Expatriation, treason, etc.

[James Maule]

>>> lawpjs at MAIL1.HOFSTRA.EDU 12/13/01 06:29PM >>> writes

[snip]  It is now hard to lose one's citizenship without jumping up and down on a stack of bibles at a American consulate overseas, signing all sorts of forms demonstrating that you really mean it.  There is a blanket presumption that one does not intend to renounce one's citizenship when one joins a foreign army, holds office in a foreign government, naturalizes in another country, etc.  The only context in which the US government has cared about this in recent years is when a US citizen is about to serve as a head of state in another country, in which case it has pressured the individual voluntarily and expressly to relinquish his US citizenship.
[snip]

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There had been a lot of interest in people who expatriated in order to avoid US taxation (which is limited to citizens and resident aliens). The enactment of what one can colloquially call a "departure tax" has reduced the impact of, and probably the frequency of, these events (I haven't seen any post-enactment empirical studies). The folks seeking to do this did in fact do all the jumping up and down that had to be done... which is why another approach to the failed "you are still a citizen subject to taxation" approach.



Jim Maule
Professor of Law, Villanova University School of Law
Villanova PA 19085
maule at law.villanova.edu
http://vls.law.vill.edu/prof/maule
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