Thai is the best nationality there is!" Former American pays through the nose to renounce US citizenship

[ThomasThBKK]

14 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Why not go to St Kitts, bin your USA PP and just never go back ?

 

There's no place where you are safe from the US government, as many people have found out already? They'll just freeze your asset in whatever bank and co you have it... 
What if you want to visit your parents, brother, family, friends? What if you travel somewhere and layover is in the US? ....

if you want to be on the run from the US government, sure that's an option, but not sure it's a good option if you have kids and/or don't want to hide and seek for the rest of your life... 

[malarkyman]

yabba and some whacky amulets at work here me thinks ????

[Rimmer]

An off topic rant/flame has been removed

[AdamTheFarang]

One really only uses their Passport to travel. Outside of Asean, which passport let's you into more countries without a Visa? I know nothing about this man, but I suspect, by his conduct he has never been out of Thailand, like many in the north. No refunds on the receipt this is so Thailand, in most developed countries receipts often invite refunds, exchanges. Did I say developed? Many Thais will still look at him as 2nd class by his appearance. To have 2 nationalities is normally a good thing, now he has cutoff any exit should things change. Talking about kids, how does the education system compare in Thailand to the USA? Two of my ex-girlfriends did not know what a Jew was and did not know where Thailand is on the globe. What do they teach them at school, Thailand is great and No 1, outside Thailand not important, not speak about this.

[DrTuner]

5 hours ago, Docno said:

I know quite a few americans who'd love to get rid of their US citizenship. The overseas taxation being the biggest issue, but Trump adding an extra nudge for some. 

The taxation and bible bashing are the two things that made me scratch US off the short list. Pity, as otherwise the country has a lot to offer.

[ThomasThBKK]

1 hour ago, AdamTheFarang said:

One really only uses their Passport to travel. Outside of Asean, which passport let's you into more countries without a Visa? I know nothing about this man, but I suspect, by his conduct he has never been out of Thailand, like many in the north. No refunds on the receipt this is so Thailand, in most developed countries receipts often invite refunds, exchanges. Did I say developed? Many Thais will still look at him as 2nd class by his appearance. To have 2 nationalities is normally a good thing, now he has cutoff any exit should things change. Talking about kids, how does the education system compare in Thailand to the USA? Two of my ex-girlfriends did not know what a Jew was and did not know where Thailand is on the globe. What do they teach them at school, Thailand is great and No 1, outside Thailand not important, not speak about this.

America is the only country with Citizenship based taxation since Eritrea got rid of it. What's there not to understand?

It's a pain in the ass to deal with the IRS if you don't live in the US anyway.

Reason enough for many to give up their citizenship. He would have likely not done it if it was a british or whatever passport, as those have 0 negative downsides except an extremely unlikely military engagement.

[garyk]

On 2/28/2020 at 8:20 PM, BigC said:

All these  negative comments from people that live here on Visas.

 

Just can't  get my head round most of you

 

You complain  visa system is harder

 

Then you choose to live here most of your  lives

 

Then act like your really proud of your  original  country 

 

So why are you  not only in Thailand  but on this page at all???????

Hopefully to inform other expats that are thinking of retiring to Thailand to reconsider. 

And to show the true Thai experience for expats in Thailand. Not the one portraid on internet sites promoting places like Thailand.

Edited March 1, 2020 by garyk

[Monomial]

7 hours ago, Shouldhaveknownbetter said:

So what is stopping them ?

The vast majority of people who obtain a second citizenship are not wealthy. They get a second citizenship through bonafide residency in foreign countries. The $2400 fee was instituted about 5 years ago because too many expats were renouncing and the government wanted to stop this trend. Before this, the fee to renounce was only around $300, and that was deemed insufficient to penalize citizens wanting to renounce.

 

The only reason I keep my US citizenship is because A) my mother has not died yet and I want to attend her funeral, and B) because the fee is prohibitively expensive. So I put up with the unreasonable burdens that US citizenship forces upon you. Once my mother is dead, I will probably find a way to come up with the money to renounce, although this really is a hefty amount for me in my present situation, and it angers me that I will be forced to give this to the US government rather than direct it to my children's education where it rightfully belongs.

 

I congratulate Udom for finally achieving what most of us wish we could. If anyone knows him, let him know that I would be happy to meet up with him and offer a toast in his honor.

 

[meshborg]

He definitely Thai.Only a Thai person thinks all other races inferior.

[garyk]

3 hours ago, Monomial said:

The vast majority of people who obtain a second citizenship are not wealthy. They get a second citizenship through bonafide residency in foreign countries. The $2400 fee was instituted about 5 years ago because too many expats were renouncing and the government wanted to stop this trend. Before this, the fee to renounce was only around $300, and that was deemed insufficient to penalize citizens wanting to renounce.

 

The only reason I keep my US citizenship is because A) my mother has not died yet and I want to attend her funeral, and B) because the fee is prohibitively expensive. So I put up with the unreasonable burdens that US citizenship forces upon you. Once my mother is dead, I will probably find a way to come up with the money to renounce, although this really is a hefty amount for me in my present situation, and it angers me that I will be forced to give this to the US government rather than direct it to my children's education where it rightfully belongs.

 

I congratulate Udom for finally achieving what most of us wish we could. If anyone knows him, let him know that I would be happy to meet up with him and offer a toast in his honor.

 

I am really amazed at comments like this. If you don't have 2400 dollars to denounce your citizenship then I would bet you don't make enough to even worry about the IRS what so ever. 

If I had to guess, 95% of expats in Thailand and in S.E. Asia don't make enough to even worry about filing? 

There is no downside what so ever.

 

I am considering a visa for Mexico that gives me residency for life. Why in the cotton picking world would I EVER consider denouncing my US citizenship???? You would have to be an idiot.

Edited March 1, 2020 by garyk

[roaming2019]

3 hours ago, Monomial said:

The vast majority of people who obtain a second citizenship are not wealthy. They get a second citizenship through bonafide residency in foreign countries. The $2400 fee was instituted about 5 years ago because too many expats were renouncing and the government wanted to stop this trend. Before this, the fee to renounce was only around $300, and that was deemed insufficient to penalize citizens wanting to renounce.

 

The only reason I keep my US citizenship is because A) my mother has not died yet and I want to attend her funeral, and B) because the fee is prohibitively expensive. So I put up with the unreasonable burdens that US citizenship forces upon you. Once my mother is dead, I will probably find a way to come up with the money to renounce, although this really is a hefty amount for me in my present situation, and it angers me that I will be forced to give this to the US government rather than direct it to my children's education where it rightfully belongs.

 

I congratulate Udom for finally achieving what most of us wish we could. If anyone knows him, let him know that I would be happy to meet up with him and offer a toast in his honor.

 

these days illegal immigrants are getting  free medicare in california - 

as you are a usa citizen why not keep it at least to get social security/medicare  . 

[Monomial]

1 hour ago, garyk said:

I am really amazed at comments like this. If you don't have 2400 dollars to denounce your citizenship then I would bet you don't make enough to even worry about the IRS what so ever. 

If I had to guess, 95% of expats in Thailand and in S.E. Asia don't make enough to even worry about filing? 

There is no downside what so ever.

 

I am considering a visa for Mexico that gives me residency for life. Why in the cotton picking world would I EVER consider denouncing my US citizenship???? You would have to be an idiot.

 

That is correct. I don't make enough to worry about the IRS. That doesn't absolve me from the costs of having to file returns or being unfairly prevented from accessing tax free retirement accounts in Thailand though. And don't even consider that every investment I make counts as a PFIC according to the US government, leaving me with severely restricted options for investments, and having to mark to market my RMF every year.

 

I amazed some people have so little concept of the consequences of the draconian policies enacted by the US government. I guess the wealthy really just don't understand how the rest of us live.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2020 by Monomial

[Monomial]

1 hour ago, roaming2019 said:

these days illegal immigrants are getting  free medicare in california - 

as you are a usa citizen why not keep it at least to get social security/medicare  . 

 

Social security is not related to citizenship. And since I will not be returning to the USA, I get no benefit from Medicare.

 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

On 2/28/2020 at 7:38 AM, bbi1 said:

I would not want to hold an American or Israeli passport if some crazed Arab-looking bearded man screaming certain things decided that he was going to take out people who hold certain passports.

Mr. Osama bin laden did not acctually refer to any particular ppassport but 

said, in his famous speech: "...now every american and a jew are targets..."

 

[Hanuman2547]

As he came to Thailand when he was two years old and hasn't been back I think it's safe to say that he has never worked in the USA.  Therefore he won't qualify for social security when he turns 62.  As an expat his first $100,000 something is tax few from the USA.  He probably doesn't make that much a year so he won't have to pay anything in taxes.  May not have any investments in the USA.  All he really has to do is file a tax return and I'm thinking his might be quite easy to do.  Kind of a waste of 72,000 baht to renounce something you're not really using.  

[metisdead]

Some off topic posts have been removed. 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

On 2/28/2020 at 7:10 AM, MadMac said:

Why would anyone in their right mind renounce a 1st world citizenship for a 3rd world one?! Especially if there is no need for it and he could have kept both. Stupid I say.

seems like a classical case of "ignorance is a bliss". from that stupid smile

on his face i can conclude that he is in some kind of "thainess", a mask over 

his mind that denies him from seeing and thinking clearly.

 

this i say without meaning any disrespect to thai people. by "thainess" i mean 

the mind control techniques used by the thai elites to manipulate and control 

the lower classes. similar to the "bread and circus" of the roman / U.S. empire.

[stickyrice2000]

It's a personal choice.  Good for him if he likes living in Thailand.  One American renounce their citizenship is a news in Thailand versus thousands of Thais filed for US citizenship is a no news in US.

Edited March 1, 2020 by stickyrice2000

[gk10002000]

On 2/28/2020 at 3:29 AM, NCC1701A said:

poor guy. he has made a huge mistake. 

yep, one less port of call for him to be able to enter.  Rarely a good idea to get rid of options

[gk10002000]

1 hour ago, Hanuman2547 said:

As he came to Thailand when he was two years old and hasn't been back I think it's safe to say that he has never worked in the USA.  Therefore he won't qualify for social security when he turns 62.  As an expat his first $100,000 something is tax few from the USA.  He probably doesn't make that much a year so he won't have to pay anything in taxes.  May not have any investments in the USA.  All he really has to do is file a tax return and I'm thinking his might be quite easy to do.  Kind of a waste of 72,000 baht to renounce something you're not really using.  

Not true.  the foreign income exclusion is for "Earned income", i.e. wages only.  If he has a business or other sources of income, things may be different

[Hanuman2547]

18 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

Not true.  the foreign income exclusion is for "Earned income", i.e. wages only.  If he has a business or other sources of income, things may be different

I was only addressing him working as an employee not as a business owner.  Of course now he is free to do that without US interference.  

[NotYourBusiness]

23 hours ago, Hank Gunn said:

First, I don't know why you'd need more than 3 or 4 bank accounts as an expat, possibly one from an employer if they have direct deposit then one or two additional accounts for your personal use. As a retiree in Thailand, I have two: a fixed-deposit acct. that has 800k baht for my retirement visa and a savings acct. with a debit card for my "day to day" spending. All I have to do is report the 800k ($24,800?) and then the balance of my savings acct. Since I have online banking for that second acct. I just log in, and report the balance. There's no "need to get the complete printout and scan it for maximum balance". If you can't do that for whatever reason, then it's as simple as going to a bank branch (once a year) and get a printout. But 1999 is calling and telling you there is such a thing as online banking. Again, this all takes a matter of 2 or 3 minutes to fill out.

 

Second, what about clueless/ignorant people? If someone wants to move half-way around the world without doing any due research as to what they need to do, and that includes everything from transportation, housing, living expenses, as well as tax ramifications, then that's their problem. If a person is too stupid/ignorant, to do their due diligence before making a major geographical move, then that's their problem. And I might add, why are you asking me such a silly question? Why would I care. I simply stated that filling out the FBAR takes all of 2-3 minutes and is not a great burden.

OK well filling out my FBAR certainly does NOT take 2-3 minutes, and the chance of error is high, with potential HUGE fines as a result. And yes millions of expats don't even know they need to do this. For you to minimize this requirement, extrapolate that everyone is like you, FBARs are easy for everyone, don't need to worry about fines, it's all good, is absurd. Your view is extremely myopic but you are entitled to it. I can see I am just wasting time posting here, so adios amigos.

[Docno]

16 hours ago, Shouldhaveknownbetter said:

So what is stopping them ?

The difficulty of getting citizenship elsewhere... (a couple of these guys are in Singapore, for instance, where they'd prefer to stay but which is tight-fisted on citizenship for western foreigners... one of them has been there for 30 years already)

[PremiumLane]

5 hours ago, meshborg said:

He definitely Thai.Only a Thai person thinks all other races inferior.

except that at no point did he say that

[Neeranam]

2 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

seems like a classical case of "ignorance is a bliss". from that stupid smile

on his face i can conclude that he is in some kind of "thainess", a mask over 

his mind that denies him from seeing and thinking clearly.

 

this i say without meaning any disrespect to thai people. by "thainess" i mean 

the mind control techniques used by the thai elites to manipulate and control 

the lower classes. similar to the "bread and circus" of the roman / U.S. empire.

It sounds like you have absolutely NO respect for Thai people - what an awful, rasict post.

You don't know what "Thainess" means, so stop pretending you do. It is a positive thing, taught to kids, in the Civics curriculum.

I don't know why you have the need to insult this man and the whole Thai population. Could it be jealousy?

The ironic thing is that you probably have chosen to live here. I assume, and hope you don't have any Thai relatives, especially children, that are exposed to your racist rants.

 

[djayz]

It's always good to have a back up plan, or in this case, a passport, which allows you to travel relatively freely to just about any country in the world without too much hassle. 

I kind of get it that he wants Thai citizenship as that'll make his life a whole lot easier here, but what if he ever needs to get out? 

[Neeranam]

28 minutes ago, djayz said:

It's always good to have a back up plan, or in this case, a passport, which allows you to travel relatively freely to just about any country in the world without too much hassle. 

I kind of get it that he wants Thai citizenship as that'll make his life a whole lot easier here, but what if he ever needs to get out? 

I know, after signing an intent to renounce my UK citizenship, that if I do, I could get it back again, one time only.

Doesn't the US do this?

The only advantage I can see in doing this is being able to have a Thai name. Anyone know his previous name? Maybe it was Chip, Tiger, Grayson, Butch or Junior Maybe this guy is doing it for this reason, as well as the obvious reasons. 

A Thai named, Terdsak would want to change his name if becoming a yank.

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by Neeranam

[Saint Nick]

On 2/28/2020 at 5:01 PM, bbi1 said:

Why would anyone in their right mind wanna keep an American citizenship? One of the worst Western citizenships to have to be locked into that government & that system. If you have an option to get out of it then it's the right move.

Still a million ways better than Thai!

 

[Saint Nick]

Finally!

Someone who is truly Thai'er-than- Thai!

I will not say, what I think about this dude, because it would seem, I have no manners!

 

[Saint Nick]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

It sounds like you have absolutely NO respect for Thai people - what an awful, rasict post.

You don't know what "Thainess" means, so stop pretending you do. It is a positive thing, taught to kids, in the Civics curriculum.

I don't know why you have the need to insult this man and the whole Thai population. Could it be jealousy?

The ironic thing is that you probably have chosen to live here. I assume, and hope you don't have any Thai relatives, especially children, that are exposed to your racist rants.

 

 

You know, you are defending Thailand, right?!