Title: Americans Renouncing U.S. Citizenship in Record Numbers | Best Countries | US News
Headings: Americans Renouncing U.S. Citizenship in Record Numbers
Americans Renouncing U.S. Citizenship in Record Numbers
By Brett Goodin
The financial factor
Unbecoming American
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Goodbye, America

Content: That puts the country on track to see a record-breaking 10,000 people renounce U.S. citizenship in 2020. Until a decade ago, fewer than 1,000 Americans per year, on average, chose to renounce their citizenship. Why are so many people abandoning the United States? The financial factor
While many liberal Americans threatened to move abroad after Trump's election in 2016, rising renunciations are not directly attributable to any particular election result. The trend began in 2013, mid-way through the Obama administration. That year about 3,000 Americans suddenly gave up their passports – three times more than usual. Nor are people fleeing the U.S. because of the coronavirus. The paperwork for the 5,315 renunciations completed so far this year began long before COVID-19 ravaged the country and made Americans global pariahs. In fact, most Americans giving up their U.S. passport already live abroad and hold another citizenship. In surveys and testimonials, these people say they're dropping their U.S. citizenship because American anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism regulations make it too onerous and expensive to keep.