Canadian lawyers report surge in Americans seeking to renounce their citizenship 

Canadian attorneys report a surge in Americans seeking to renounce their U.S. citizenship, as monthly inquiries received in December were nearly double the norm. They expect this trend to grow under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Alexander Marino, director of U.S. tax law at Moodys Tax in Calgary, informed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that business has been thriving for firms specialising in North American tax cases.

However, Trump suggested the possibility of initiating a trade war with Canada and even hinted at annexing the entire region north of the United States border.

Typically, U.S. citizens residing in Canada sever ties with their homeland to escape the clutches of the Internal Revenue Service. However, since Trump’s re-election in November, Marino has observed an increase in Canadian-Americans looking to cut their ties with the United States.

“For a lot of people, the election results are a bit of the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Marino said.

Renouncement of citizenship linked to the Tax Compliance Act and Trump’s presidency.

According to the U.S. Federal Register, which publishes quarterly lists of Americans renouncing their citizenship, the number of registrants began to rise in 2014 following the enactment of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. This legislation requires foreign financial institutions to report on foreign assets held by U.S. account holders.

In 2016, approximately 4,100 names appeared on the list. This figure surged by more than 50 per cent when Donald Trump assumed the presidency in 2017.

However, the number of expatriations declined during President Joe Biden’s final year in office.