Remind me again why we have to cater to the wealthy

You know, the people into whose pockets the Bush Administration kept shoveling money (and the Obama Administration continues to)...the people that unemployed idiots say deserve their tax cuts because they "create jobs"? These people are the reason we bailed out the banks. These are the "chosen" people that the C Street gang talks about, because after all, God showers wealth only on those special enough to deserve it.

At a time where patriotism has changed from "You're with us or you're with the terrorists" to advocacy of secession (and secessionists running for Vice President) and publicly wishing for the President's death, I suppose that part of being a "real American" means giving up your citizenship so you don't have to pay taxes:

As offshore havens comply with transparency demands, a growing number of ultra-wealthy Americans are handing back their passports.

Jay Krause, a partner at private-client specialist law firm Withers, said: “The number of inquiries from US citizens wanting to expatriate from their citizenship has increased rapidly in the last year.”

The level of interest is set to increase following the tax disclosure deal between the US Government and UBS of Switzerland, involving the names of 5,000 alleged US tax evaders being handed over to the authorities. The UK concluded a tax deal with Liechtenstein last week.

Because of this, many ultra-wealthy individuals who have chosen to become stateless now cruise outside coastal waters in their mega-yachts in the belief that if they stay on the move, tax authorities will not be able to catch up with them. One analyst who did not want to be named, has estimated the number of stateless tax evaders amounted to a few thousand.

This implies the quantity of money outside the grasp of global tax authorities could be trillions of dollars.

In the final months of the Bush administration, the US Government introduced a package of tax reforms that included an amendment to the exit tax on US citizens and long-term green card holders who expatriate the US.

The tax allows US citizens and permanent residents wanting to renounce citizenship or permanent residency to pay a one-off income tax on gains over $600,000 (€420,000). All assets beyond this amount are valued at mark-to-market.

The exit tax allows a clean break from the US tax system from the date of expatriation without imposing the previous 10-year period after expatriation where tax rules used to apply – another big incentive, say lawyers.

One of the other benefits of the amended exit tax is that a former US citizen who has expatriated will be able to travel to the US without his income becoming taxable. Under the previous exit tax this was not possible.

A final wet kiss from George W. Bush to his base -- the have-mores.