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

[moto77]

34 minutes ago, RadKiter said:

He owes tax to the USA ONLY through the time of his renunciation.  Not AFTER. 

 

https://nomadcapitalist.com/2018/06/16/tax-consequences-of-renouncing/

 

And probably didn’t own anything anyway. 
 

And if he never goes to the US it wouldn’t matter anyway. Thailand doesn’t extradite it’s citizens.

[BestB]

He has lived in Thailand pretty much all of his life, all he knows is thailand, hardly surprising he feels more Thai than American . Even his Entire education is thai. But 70000 baht is fees, that’s a bit of a joke if you asked me 

[cardinalblue]

Legally he was born American....mentally he is Thai as reinforced by his Excellent Thai educational background...so it took him how many years and how many $ to become a Thai?

 

this is a piece one would find Fox doing for their propaganda machine...

 

trying their hardest to put down America when in fact the article could have been written about him becoming a Thai citizen after all these years even though he has lived his whole life in thailand except 2 years...always suspect when someone says it’s the best country in the world even though he has never been anywhere else in his life...

 

Bottom line, nothing but a tool for this story....

[herwin1234]

37 minutes ago, jlwilliamsjr18 said:

There's one born every minute.  Obviously he's living in a cave. 

No he is living in Thailand. 

 

Whats wrong with you and the usualbunch of cynics? If it was the other way around, a Thai who denounced Thai citizenship to be fully American, you would praise him.

 

You all made the decision to live in Thailand, nobody put a gun to your head. If you dont like it here, if you so deeply despise Thailand, plz go back or <deleted> let Immigration find out who you really are and with a bogus reason deny you a visa next time. 

 

The one living in a cave is not him but you.

[sqwakvfr]

“Through the nose”?? That is the standard fee all Americans who renounce pay.  Annually approximately 2000 Americans citizens renounce.  No big deal.   This was the same fee a certain Google Executive paid to renounce his American Citizenship.  Of course this person is now a Permanent Resident of Singapore.  If I could get PR in Singapore I would consider following this person. 

[soalbundy]

18 hours ago, zydeco said:

This doesn't let him off the hook with the IRS.

why? he is no longer a USA concern, BJ did the same thing because he was fed up with paying US taxes on top of British tax

[SymS]

$2350 is not exactly paying through the nose....

[malcoml]

I’m more interested in what visa he has had all these years. I can only assume a spouse visa.

i know there are a lot of Thai/Indians living in Thailand that were not granted Thai citizenship. Yet they have no visa problems.

[Gerard052]

18 hours ago, thequietman said:

KInda makes me wanna put my fingers down my throat and throw up!

 

He didn't have to actually denounce his American citizenship. One can only assume that he has been indoctrinated much like most of the Thai's I know. Scary. ????

You are absolutely right, I don't know what he is smoking but must be some good one.

[Gerard052]

18 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

poor guy. he has made a huge mistake. 

I agree, he is a total moroon.

[Gerard052]

18 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

Hope he can find the mental help he clearly needs......????

I agree, he definitely needs help, the sooner, the better.

[bkkgriz]

Enjoy your time as a coscript in the Thai military. You are now eligible. Make sure the general's Merc is shiny.

[JustAnotherHun]

 

Thai is the best nationality there is!

 

True.

Best education system, most democratic country, savest roads and most genious government aswell.

Wish I were Thai.

[Tounge Thaied]

18 hours ago, MadMac said:

Pretty stupid I say. He could have kept both.

To be able to obtain your Thai citizenship, the American government requires you to give up your American citizenship. Conversely, if you are a Thai seeking American citizenship, the Thai government does not require you to give up Thai citizenship. Anyone know why? Because I sure don't.

[samran]

17 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

How did his parents, who were probably in their 20's when they brought him here aged 2 get to stay in the country for decades as 'missionaries' and where are they now?

If you arrived in Thailand before something like 1971, an extension of stay immediately granted permanent residency. Yes, they were different times.

[BobfromNYC]

In limitation you'll find freedom!

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[Joker Man]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Udom said online: "I only want to be Thai because I believe that Thai nationality is the best to have in the world". 

 

Please somebody wake me up.... What am I hearing? I better secured two apples for myself than loosing the most precious one.  Oh! Silly me. 

[justin case]

only took 40+ years to finally become thai

 

advantages ? no more begging at immigration

 

dis-advantages : full member of banana republic ...no pension, no right to freely travel around the world (without visa), ...

 

 

[Hank Gunn]

54 minutes ago, moto77 said:

 

It does if

1. He’s never going back to America no matter how much he makes. There is no extradition for tax evasion.

 

2. it’s likely that he doesn’t make enough to owe the IRS anything. The first $70,000 or so is excluded from tax.

It’s actually over $100,000 now and I seriously doubt this guy makes that much, so worries about US taxes that many in this thread mention are a moot point.

[LomSak27]

Renounce Citizenship has a great ring to it. In actuality it is nothing of the sort. The US and many countries have been trying, for a couple decades, to weed out dual nationals in the old sense. 

 

C-in-P - My brother in law has US and UK citizenship.  As in both passports. A dual national in the old sense carrying two passports. That is the old way. My niece and nephew could claim both. In fact what they are forced to do is just have one or the other with OPTIONS - IE if they wanted to live and work in the UK, they could, because they could claim UK nationality based on father. And the UK would let them. However the US and UK would force them to cancel US passport etc and take the UK passport. Or try to and the are very effective now in doing just that. Now if they find themselves bored to tears in pudding island and want to come back. No problems but the same thing would happen. They could reclaim their US citizenship, but be forced to cancel the UK passport (and citizenship) 

So he may renounce US citizenship and "what fun" but if he needs it back well he could claim it. But that is what he would have to do is make an official application to ge it back. and it not be a problem based on birth. Just be a bunch a paper work and time, but no one would give a heck if he had canceled his passport at one time to take another citizenship, because that is how they are forcing people to do it these days.

BTW Unless he is making a whole lot of money, no one would give a rats about taxes.  

[Orton Rd]

10 minutes ago, samran said:

If you arrived in Thailand before something like 1971, an extension of stay immediately granted permanent residency. Yes, they were different times.

He is 44 so came here later than 71, most of those looney missionaries arrived in countries mid 70's he would have arrived here in about 1978.

[VocalNeal]

19 hours ago, Chrysaora said:

He was likely never in the system to begin with

But he probably is now?

[rwill]

18 hours ago, zydeco said:

You don't need to have filed a tax return. It says his parents were missionaries. If they ever claimed him as a dependent and got him an SS number, then he is in the system as a "US tax person" and if he makes enough, he will owe.

Except if all of his income was in Thailand the first $105,900(US dollars) each year would be exempt from US taxes.  Plus you can also get housing costs excluded.  So I am guessing he never would have been tax liable for the US.

[Gracas]

Did he set up a 'go-fund-me' to accomplish this.

[thaikahuna]

19 hours ago, zydeco said:

This doesn't let him off the hook with the IRS.

And the IRS will get its pound of flesh....

[Aspaltso]

My feeling is that there are some Thais who will never truly accept him as one of their own. As much as I dislike going back to the U.S, and dealing with the boring lifestyle, and culture at least there are still some really good people who understand me, and it'll always be home.

[Zatoichi]

Disgusting that the  government charges for it. They’re always saying “love it or leave it!” in the US, but when you try and leave they put up a pay wall. It’s like you have to buy your way off the plantation.

[samran]

20 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

He is 44 so came here later than 71, most of those looney missionaries arrived in countries mid 70's he would have arrived here in about 1978.

Actually I’ve gotten my immigration acts messed up. Pre immigration act 1979 and extensions were effectly PR. 
 

1971 was when thailand cancelled automatic citizenship for those born on thai soil. 
 

So either the parents had effective PR, or were on religious visas. Thinking about it, it probably would have been the latter. 
 

His sister struggled too in getting citizenship, but she was born here and in a semi famous case was able to get citizenship by birth which granted it to anyone born in Thailand between 1971 and 1993, and born to foreign parents. 
 

If her parents were PR, then she would have been Thai from birth. 

[holy cow cm]

10 hours ago, sanemax said:

No, U.N rules state that a person cannot be stripped of nationality if that makes him stateless

And since when did you think Thailand will listen to the UN or any country when they would say it is a matter of national security? They have their own home grown organic laws under their Thai Nationality Act, and they also have other laws that specifically deal with dual citizenship. All they would need to do is strip him of his Thai nationality and detain him in a camp.