Americans renouncing citizenship leaving US

Americans renouncing citizenship to flee tax fines hit record highs.

The number of Americans who have been renouncing their citizenship in order to escape costly tax compliance penalties has skyrocketed in recent months, the Wall Street Journal found.

Between January and March, a total of 1,001 U.S. citizens gave up their American roots — a number that puts 2014 on a path of surpassing all of last year’s totals, at 2,999, News max reported.

“The increase is due to current and future changes in tax law and enforcement, said Freddi Weintraub, a New York attorney who specializes in immigration law, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The United States — unlike most other nations — requires citizens pay income taxes, no matter where they live. Earners who live overseas are given an exemption of $100,000 a year, but the Internal Revenue Service also imposes steep penalties on violators, and those who fail to file a Foreign Bank Account Report in a timely manner. In some cases, the fines can hit as much as 50 percent of what’s in the account holder’s account, News max said.