Hoppy, you've been brainwashed by patriotic misguided moralism. She's been living abroad for over 20 years and is now a Swiss citizen.

What's the difference between being blinded by religion and being blinded by patriotism? Very, very little.

Plus she has been paying US tax for all those years and getting nothing back for it.

On the other hand, the idea of taxes is that one pays for others proportionally to one's wealth, the plus minus balance is not an individual bill. She did just that and was free to enjoy infrastructure where she pleased, so deal looks fair to me.

So you'd be quite happy to pay tax to a country you never intend to return to, but just happened to be born in?

Why do you make it personal?
US law is as shyt as it gets, but if that is what the local democracy produces, who am I to judge? Same non-judgement for those Americans who choose to free themselves from that democracy and choose another one. I am not against taxes in democracies as such. Nothing more than that in my message.
if you want to put US law on trial, you'll face the problem that the US do not recognise international law, its own laws are international to them. You'll have my philosophical support in your fight, but luck is what you would need even more.

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Es wird nichts ausgelassen, um mich hier herauszuekeln. Ein Lehrbuch. False accusations and attacks continue. There is no stopping righteous people when they are wrong.

I knew my incendiary comment would revive this flagging thread.

But yes, I think that she owes the US a debt- at least her kinfolk. You should never forget those you leave behind. I feel guilty for leaving the UK when I was allowed to do a degree at no cost. It is people like me who got their education for free, then leave and don't repay that are a drain. Yes I paid the steep taxes, and everyone in my family paid, never been on the social, chose to work my butt off in disadvantaged schools, but I still owe the UK a debt.

If wonder if she gave to any charities in the US.

She's found religion- It seems like her albums are a big hit in Germany and Switzerland. Peace Tina.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XP-f7wPM0A

I'd be surprised if she didn't look out for her relatives back home - but what has that to do with taxes?

To a certain extent yes, it is personal because I was just wondering how you'd feel if both Germany and France wanted you to pay them tax too, on top of what you pay the Swiss. Because that's where all this exchange of info is going to lead us all. With so many countries struggling to find money, they're looking to the example of the US in how to rake in the centimes from their citizens living abroad. With a residence based system, it's not so easy but it only takes a change in the law to make residence into citizen based taxation. It's something you need to think about because if it ever happens you may find yourself having to choose to be just a national rather than a dual national.

You didn't get it for free, as you say your family paid as did you. So did my parents when I went to school in the US. That's doesn't mean we should have to continue paying for the rest of our lives if we don't live in the country.

Peace to you too Hoppy. Shame you got your knickers in a twist because someone exercised their free will.

For the time being, there is a fundamental difference between France and Germany on one side and the USA on the other side. The US consider their own laws to be universal and do not accept any legal soveraignty above their own. The European countries have this conscience of soveraignty levels and sharing. The US can not take into consideration any other law, they can not even think that differenciation. European cointries have no problem thinking it, but it doesn't say anything about how they practice it, you are right there, but it is a far more speculative danger than the usual US self-definition.

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Es wird nichts ausgelassen, um mich hier herauszuekeln. Ein Lehrbuch. False accusations and attacks continue. There is no stopping righteous people when they are wrong.

The real reason Tina Turner became Swiss and relinquished her US citizenship was to live longer:

Life expectancy US black woman: 77.5 years

Life expectancy Swiss woman: 84.7 years

Throw in the lower life insurance premiums and it was a rather obvious decision!

Perhaps you should try comparing the following:

Life expectancy of Swiss black woman

to

Life expectancy of US woman.

However, I doubt that you will find any figures for the life expectancy of Swiss women of any minority; the Swiss don't tolerate 'anomalies' in their statistics.

That's the way it works in just about every country, Wolli -- no-one is required to have a passport unless they plan on travelling beyond their country's borders. Citizenship confers the right, not the obligation, to obtain a passport. Almost everyone in the world is a citizen of one or more countries, but the vast majority does not hold a passport.

As for paying taxes, as stated several times in this thread, "tax residency" is the criterion determining liability for payment of taxes in almost all countries. Many countries are more lenient than Switzerland, not taxing wealth and income derived outside the country.

All countries confer citizenship for life. It can be revoked in exceptional circumstances, and a dwindling number (a very small number) does not allow additional citizenships. The US is not one of these.

I'm with you, sister! I've stopped watching Roger Moore Bond movies as he's not paying any tax in the UK.

Indeed, unless renounced.

You cannot renounce Swiss citizenship (unlike US).

I presume he was referring to this.

Tom

I didn't need that reason to stop watching Rog.

I loved the Simon Templar films of Roger Moore but not so much the James Bond films
http://www.arte.tv/de/simon-templar/4080020.html

.

Sean Connery put the Umph back into 007.

Every year, a LOT more people try to become new US citizens than leave. I assume that for the most part, they are making this decision in order to improve their quality of life in some way. It would be pretty hypocritical to assume that this is always a one way street.

Tina Turner evidently has no plans to ever live permanently in the US again, so she took logical steps to get out from under her ongoing U.S. tax obligation. She's doing it legally, and I don't see how she's being hypocritical or inflammatory in any way.

It's probably not the decision that I would make, but really, why do people get their knickers in a twist when she does it, but it's a non event when a non-celebrity (including some folks here on E.F.) have made the decision to leave their birth country permanently and make their home somewhere else.

Whatever you want to do Tina. Enjoy your life.