[_rknLA]

The crux of the issue in the article's title assertion, that "US Expats are toxic" isn't because US Citizens personally have to deal with filing extra taxes; it's because the foreign institutions are also required to file paperwork and go through the hoops. I'm a US citizen living in Germany. When I open a bank account, the US doesn't "just trust" what I report to them, they also require the bank to validate my filings, creating extra paperwork and costs for the bank. Some banks in Germany will refuse to open accounts for Americans because the extra cost and paperwork tips the cost/benefit equation to the point where it doesn't make business sense to serve American customers -- they cost more to do business with than it's worth.

To address the "why should you keep US citizenship?" question: If you move abroad, you won't be able to get citizenship in the country that you reside in for a number of years (depending on where you go), and in many cases, your US citizenship is what makes it easy to get a work visa or residence permit in that foreign country in the first place. So, even if you actually intend to renounce your citizenship, you still have about 5-10 years of living abroad and dealing with the tax implications before you can become a naturalized citizen in the place that you move to.

I'm not trying to argue whether it's fair or unfair to impose the tax on citizens living abroad, just that the logistics don't make the proposal of renouncing ones citizenship so simple.