The number of people who renounced their U.S. citizenship in the first quarter of the year has dipped slightly, clocking in at a number that’s just short of the record set last year.
A total of 1,158 people renounced their U.S. citizenship during the period, according to data released by the Treasury Department on Thursday, compared to 1,335 for the same period in 2015. Last year’s figure for the first quarter contributed to a record 4,279 who left over the course of fiscal 2015, the third consecutive year in which a record high was hit.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2582605
The data does not distinguish between green card and passport holders, and it does not include descriptive information outside names of those who have left. But tax experts have pointed to increasing enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act as one possible cause. The legislation was intended to capture more tax dollars from citizens living overseas, though it has also had the effect of inspiring many to simply cut ties with the U.S.
The feds have also tried to discourage the exodus by increasing the fee for expatriation from $450 to $2,350 in 2014. The move did not have an immediate effect effect, though it was lucrative. The federal government raked in more than $10 million from the fewer than 5,000 who left in 2015, and more than $2.7 million from those who have left so far this year.
