Understanding American Expatriation

When Ronald Reagan became president in 1981, the U.S. National Debt was $900 billion. Now, 32 years later, the debt has just toped $17 trillion. As this debt becomes less manageable, Congress debates meeting the government's obligations without raising the debt ceiling or federal taxes.

Meanwhile the Internal Revenue Service obliges the 6.6 million Americans residing abroad to file tax and information returns on threat of severe penalties for noncompliance. Expectations are that these Americ...