Leaving the U.S.

When I cover the topic of expatriation, I typically focus on U.S. citizens who left the U.S. for (at least in part) tax reasons: Tina Turner, Eduardo Saverin, and Yul Brynner.

Now, WaPo reports on a new expat (if not expatriation) phenomenon: prominent critics of incoming President Donald Trump. The title of the piece: “Go bags, passports, foreign assets: Preparing to be a target of Trump’s revenge.”

The article makes good on that inflammatory headline, quoting (albeit anonymously) various individuals reading their preparation for “a hypothetical worst case” scenario under Trump’s second term. Among the moves: determining their eligibility for “foreign citizenship, examining the possibility of purchasing property abroad and considering whether to move money into overseas banks.”

One lawyer quoted, Mark Zaid, didn’t exactly allay fears with this quote: “thankfully, this isn’t the 1930s; we have time to make decisions about what will be done and where people can go.”

Yowzahs.

-KitJ