first big mistake isn’t because of some move The Donald forced her to make. In tennis, this is known as an “unforced error.” Yesterday, Kamala Harris picked the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, as her running mate. To call this man a progressive is to underestimate just how left of center and beyond the pale he is. Most political commentators thought she’d go with Josh Shapiro, the Governor of Pennsylvania, a state she must win if she has any chance at the Oval Office. As usual, they were wrong. Shapiro had even gone out of his way to disavow his time in the Israeli Defence Force to placate the lunatic anti-Israel left. “I was only 20!” he shrieked. I’m sorry for many things I did when I was 20, too, Josh. But it’s fruitless to apologize for them now. The experience helped forge your identity, and you’ll sacrifice a part of your past in the vain hopes of making a Wine Box Mom happy. At least that’s what I will tell Micah when he asks me about all those pub crawls around London in my 20s. Predictably, the Second-in-Command Wine Box Mom didn’t go for it and snubbed Shapiro. Now, he’s not the vice presidential candidate or even pro-Israel enough for an AIPAC donation. But enough about Shapiro. Let’s talk about the new Red Peril, Tim Walz. [Elon Musk’s Genius Plan to Save the US Dollar from Collapse?]( Elon is about to flip the switch on [his new money project…]( And it could trigger the biggest change to our financial system since the creation of the federal reserve in 1913. Could this save the US dollar from a complete collapse? [Click here to see the details because]( Elon said he could flip the switch “as early as mid 2024.” [Click Here To Learn More]( The Minnesotan Red Peril It's ridiculous to think Harris needed to pick Walz to secure Minnesota’s electoral votes. The average Minnesotan has views that would make Left Coasters blush. Jesse Ventura was the governor of this state. In 1984, Minnesota was the only state that voted for Walter Mondale. Ok, it was his home state, but still. Minnesota has not voted Republican for President since 1972. Walz is a man who says, “In Minnesota, we’ve got a golden rule: mind your own damn business.” [The same man also created a toll-free number]( to call so you can rat your neighbors out during the Covid-19 government-mandated private-sector shutdown. Was the DNC worried about riots in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention if Harris was running with a Jewish candidate? Did the “Free Palestine” wing of the party warn them of impending shenanigans should Kamala select a Jew? I don’t know for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised. [Mish Shedlock]( compiled this astounding scorecard reflecting Walz’s extreme far-leftiness. I had to rub my eyes and reread it to believe it. Here it is (I added section headers for extra insight): - Pro-State - He increased taxes, though Minnesota already has the fifth-highest top income-tax rate among the states, 9.85% at $193,000 of earnings for a single filer. Mr. Walz added a 1% surtax on net investment income above $1 million while reducing deductions, and the Governor wanted more. - Minnesota is a rare state that still levies a death tax of up to 16%, on top of the federal 40% rate, which is one reason the state is losing taxpayers to better climes. - Establishing automatic voter registration and letting Minnesotans sign up for a permanent absentee ballot option. - WEF-inspired - Making an estimated 81,000 illegal immigrants in the state eligible for driver’s licenses and health insurance through the MinnesotaCare public marketplace. - Funding “the North Star Promise Program, which provides free college for students with a family income under $80,000,” including illegal immigrants. - Creating a state system for paid family and medical leave, capped at a combined 20 weeks a year and funded by a 0.88% payroll tax. - Green New Scam-infested - Mandating that public utilities generate 80% carbon-free electricity by 2030, ramping up to 100% by 2040. Walz is a fervent believer in “climate action.” - Subsidizing electric vehicles by “requiring EV charging infrastructure within or adjacent to new commercial and multi-family buildings,” as the Governor’s office bragged. - Anti-Family - Passing one of the nation’s most permissive abortion statutes that has essentially no limits and no age consideration for minors. - Declaring Minnesota to be a “trans refuge,” with a law saying that the state will ignore a “court order for the removal of a child issued in another state because the child’s parent or guardian assisted the child in receiving gender-affirming care in this state.” - [Signing a bill requiring schools to provide tampons in the boy’s bathrooms.]( I’m sure I’ve never read a more pro-state, anti-family, WEF-inspired, Green New Scam-infested manifesto. It’s positively shocking. [Ian Miles Cheong]( added a few more: - Fueled George Floyd riots, delayed National Guard deployment. - Called Trump supporters "fascists" after the assassination attempt. - Oversaw $250 million COVID fraud fiasco. - Pelosi's yes-man in Congress. - Radical open borders advocate. How on earth did the DNC think this would match up with JD Vance, Catholic convert and Republican VP candidate? Do VP Choices Matter? Most people say no, but I ask them, “Did you miss the last election?” Our favorite DEI candidate from California undoubtedly helped get Biden over the line. Single, liberal, white women just love voting the way Oprah tells them to. But does Walz hurt a Harris candidacy? After all, she didn’t even have a woman under consideration, and race meant nothing to her. She allegedly got along well with Walz and picked him. Not a single Democrat faction was against Walz, which is important. But his problem is that he doesn’t move independent voters one jot. And with those checklists above, how could he? I think she should’ve been bolder. But I’m sure glad she wasn’t. And someone else is pleased, as well: Wrap Up This is what happens when Kamala has to make decisions, assuming she is the one who made the final decision. She makes mistakes, is sloppy, and is perhaps unprepared. Kamala is married to a Jewish man, so her lack of boldness surprises me. But one thing’s for sure. If Harris wins this election, with this running mate, most of America will have taken a dark turn down the road to serfdom. All the best, Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. 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