U.S. double taxation and FATCA give Sabrina, in Germany, identity anxiety

Dear Members of Congress,

My name is Sabrina, and although I now live in Germany, I remain an American citizen who votes in the state of Maryland. For the past six years my life has been lived mostly outside the United States. What I did not realize when I left was that I would never truly be allowed to leave, not financially, not bureaucratically, and certainly not in peace of mind.

Every year I must file taxes twice, once in my country of residence and once for a country where I no longer live. The two systems overlap and conflict, forcing me into an exhausting maze of forms, accountants and uncertainty. What should be a simple act of compliance has become a second full-time job. I often find myself explaining my situation to banks that are reluctant and even unwilling to deal with U.S. citizens.

I have considered renouncing my citizenship, but doing so feels like tearing out a piece of my identity. I love my country and still vote, still care deeply about its future. But love should not come with punishment. I fear for my daughter, who is still a minor, and the burden she will inherit, a lifetime of tax confusion and anxiety, all because she happened to be born American.

Residence-based taxation, please

There are more than five million Americans abroad who share this reality. We contribute to our local communities, represent American values in our daily lives, yet we are largely unrepresented and unheard when it comes to the laws that govern us. The United States stands nearly alone in taxing based on citizenship rather than residence, a practice shared only by Eritrea. Every other developed nation recognizes that tax obligations should follow where one lives, not on the basis of passports. .

That is why I urge you to support Representative Darin LaHood’s Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act. It offers a fair, balanced and modern solution, one that would finally align America with international norms and fulfill the promise once made by President Trump to end double taxation for Americans overseas.

This reform is not about avoidance. It is about justice, dignity and basic common sense. It would allow citizens like me to remain proud Americans, connected to our homeland, without being punished for living our lives abroad.

I ask you to listen, not only with your political judgment but with your conscience. For every name and number on a tax return, there is a person, a family, a story like mine. Please make it possible for us to remain Americans without being trapped by a law that does not reflect the reality of a global world.

Sincerely,

Sabrina

Germany