美国退籍者与日俱增

    已经到了扔掉美国护照的时候了——这样的的话，令人讨厌的税负也应该会随之而去。国际税务律师指出，人们这样做的原因和海外逃税没有太大的关系，更多的则是因为出现了一种新的税务规划，它成熟而且合法。

    美国周三公布的政府数据显示，今年退籍的美国公民数量将达到历史最高点。据蒂娜•特纳的女发言人透露，就连这位摇滚明星也要和美国脱离关系。特纳已经在瑞士居住了很长时间，去年4月份彻底成为瑞士公民。

    《联邦公报》（Federal Register）公布的美国财政部数据显示，今年第三季度申请退籍的美国人约有560人，这让今年以来的退籍总人数达到了2369人，已经比2011年1781人的前历史纪录高了33%。

    今年上半年的退籍人数已经略高于2011年的水平，最新数字则充分证明了退籍人数增多的趋势。

    退籍能大量减轻税负，原因是世界上只有两个国家对公民在全球范围内的收入征税，而不考虑他们在哪里居住和工作，其中一个国家就是美国，另一个是厄立特里亚。举例来说，在日内瓦居住的美国公民仍须按自己在当地的收入向美国税务部门缴纳所得税。

    特纳本名安娜•梅•布洛克，她并没有出现在《联邦公报》的最新退籍人员名单上。但特纳的女发言人卡琳•龙伯格在电子邮件中证实，这位发行过《Private Dancer》和《Simply the Best》等专辑的歌手正在办理退籍手续。

    龙伯格说，特纳已经在去年4月份完全获得瑞士公民身份。现年73岁的特纳出生在田纳西州纳特布什，现在和她出生在德国的丈夫生活在屈斯纳赫特，一座靠近苏黎世的富裕小镇。

    近年来，美国的退籍人数出现了跳跃式增长，原因是通过瑞士和采用瑞士风格经营的银行在海外避税的行为越来越多地受到了美国政府的打击。甚至连美国驻伯尔尼大使馆都在其网站上将“退籍”列为服务项目之一。

    移民律师指出，许多退籍人士都有另外一个国籍，比如瑞士或加拿大。美国财政部一条名为“Fatca”的新规定正在让越来越多的中小型外国银行将在当地居住和工作的美国人拒之门外。

    Time to dump your American passport -- and with it, presumably, your bothersome U.S. tax bill. The reason, international tax lawyers say, may have less to do with offshore tax evasion and more with a new generation of sophisticated -- and legal -- tax planning.

    This year will enter the record books with the highest number of expatriations ever by U.S. citizens, according to new government figures released Wednesday. Even rock star Tina Turner, a long-time resident of Switzerland who got a full Swiss passport last April, is on track to relinquish her U.S. ties, her spokeswoman said.

    Some 560 Americans joined the exodus in the third quarter of this year, putting the total number so far this year at 2,369, according to Treasury Department data published by the Federal Register. That is already 33% more than the 1,781 who left in all of 2011, the previous record.

    While the number of people who gave up their little blue books in the first six months of this year had already edged out the 2011 record by a hair, the recent figures firmly cement the trend.

    Ditching a passport can save an American lots of money in taxes. The reason: The U.S., along with Eritrea, is one of only two countries in the world to tax its citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live or work. If you reside in, say, Geneva, you still owe the U.S. tax man money on income you earn there.

    Turner's name -- her birth name is Anna Mae Bullock -- does not appear on the most recent Federal Register list. But Karin Rhomberg, a spokeswoman for Turner, confirmed in an email that the "Private Dancer" and "Simply the Best" singer was on track to relinquish her U.S. passport.

    Turner acquired a full Swiss passport last April, Rhomberg said. At 73, the singer, who was born in Nutbush, Tenn., lives in Kussnacht, a wealthy enclave near Zurich, with her German-born husband.

    The expatriation trend has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years amid a widening U.S. crackdown on offshore tax evasion through Swiss and Swiss-style banks. Even the U.S. Embassy in Bern has a "renunciations" tab on its website.

    Many of those who dump their passports have dual citizenships in other countries, such as Switzerland or Canada, immigration lawyers say. But increasingly, an onerous new U.S. Treasury rule known as Fatca is prompting smaller and mid-sized foreign banks in countries where Americans live and work to dump their American clients.