Dual citizenship was supposed to give me more freedom. Instead, it became a U.S. tax trap.

“I do not feel free. I feel shackled to an arbitrary system that controls the decisions I can make and the way I can live my life.”

— Alex, a U.S. citizen in the United Kingdom

Dear Congress,

Dual citizenship was supposed to give me more freedom and more choices about where I could live and the kind of life I could have. Instead, my U.S. citizenship has become a tax trap that has cost me jobs, bank accounts, life opportunities and thousands of pounds in professional fees, even though the most U.S. tax I have ever owed was about $8.

I was born in the UK to an American mother and a British father. When my parents split up, my mother took me back to Alabama with her when I was a young child. I went to school there but left as soon as I could, attending university in the UK and settling here.

I have never felt at home in the U.S. I have always considered the UK my home.

A choice that became a trap

My parents thought they were doing the right thing by getting me dual citizenship. They thought it would give me more freedom and more choices about where I could live and the type of life I could have. They have both since apologized to me for not realizing the tax trap they had placed me in.

My American citizenship has cost me jobs, bank accounts, life opportunities and thousands of pounds and dollars in fees to specialist tax advisers. My partner and I have even put off getting married because we are afraid there could be tax implications we do not yet understand.

It feels like I am being held in limbo by nonsensical bureaucracy.

Paying to owe almost nothing

I am not a millionaire trying to avoid U.S. tax. The most I have ever owed amounted to about $8. Yet I pay between £400 and £800 every year to a tax adviser for the privilege of being told that I actually owe nothing.

Forget filing the taxes myself. I am not a specialist tax lawyer, and even the specialists tell me the system is complex.

I have considered renouncing my U.S. citizenship, but my mother still lives in the United States and I still have ties there. Why should I have to give up part of who I am simply to escape a tax and reporting system that affects nearly every part of my financial life?

When I went to school in the U.S., we were taught that the country was founded on freedom and justice for all. The irony is not lost on me.

I do not feel free. I feel shackled to an arbitrary system that controls the decisions I can make and the way I can live my life.

Americans abroad should not have to choose between their U.S. citizenship and the freedom to build normal lives in the countries they call home.

Please pass residence-based taxation.

Sincerely,
Alex in the United Kingdom