From Ohio to Bavaria: The Unfair Taxation of an American Abroad

"It's a waste of time and money forcing us to file..."

-Alexander Bryant

Dear Congress,

The unfair double taxation of my family has been a nightmare for my entire life. I was born in Ohio, yes, but I also had German citizenship from birth as well. My entire family is German. I live and have lived in Germany for a lot of my life. I tried to make life work in the United States, and it wasn’t for me, so I willingly left — and am now burdened with this ridiculous tax law.

This isn’t about simply having to file tax returns twice and not having to pay anything to the United States because I pay more tax in Germany. Even though I would find that to be reason enough, since no other first-world country requires filing taxes twice if you live somewhere else.

The biggest problems are banks and wealth. With wealth, if I earn „too much“ and do well for myself, the US government punishes me by forcing me to pay taxes twice, in both Germany and in the United States, regardless of having earned the money in Germany and already paid German taxes on that income. If I invest well in or open a business, again, I have to pay twice.

Then there’s the issue of banks. They don’t want US customers, and though I’m allowed to have a checking and savings account, I’m not allowed to invest, even with my German citizenship. It’s amazing, being a citizen of my country where my family has a documented history going back 1,000 years, and I can’t invest my money locally because the banks don’t want to deal with this stupid US tax law.

It feels crazy that politicians can’t grasp the fact that other countries don’t want this much scrutiny from the IRS. If I had just been born in Germany, my life would be so much easier. US citizenship is a curse, and it’s no wonder only three countries have this type of tax law, and the other 189 sovereign nations don’t. It’s maddening that I want to invest, I want to secure my financial future, but because the US has threatened other countries and their financial institutions, no bank is willing to let me legally invest the money I earn because the United States thinks it’s entitled to my earnings.

Germany has never asked me for anything until I lived and worked here. I want the same from the United States. It’s a waste of time and money forcing us to file, and it enforcing the law costs the United States more than it receives since most of us don’t have to pay anything anyway. You literally have IRS workers wasting their time reviewing overseas tax returns for nothing. Save some money, and worry about your own country instead of bothering people who don’t live there anymore.

As the son of a Marine, a Vietnam vet, and a family of Ohio college graduates, I’d like to look upon the United States with fond memories and pride in what my family has also accomplished there. Going to Buckeye games, hating Michigan, and eating at Jersey Mike’s are things we look forward to every time we visit family in the States. I even try to vote in Clark County as much as I can. But instead, I’m reminded of the daunting nature of US double taxation and how it inhibits my ability to open businesses, advance my career to the point where I earn too much, and invest my hard earned money to secure my financial future.

I call upon Congress to end this unfair practice. We expats and accidental Americans chose a life away from the United States, and many of us also split our allegiances with other countries. The picture above is of my small family. We are Bavarian. I have a bloodline that can be tracked back to Charlemagne over 1,000 years ago, and that is who we are. The United States prevents me from participating in the world and country my family helped build because of double taxation and related filing obligations.

Please support Rep. Darin LaHood’s Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act in order to end the double taxation and discrimination that prevents me from being able to lead a normal life.

Alexander Bryant