[joshvm]

> US citizens are still required to pay income tax to the US even when working and living abroad

Strictly, this is true. You still have to file a tax return as an expat and you have to declare your income (which is why in lots of other countries, banks ask you to declare if you're American when opening an account). However in practice most expats are eligible for tax credits against foreign tax paid (under double taxation agreements), and many are exempt altogether if they're earning under a threshold. And really if you're earning more than the FEIE [0] then you can probably afford an accountant to minimize your tax liability anyway.

There should be no need to renounce citizenship unless you're really dead set on leaving the USA. You can also naturalize somewhere else without a penalty, the State Department specifically says

> A U.S. citizen may naturalize in a foreign state without any risk to his or her U.S. citizenship.

[0] https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/fore...