Robert W. Wood at Forbes:
2020 has already seen a big uptick in the number of Americans giving up their citizenship. So says the U.S. government’s 2020 second quarter list of published expatriates, the second highest number ever. Every three months, the U.S. Treasury Department publishes the names of individuals who renounced their U.S. citizenship or handed in a long-term green card. For the second quarter of 2020, the name and shame list included 2,406 people. That may not sound like many, but it’s the second highest number ever. The first quarter of 2020 tally was the highest quarter of all time, and with 5,315 leavers in just six months, the total for 2020 should be over 10,000. That is nearly double the number for 2016. The quarterly public list is required by law, but it seems likely that the actual number of expatriates is higher, since many apparently are not counted. Curiously, both the IRS and FBI track Americans who renounce. Of course, to give up your U.S. passport, you first need to have or citizenship somewhere else.
