[jpravetz]

Exactly, the US regulations are absurd. And not just for US citizens living abroad. I'm Canadian living in the US as a resident and have a couple of real estate investment interests in Canada, but also can't create an investment account with my Canadian bank because of the regs. The regulations around overseas investments can be punitive to the max, with penalties to boot. You can run into PFIC rules, etc. It costs me over $1500/year to get an accountant to do my US taxes, and I've had specialty crossborder accountants refuse to do my return because it's too complex even for them and they are afraid of the liabilities. Not to mention that you actually can get double taxed when the US doesn't recognize a particular type of income from across the border.