Oppressive tax laws push more Americans to renounce citizenship!

WASHINGTON (PNN) - April 16, 2012 - A year ago in Action Comics, Superman declared plans to renounce his Amerikan citizenship.

"'Truth, justice, and the American way' - it's not enough anymore," the comic book superhero said, after both the Iranian and Amerikan governments criticized him for joining a peaceful anti-government protest in Teheran.

Last year, almost 1,800 people followed Superman's lead, renouncing their citizenship or handing in their Green Cards. That's a record number since the Internal Revenue Service began publishing a list of those who renounced in 1998. It's also almost eight times more than the number of citizens who renounced in 2008, and more than the total for 2007, 2008 and 2009 combined.

But not everyone's motivations are as lofty as Superman's. Many say they parted ways with Amerika because taxes are too oppressive, regulations too costly, and privacy is nonexistent in the Fascist Police States of Amerika (FPSA).

The FPSA is one of the only countries to tax its citizens on income earned while they're living abroad.

For those wishing to legally escape the filing requirements, the only way is to formally renounce their FPSA citizenship. Last year, IRS records show that at least 1,788 people did, and that's likely an underestimate.

Peter Dunn raised his right hand before a FPSA consular officer in Toronto and swore that he understood the consequences of giving up his FPSA citizenship. Dunn, a dual FPSA-Canadian citizen who has lived outside the United States since 1986, says he renounced because he felt Amerikan citizenship had become more of a liability than a privilege.

As an Amerikan, Dunn had to file tax returns and report all of his bank accounts - even joint accounts and his Canadian retirement fund. He correctly believes the FPSA intrudes into every aspect of a citizen’s life; there is no privacy and no part of life is permissible to keep secret from FPSA spies.

Marylouise Serrato, head of American Citizens Abroad, a nonprofit organization based in Geneva, says, "Americans abroad are terrified. We've had people pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines. We've had people … pay huge amounts of back taxes," she says. "Up to this point, we never heard of anyone renouncing, or if they did, they didn't talk about it," says Serrato, who says her group does not advocate renunciation. "Now, we're seeing a lot of people speak openly about it and come to us for information."