Why expats are ditching their U.S. passports

wjwoodward wrote:

It's quite obvious the two couples detained by IRS authorities at airports in the USA and prevented from returning to Ecuador were involved in something much more serious than "tax avoidance".

Between the two of them it was over 500,000 USD in refunds.  I would love to know how they pulled that off...A lot of money to charity?

Yeah, wonder how I can get my name on their list of "charities". 

Speaking of inaccuracies!  I don't know about Europe or anywhere else but if your knowledge  there is as bad as it is about Canada I do hope no one listens to you.  50% of my income???  We couldn't afford rent and food if that was the case.  What a load of crap. there is a sliding scale for monthly costs for medicare in the province of British Columbia where I live.  If my income slipped below $22000 it wouldn't cost me a dime. Due your research pal.

wjwoodward wrote:

"It's quite obvious the two couples detained by IRS authorities at airports in the USA and prevented from returning to Ecuador were involved in something much more serious than tax avoidance"

One was not a case of " tax avoidance ", rather a case of fraud. They stole money from the US government with fraudulent tax returns. They now claim they were not aware of what their tax preparer did, but they took the money, and are now being held accountable. So yeah.... it was more serious.

This might shed some light on tax evasion and fraud:  http://www.bragertaxlaw.com/tax-fraud-a … sion.html.  It is a law firm and is written in language for non lawyers.

I suspect that at least one of the couples are going to hear the charge read out which will end in two heart stopping words: a felony.

Difference is...while other countries have worse tax structures than the USA, they at least get something back in return: free medical, free education, roadway projects, a secure retirement plan. In the USA you get a $17 Trillion debt and little else of value.  The USA, quite admittedly, may not have the world's worst tax structure, but it has the worst value and return on investment of any First World nation, for each tax dollar squandered.