The final months of 2016, during which time Donald Trump was elected president, saw a 50 percent increase in individuals renouncing their U.S. citizenship, compared to the same period last year.
More than 2,300 people choose to give up their U.S. citizenship in the final quarter of the presidential election year. That figure comprises about half of the total (5,411) for the entire year, which is more than triple the number who renounced citizenship in 2010, according to data published by the IRS.
The government data does not include additional information as to why these individuals are giving up their citizenship. Historically, most renunciations of American citizenship have had to do with ex pats fleeing U.S. taxes; famous renouncers in recent years include Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who lives in Singapore, and Tina Turner, who lives in Switzerland. But the timing of this year’s massive surge in renunciations suggests that the presidential election, not taxes, is the big reason. Critics of Donald Trump will presumably conclude that people are afraid to remain in America during his presidency, because he is bad and dangerous and stuff.
A number of prominent celebrities, such as Lena Dunham and Barbra Streisand, threatened to leave the country and move to Canada if Trump was elected. Few, if any, have actually followed through on their threat after Trump won. In any event, it wasn’t even clear whether Canada, or anyone else, was willing to accept some of these celebs.
As many experts have probably noted, it is ironic that so many people are renouncing their U.S. citizenship at precisely the moment when the country is becoming great again.
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