Synopsis: Why are record numbers of Americans renouncing their citizenship? In this message from his new condo in tax-advantaged Puerto Rico, Peter Schiff gives his insights into the causes behind this American diaspora. Peter argues that this trend will only increase as more people look for ways to escape the growing tax burdens that come with a ballooning national debt.
0:13 – In 2014, a record number of Americans renounced their US citizenship.
0:28 – This record won’t last and will likely be broken again this year and the next, because America has the world’s most oppressive tax regime.
0:53 – The cost to file the form required to renounce one’s citizenship has been steadily increasing over the past few years.
1:35 – The IRS is going to turn up the heat on citizens living abroad, even though the United States is practically the only country in the world to charge its citizens on income earned overseas.
2:30 – America’s world-wide income tax system began during the Civil War as a way to punish draft dodgers and ensure they still paid income taxes.
3:45 – Although the income tax and fiat money were ended after the Civil War, they’ve both been resurrected since and are worse than every before.
4:30 – America could become a giant debtor’s prison as the government continues to raise the cost of leaving the country.
4:50 – Americans today are born with the burden of repaying the debts of prior generations, and the government will likely continue to raise taxes to cover its debts.
5:28 – At some point, the government will not be able to fund its debts through taxes. Instead, it will turn to inflation by printing money.
6:01 – You can avoid the inflation tax without renouncing your citizenship. Instead, you can renounce the US dollar.
6:42 – When it comes to protecting the future purchasing power of your savings, the best asset to own is one that the Federal Reserve can’t print – gold and silver.