Americans abroad unconstitutional taxed !

DC

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DC
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Mar 20, 2008
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DC said:
Have just read a funny claim, wonder if it is true.



http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politic...line_sparks_expatriate_ideas.html?cid=8995438
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Wrong at several levels.

First, "no taxation without representation" is not a constitutional principle. Indeed, citizens of the District of Columbia have been complaining for years that they are taxed but not represented at the Federal level -- to no avail.

Second, US citizens abroad typically retain the citizenship of the state they were citizens of when they left.
 
Expats have the right to vote as well, yes? So they do have representation.

I think the guy quoted is confusing "non-resident" with "unrepresented".
 
grmcdorman said:
Expats have the right to vote as well, yes? So they do have representation.
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Not unless they're citizens of some state, no. (For whom would they vote? There isn't a congressional district representing expatriates, and there is no direct election for the President.)

But, you usually take your state citizenship with you and retain it when you leave. When I lived in the UK, I voted via absentee ballot in my "home" district.

The people who are not state citizens truly are unrepresented. For example, a child of mine who was born abroad would be a US citizen but would not be a citizen of any particular state; when she turned 18, she would not be able to vote. If my home state had some seriously draconic residency rules for citizenship, I might lose my citizenship in East Dakota after living abroad for three years -- and again I would be unrepresented. And, of course, citizens living in Guam, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia aren't represented....
 
drkitten said:
Not unless they're citizens of some state, no. (For whom would they vote? There isn't a congressional district representing expatriates, and there is no direct election for the President.)

But, you usually take your state citizenship with you and retain it when you leave. When I lived in the UK, I voted via absentee ballot in my "home" district.
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Same here. Smart expats also keep a mailing address and a bank account back home, which helps out with lots of things.
 
Having been an expatriate since 1979 I can confirm that yes we get to vote and as long as you don't spend more than 30 days a year in the US you can shelter 85,000 or so a year from taxes and you get to use the 2555EZ form instead of the dreaded 1040.
 
Hans said:
Having been an expatriate since 1979 I can confirm that yes we get to vote and as long as you don't spend more than 30 days a year in the US you can shelter 85,000 or so a year from taxes and you get to use the 2555EZ form instead of the dreaded 1040.
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I think that's 85K of earned income. If you're a retiree living off your dividend checks, you don't get to shelter a damned thing. Which is the complaint made in the article referenced in the OP.
 
American citizens abroad are still protected by the American govt. If 500 Americans are kidnapped in Africa, the Marines will go in to save them.
 
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