General Discussion

Last edited Fri Jan 9, 2026, 05:00 AM - Edit history (1)

When you move abroad as a US citizen, you must submit all your holdings to both countries, and will in all likelihood be double taxed. I speak from personal experience. There is a Double Taxation Treaty between Germany and the USA. The Germans don’t care. When I moved to Germany, my accountant in the USA made me sign a waiver, because the Germans were demanding information whose disclosure would have cost him his license in the USA. Between both countries, I am being asked to pay 73% of my income in taxes.

ALL countries in the world recognize Residence Based Taxation—except two: Eritrea and the United States. When he called asking for money, I told Sherrod Brown that due to double taxation that every $1000 I could give him cost me $4000 in salary. I asked him if he even knew how many Americans abroad there were. He estimated 250,000 to 300,000. No wonder these Congresscritters don’t give a crap about us. There are about NINE MILLION Americans abroad. Probably 50,000 to 100,000 from Ohio alone.

Americans abroad are largely educated and working. Therefore likely a big Democratic majority. Our politicians are ignoring potential contributions in the hundreds of millions that now go to governments instead. Fine, but don’t come to me asking for money when I’m taxed at 73% and you’re not. So beware of myths. Money parked abroad is only “safe” if no one knows about it, and these days, everyone knows everything. And don’t waste your time wondering if there isn’t some American billionaire living tax-free on a yacht moored in the harbor of Monte Carlo. Even if there is such a creature, there are nine million of us who are not.

All my savings are still back in the states. Any country worth living in shares all financial info with the USA and vice-versa. I therefore see no reason to move everything to Germany, or even Luxembourg or Switzerland. It all gets reported to the IRS no matter where it is. Involuntary “Enteignung” in Germany theoretically ended with the end of National Socialism in the West in 1945 and with the end of Socialist Unity in 1989 in the East. But the machinery and the mentality that ran the mechanics of it during the Third Reich still persists. Don’t count on any Double Taxation Treaty to save you. It won’t, and the top tax rate in Germany (42% + 5%=47%) kicks in at under €100,000. Deal with it, or they will deal with you. I once got a notice to prepare to surrender my house because one quarterly estimated tax payment got credited to the wrong office.

Obviously, Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland present no language problem. I have no idea what multi-lingual Switzerland demands of a foreigner, and I speak three out of their four languages, anyway, just in case. But Germany had a strict language test for residence. They checked me off right away, because I was already fluent when I applied, but there was a Russian in the booth next to me who showed up applying for residence with an interpreter. He was (politely) told to take a hike until he could come back and talk to them without an interpreter