[NTDTV, Beijing time, February 14, 2022]American-born skier Gu Ailing, who now plays for the Chinese team, has become the focus of the world‘s attention, especially the issue of her citizenship. And she has always been evasive about it. In fact, giving up U.S. citizenship has major implications for anyone who wishes to remain connected to the United States.
The Federal Register publishes a quarterly list of individuals who have renounced their citizenship. The list is said to be comprehensive, but expats say it will take months or years for their names to appear on the list. So far, Gu Ailing’s name has not appeared on any such lists.
Relinquishing citizenship is quick and easy, but the effects can be lifelong. The first is its financial impact, especially for individuals with high net worth.
“Giving up your passport is a tax transaction,” says lawyer and CPA Marc Schwartz, founder of Schwartz International, an international tax consulting firm. Add up the assets, assess their tax base and their fair market value, and whatever you “acquire” over about $740,000 is taxed.
For someone like Gu Ailing who has multiple global endorsement contracts, the financial costs involved in handing over a US passport would be enormous.
Even giving up U.S. passports does not mean that the U.S. government stops interfering in the business of expatriates. “What you need to do is file your last year’s tax return (when you give up your passport), and the IRS has 3 years to audit it, or longer if fraud is suspected,” Schwartz said. You never not really out of sight of the United States.”
“Anyone seeking to renounce U.S. citizenship must renounce all rights and privileges associated with citizenship,” a State Department spokesman told Yahoo Sports.
These privileges include not only the right to vote, but also the ability to seek help from the U.S. embassy while living in a new home country. Most notably, giving up citizenship means giving up the right to freely enter and exit the United States without the use of other visas, such as student visas, work visas, or other forms of proof.
In fact, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has no problem with athletes having dual citizenship. This topic has come into focus because of the CCP’s anti-policy. But the question is whether the CCP is enforcing this rule.
Jeremy Smith is a hockey player from Dearborn, Michigan, USA, who is representing China at the Winter Olympics. One of the conditions of playing for China, he told ESPN, was that he would not give up his U.S. citizenship.
The process to renounce U.S. citizenship is simple, requiring applicants to enter an overseas embassy, as it is extremely rare for native Americans to renounce citizenship, to declare their intent in person to a consular officer. Applicants must then complete a questionnaire, sign a statement of intent, and end up paying a fee of $2,350, the highest price for a service of its kind in the world.
Sanford Posner, an immigration attorney with Fisher Broyles LLP who has practiced for nearly 25 years, said verbal renunciation of citizenship has no legal meaning in the eyes of the U.S. government. before the passport, it was just a statement.”
(Reporter Li Zhaoxi compiled and reported/responsible editor: Lin Qing)
URL of this article: https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/02/14/a103347471.html