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by forgetsusername 3779 days ago
>How the hell does the US think it has the right to tax people who haven't lived there for over 30 years?

As long as you maintain a passport and citizenship, how do they not have such a right?

3 comments

Every country in the world bar the US and Eritrea don't tax their citizens who live abroad for so long. So it's certainly the norm not to do this, whether you want to call it the government's right or not.
I'm British, and I left the UK last summer.

In January, I got a tax refund from the British government, since I'd been paying tax on my income at a rate that expected me to earn that amount for the whole year. Claiming that was the first tax return I'd ever completed, i.e. the first time my taxes weren't correct automatically.

My only remaining "asset" in the UK is my student loan, and some money in an account to make the payments. I do not expect to communicate with the British tax office ever again.

This situation is typical of most countries.

If you believe "might makes right" then sure, they have the right.

If you ask what moral legitimacy it has, then the answer is none - they have no right.