Americans renouncing citizenship to become British thanks to tax rise
By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent
9:30PM GMT 02 Mar 2013
The number of people giving up their US citizenship to become British has surged thanks to complex tax rules introduced by the American tax authorities.
London-based American lawyers, who specialise in tax and immigration, report a threefold increase over the last five years in the number of American citizens who are giving up their citizenship – a process known as “renunciation”.
Across the world 1,781 Americans renounced their citizenship in 2011 compared with just 231 in 2008, when US tax laws changed, although it remains unknown how many are adopting British rather than any other nationality.
Many decide to give up their American citizenship after tiring of the lengthy US tax return process, which requires them to pay tax on their total income regardless of where they live.
“There’s no question that the number of people renouncing their US citizenship is increasing,” said Diane Gelon, a US tax and immigration lawyer based in London.