Because of the amount of money the government insists on taking from its citizens—both domestically and internationally—some have decided that it is better to drop American citizenship and look elsewhere for a new home.

A little over 500 people renounced their citizenship to America in the 4th quarter of 2009. While this is a tiny fraction of people in comparison to the total population, it is still a staggering number and must beg the question:

Why Are They Leaving?

The answer is so simple. In the past, money that was held in foreign accounts was not really taxed all that much. But, because of the need for more revenue, $10,000 and over in foreign accounts must be filed or the individual can suffer a 50% fine on the money in the account.

On top of that, people are getting frustrated with the fact that taxes are going up. The United States is one of the only countries that taxes their citizens—whether they are home or not. In other countries, if they work in a different country, they aren’t taxes for that revenue. What this is resulting in is a double tax for people. Why stay in a country if they are going to double tax you?

Tim Burns made a note in the Dow Jones article that really touches home. “Fifteen or 20 years ago there was a big rush to make sure your kids became U.S. citizens, for access to U.S. schools for example. Now we’re seeing just the opposite.” People don’t want to become a U.S. Citizen because it is becoming more and more expensive.

Because of blatant examples of government greed, people are looking to get rid of their U.S. citizenship and instead become a citizen elsewhere. That’s the last thing America needs right now. Since these are some of the brightest people America has—those making more money—we don’t want to lose them.

The United States government needs to stop being a government of greed. If they don’t, more people are going to become expats.

As John Locke wrote in Two Treatises of Government, “if a long train of abuses, prevarications, and artifices, all tending the same way, make the design visible to the people, and they cannot but feel, what they lie under, and see, whither they are going; ‘tis not to be wonder’d, that they should then rouze themselves, and endeavor to put the rule into such hands, which may secure to them the ends for which Government was at first erected”.

In other words… should the government continue being greedy and taking our property away, the people will revolt. That much is for certain.