More Americans are relinquishing their US citizenship than ever before

Amid the growing number of concerns in the United States, a new trend has surfaced in the country. According to a new research published on August 9, a record number of people are now giving up US citizenship.

In the first half of 2020, over 5,800 gave up their citizenship of the US, as compared to the 2,072 Americans who gave it up in all of 2019, as per data from Bambridge Accountants.

Major turmoil in the country

The US has been the stage of a lot of turmoil in 2020, as protests against racism intensified and continue to swell cities sporadically. Additionally, the ambivalent response to COVID-19 has made US the hardest-hit country in the entire world. The US has recorded 5 million cases of the virus alone.

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As per the firm’s data, the number of citizens giving up their citizenship of the country has shot up tremendously. To reach this conclusion they studied government data on citizenship, which is published every three months.

Alistair Bambridge told CNN that those who gave up their citizenship were mostly people who were already out of the States and those who had decided “they’ve had enough of everything”.

The central factors influencing people’s decisions to give up their citizenship may be primarily based on Trump’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, clubbed with political movements brewing in the country.

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More than politics

Besides being dissatisfied with the contemporary socio-political landscape in the country, many have left the country due to taxes, as per Bambridge.

Citizens of the US who move to other countries have to file tax returns every year regardless of where they are.  In addition, they also have to divulge details of their foreign bank accounts, investments, and pensions, among many other financial details.

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Even though citizens are eligible to assert claim over $1.200 stimulus cheques, with $500 for each child, Bambridge believed the taxation system is simply “too much”.

In order to forego their citizenship of the US, Americans are required to pay $2,350 and physically appear at a US embassy in the country where they’re situated.

A high stake presidential election in November may further influence the rate of relinquishing citizenship among expat Americans. Bambridge believes the numbers will go up if Trump is re-elected.