已到扔掉綠卡時 美國退籍者與日俱增大綱

Time to dump your American passport -- and with it, presumably, your bothersome U.S. tax bill. The reason, international tax lawyers say, may have less to do with offshore tax evasion and more with a new generation of sophisticated -- and legal -- tax planning.
已經到了扔掉美國護照的時候了——這樣的的話，令人討厭的稅負也應該會隨之而去。國際稅務律師指出，人們這樣做的原因和海外逃稅沒有太大的關係，更多的則是因爲出現了一種新的稅務規劃，它成熟而且合法。

This year will enter the record books with the highest number of expatriations ever by U.S. citizens, according to new government figures released Wednesday. Even rock star Tina Turner, a long-time resident of Switzerland who got a full Swiss passport last April, is on track to relinquish her U.S. ties, her spokeswoman said.
美國週三公佈的政府數據顯示，今年退籍的美國公民數量將達到歷史最高點。據蒂娜?特納的女發言人透露，就連這位搖滾明星也要和美國脫離關係。特納已經在瑞士居住了很長時間，去年4月份徹底成爲瑞士公民。

Some 560 Americans joined the exodus in the third quarter of this year, putting the total number so far this year at 2,369, according to Treasury Department data published by the Federal Register. That is already 33% more than the 1,781 who left in all of 2011, the previous record.
《聯邦公報》（Federal Register）公佈的美國財政部數據顯示，今年第三季度申請退籍的美國人約有560人，這讓今年以來的退籍總人數達到了2369人，已經比2011年1781人的前歷史紀錄高了33%。

While the number of people who gave up their little blue books in the first six months of this year had already edged out the 2011 record by a hair, the recent figures firmly cement the trend.
今年上半年的退籍人數已經略高於2011年的水平，最新數字則充分證明了退籍人數增多的趨勢。

Ditching a passport can save an American lots of money in taxes. The reason: The U.S., along with Eritrea, is one of only two countries in the world to tax its citizens on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live or work. If you reside in, say, Geneva, you still owe the U.S. tax man money on income you earn there.
退籍能大量減輕稅負，原因是世界上只有兩個國家對公民在全球範圍內的收入徵稅，而不考慮他們在哪裏居住和工作，其中一個國家就是美國，另一個是厄立特里亞。舉例來說，在日內瓦居住的美國公民仍須按自己在當地的收入向美國稅務部門繳納所得稅。

Turner's name -- her birth name is Anna Mae Bullock -- does not appear on the most recent Federal Register list. But Karin Rhomberg, a spokeswoman for Turner, confirmed in an email that the "Private Dancer" and "Simply the Best" singer was on track to relinquish her U.S. passport.
特納本名安娜?梅?布洛克，她並沒有出現在《聯邦公報》的最新退籍人員名單上。但特納的女發言人卡琳?龍伯格在電子郵件中證實，這位發行過《Private Dancer》和《Simply the Best》等專輯的歌手正在辦理退籍手續。

Turner acquired a full Swiss passport last April, Rhomberg said. At 73, the singer, who was born in Nutbush, Tenn., lives in Kussnacht, a wealthy enclave near Zurich, with her German-born husband.
龍伯格說，特納已經在去年4月份完全獲得瑞士公民身份。現年73歲的特納出生在田納西州納特布什，現在和她出生在德國的丈夫生活在屈斯納赫特，一座靠近蘇黎世的富裕小鎮。

The expatriation trend has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years amid a widening U.S. crackdown on offshore tax evasion through Swiss and Swiss-style banks. Even the U.S. Embassy in Bern has a "renunciations" tab on its website.
近年來，美國的退籍人數出現了跳躍式增長，原因是通過瑞士和採用瑞士風格經營的銀行在海外避稅的行爲越來越多地受到了美國政府的打擊。甚至連美國駐伯爾尼大使館都在其網站上將“退籍”列爲服務項目之一。

Many of those who dump their passports have dual citizenships in other countries, such as Switzerland or Canada, immigration lawyers say. But increasingly, an onerous new U.S. Treasury rule known as Fatca is prompting smaller and mid-sized foreign banks in countries where Americans live and work to dump their American clients.
移民律師指出，許多退籍人士都有另外一個國籍，比如瑞士或加拿大。美國財政部一條名爲“Fatca”的新規定正在讓越來越多的中小型外國銀行將在當地居住和工作的美國人拒之門外。The rule, which goes into effect next July, requires foreign banks to identify and scrutinize Americans with accounts containing at least $50,000 and either report those accounts to U.S. tax authorities or withhold 30% of dividends, interest, and other payments and send that money to the U.S. Treasury. The law, widely hated by Americans living and working abroad, has made it tough to do simple financial things abroad.
這條規定將於明年7月份生效，它要求外國銀行找出並仔細檢查金額不低於5萬美元（30.675萬元人民幣）的美國客戶賬戶，然後將這些賬戶的情況報告給美國稅務部門，或者預扣30%的分紅、利息等收入並將這筆資金交給美國財政部。在國外居住和工作的美國人都很討厭這條規定，它讓簡單的海外資金操作變得困難了起來。

"Local banks don't like dealing with Americans, so it makes it harder for Americans abroad to live normal lives," said Phil Hodgen, an international tax lawyer in Pasadena, Calif. Marylouise Serrato, the executive director of American Citizens Abroad, a Geneva-based lobby for expats, said recently in an email that "individuals with legitimate need of banking services will be locked out" of many foreign countries.
加利福尼亞州帕薩迪納市國際稅務律師菲爾?霍金在遊說機構American Citizens Abroad擔任執行董事。該組織設在日內瓦，代表的是在其他國家和地區居住和工作的美國人。霍金指出：“當地銀行不喜歡和美國人打交道，這讓身在海外的美國人更難正常地生活。”最近他在電子郵件中表示，許多國家和地區都會把“需要合法銀行服務的美國人擋在門外”。

One new trend has emerged: U.S. passport renunciations by dual nationals who build family businesses in other countries that do not have estate taxes.
由此出現了一種新的趨勢：在不徵收遺產稅的國家開展私人生意而且擁有雙重國籍的美國人紛紛放棄他們的美國國籍。

"Americans are realizing that their businesses are likely to be torn apart by the U.S. estate tax even if that business never touched the U.S.," Hodgen said, citing as an example a dual citizen who owns a construction company in Saudi Arabia. An owner who wants to pass his company on to his heirs will also sock them with a 40% estate-tax bill, due to his U.S. citizenship.
霍金說：“美國人開始意識到，就算自己的生意從來不和美國沾邊，它也有可能毀在美國的遺產稅手裏。”他舉了個例子，一個擁有雙重國籍的人在沙特開了一家建築公司。由於他是美國公民，如果他想把自己的公司留給子女，就得繳納40%的遺產稅，這同樣會讓他的子女感到吃驚。

"You're going to see tons of people waking up to this," Hodgen said.
霍金預計：“將有爲數衆多的美國人看到這一點。”