Right from wrong: Double taxation and anti-Semitism

Like a growing number of American ex-pats living in Israel, I have spent the past few years contemplating renouncing my US citizenship.

 

Contrary to popular belief among those familiar with my concern about where the country of my birth is headed, the dilemma with which I have been grappling has nothing to do with the fact that President Barack Obama was the people’s choice not only once, but twice.

 

No, I do not hold with the view that if your candidate or party loses an election, the best response is to turn on your country. Nor did my leaving the shores nearly four decades ago of what used to be legitimately called the “land of the free and the brave” constitute emigration. It was, rather, an act of immigration – to my Jewish homeland.

 

Possessing two passports never seemed problematic. The only disadvantage to it would turn out to be a financial one.

 

Initially, when all US citizens residing abroad were informed in around the late 1980s that we had to file tax returns, even this was less of a problem than a nuisance for American Israelis like me, who came to the Jewish state with no money, and proceeded to earn even less. This meant that the only real expense involved was the fee to an accountant who understood how to fill out the incomprehensible forms.

 

Read More: Right from wrong: Double taxation and anti-Semitism – Opinion – Jerusalem Post