Wealthy Americans Are Renouncing Citizenship In Record NumbersVarun Hukeri
General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
August 05, 2021 12:12 PM ET
The number of Americans who renounced their citizenship hit a record high in 2020 and has continued to increase in 2021.
Andrew Mitchel, an international tax attorney who tracks the numbers, found there were 6,707 individuals who renounced their U.S. citizenship in favor of a foreign country in 2020, Axios first reported Thursday. That number is a 237% increase compared to 2019 and considerably higher than any year dating back to 1998.
The latest figures this year, compiled by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) quarterly registry, found there were 734 individuals who renounced their U.S. citizenship in the second quarter of 2021. That number is a roughly 200% increase compared to the first quarter.
Individuals who renounce their U.S. citizenship tend to be wealthy and are often aiming to reduce their tax burden, according to Axios. Ashkan Yekrangi, an immigration attorney, told the outlet “the bulk of cases are individuals trying to avoid tax liability.”
The IRS list of people who have renounced their citizenship or permanent residency, for example, only includes people with global financial assets of more than $2 million.
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https://dailycaller.com/2021/08/05/wealth-americans-renounce-citizenship-record-numbers/