Nah, all you need to do is be a citizen of one country. Then you can be a tourist for 3 months of the year in four places and never have to pay tax again (so long as you're not a US citizen). It's called being a Perpetual Tourist/Traveller (PT) and is practised by many people.

I stand corrected. (although still burdened with the aforementioned citizenship)

I've lived the my adult life as a somewhat of a nomad, but have tended to stay more than 3 months in one place.

Well, when you've done a load of saving you can put your money away and move around so as not to pay tax. Either that or do the unthinkable and move to Qatar

http://trashmail.net/

Actually, reskimming the thread, it appears to be mostly regarding illegal immigrants, Native Americans, non-US spouse/bank accounts/FBAR. Not much on how many people actually owe IRS money, let alone large amounts, even for those making over 120k.

Yes it is. Depending on your situation, it can go up to several thousand USD a year. Worst case is if you live in a low taxing canton and you earn above the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion . The various credits/exclusions are not enough to offset your US tax liability.

I got hammered by them this year. Absolutely hammered. So yes.

?? Qatar? pourquoi?

Which US-embassy close to Switzerland is known for dealing quickly and easily with expatriation/renonciation? (Bern is said to have two years waiting time). Is Berlin efficient?

is this website reliable:
http://renunciationguide.com/Site-Overview.html

And at the risk of taking the thread on a tangent, there's no legitimate reason, IMO, for someone who lives abroad and will never draw on SS etc. to file taxes when they work/live elsewhere...It's sheer madness

pure hope - or knowledge? and how do you know, the US will never look after their citizens, based on passport records (which, by the way, are available on request, e.g. if you lost your passport!).

Given the US deficit, Charles Grassley, head of finance committee wants to remove the foreign earned income credit for US citizens abroad. Given we have no representation, it is thought that this will come up during the budget discussions.

Charles Grassley, is the congressman who slipped into an unrelated bill the 2006 income tax increase for expats. It was done without any debate or knowledge until it was passed in the HIRE bill.

Some information: The US embassy in Berne writes that the next available dates for expatriation are October 2012. They refer to a number of other embassies, among them then consulat in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt was helpful an can offer dates within about 30-40 days.

I'm thinking about renouncing my us citizenship. I'm looking for a lawyer in Switzerland as I want to discuss the full extent of that step. Can anyone suggest someone?

Here is one based in the USA (CA).

http://www.taxmeless.com/USCitizenRenounce.htm

Forget submitting your email address (it doesn't work anyway)...here is a direct link to the PDF
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau...tion_Guide.pdf

Some people may want to give up US citizenship due to the country they want to live in - i.e. Germany doesn't allow dual citizenship with the US.

I read somewhere about the US government thinking about making it illegal to renounce. Anyone else happen upon that?

If you do renounce, make sure you're committed to it being final because if you ever decide to go back, you'll have to re-enter like an immigrant & get family sponsorship like my mom did - limited rights, take the citizenship exam, etc. - and you may even be rejected & your future children will certainly not have citizenship.