Thread by @ExpatriationLaw

Let's start with the "self evident truth" that US citizenship - conferred mostly by birth and the US constitution - has attributes making it superior to other citizenships. What are those attributes? What obligations/rights do they imply? Voting? Taxation? Military service? ???

Recent discussions have identified voting and taxation as inseparably linked with US citizenship. Many have suggested that voting, taxation and the rights and obligations of citizenship are somehow linked. Is this true? Was it ever true? What is the source of a right/obligation?

A constitutional right is different from a right created by statute. A constitutional right exists to put the right beyond the reach of governments. In other words, the right exists, no matter what the gov of the day says. Statutory rights: created by and can be changed by gov.

In the USA citizenship (for those born in the USA) is a constitutional right - as per the 14th amendment. This is confirmed by the US Supreme Ct decision in Afroyim v. Rusk. Court told US Gov: "Stop stripping Americans of their US citizenship!" Not perfect, but a starting point.

Query: If US citizenship is a constitutional right, can US citizens be forced to pay a fee because of it? Can the payment of fees be an obligation of US citizenship? Not sure of the answer, but the question should be asked.

Voting: To be clear US citizens have NO constitutional right to vote. There is nothing in the Constitution that gives direct voting rights to US citizens. constitutioncenter.org/interactive-co…

Voting is under the control of individual states. Sometimes US citizens have a statutory right to vote and sometimes not. Some Americans abroad have the right to vote and some do not. (Yet ALL Americans abroad are required to pay tax to the USA.)

The most that could be said (I think) is that US citizenship "may" be a sufficient but not a necessary condition to vote in certain states at certain times. (Issue is not current state of law, but what law could be.)

Possible conclusion: There may not be any legal or constitutional relationship between voting and citizenship. Possible question: But, does a statutory right allowing citizens to vote in some cases provide the basis for a statutory obligation to pay taxes in ALL cases?

There is NO connection whatsoever between voting and taxation. There can easily be a right to vote but no obligation to pay taxes (example all CDN expats). There can be an obligation to pay taxes but no right to vote (some US expats). Time to stop assuming linkage of vote and tax

Remember that US citizenship is a constitutional right. Voting and taxation are creations of statute. Question: Does it make sense to discuss constitutional rights and statutory rights/obligations as presumptively linked?

Possible conclusion: Citizenship, voting and taxation have nothing to do with each other. Each is a separate topic and there is no presumptive linkage.

Possible question: Given that US citizenship is a constitutional right, can that constitutional right be used to subject #Americansabroad to the twin horrors of #FATCA and @citizenshiptax? Can @taxresidency be defined in terms of a constitutional right? Question should be asked.

#Americansabroad are being constructively forced to renounce US citizenship bc of US @taxresidency rules, coupled with separate tax system for #Americansabroad, that burden the constitutional right of citizenship. This is a fact (or should I say the #FATCA of the matter).

In summary: citizenship, voting and taxation are independent issues. They need to be considered as such. Reminder: citizenship is a constitutional right. Maybe it should be respected as such.

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