Wednesday, May 28, 2008

U.S. cracks down on tax avoidance by former citizens

Congress has passed a law that will tax the assets of those who renounce their citizenship as if they were selling those assets and will require U.S. heirs to pay taxes on any assets left to them by ex-citizens.

"The new taxes are included in legislation providing tax benefits for soldiers and military veterans and will apply only to those who renounce their citizenship after President Bush signs the bill into law, as he is widely expected to do," the Wall Street Journal reported.

The new law applies only to those whose assets are worth more than $2 million.