An American in Groningen who surrendered his passport for a fee is demanding the money back

An American woman in Groningen, along with three other former Americans, is demanding a refund of the “astronomical” fees she paid to surrender her US passport.

in NBC News Rachel Heller, 61, who grew up in Connecticut but left the United States for the Netherlands in 1997, explains that giving up her citizenship was a “traumatic breakup.”

Cancellation of US passport

America is one of the few countries in the world that requires residents to continue filing tax returns when they immigrate abroad. According to Heller, it has cost her more than a thousand euros every year since she came to the Netherlands. For this reason, she decided to renounce her American citizenship at the embassy in Amsterdam in 2015, “with tears in her eyes.” She paid a fee of $2,350 (more than €2,200) for it.

The US State Department announced, at the beginning of this week, a reduction in fees to $450. The four former Americans will go to court in the hope of recovering the difference – $1,900 -.

“Astronomical and outrageous compensation”

American Esther Jenke (55 years old), who came to Germany at the age of 26 and also renounced her citizenship, speaks Watchman With “astronomical and exorbitant” compensation. She decided to give up her passport in 2018 because US tax authorities threatened to impose taxes on the profits from the sale of her home in Germany. “We were treated like criminals,” she says.

According to the Accidental American Association, there are approximately 30,000 “former” Americans who have surrendered their passports for a fee. Aside from compensation, according to the foundation, people often pay thousands of dollars to lawyers and travel expenses to embassies to renounce their citizenship.

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