I lived in the US for around 18-years. I enjoyed it immensely and in the process became a US citizen without losing my UK citizenship. It made sense, I was living there, working there, building pension there and I wanted a vote there too. US citizenship is something some people would kill for of that there can be no doubt and it does offer some nice advantages especially when combined with an EU passport. I mean I can walk into the US or any EU country with relatively no hassle and start working there without anyone's permission. Not bad.

But I am now discovering some downsides that no one ever discussed with me. Firstly, living in Europe again, I find I have to file each year a US tax return and yes, pay Uncle Sam taxes on income that has already been taxed here. Not only does it cost money in extra taxes but it costs money in fees to tax preparers and lots of time and effort too. Yep - A US citizen is taxed on WORLDWIDE income folks and even though you might have already paid taxes in the country you live in, you still pay again if you make more than a certain exclusion number. To me, its a big downside and I am now thinking about revoking my US citizenship because quite frankly I see no reason why I should be taxed twice on a part of my income and why I should pay taxes for services I am not using.

But there is a second disadvantage too. My kids have to register for service. Yes, on reaching the age of 18, they have to register with the USA so that if the USA ever decided to have a draft, my kids could be called up. I didn't know this and no one told me until applying for college financial aid - you see, you are ineligible if you haven't registered. It's not that I am against the idea of my kids being called up per se... that will be up to them should the situation ever arise.. no, it's the idea that in a country in which privacy is a large issue, you are forced to register... It seems to me to run counter to the very ideas that America stands for to me.

Of course, these days, it pays not to shout too loudly about being an American citizen in Europe and its nice to have an English accent and UK passport. If you didn't already know it, the USA isn't too popular these days around the world courtesy of Mr. George W. Bush and Co. But I think that disadvantage can be changed too in the near future - by the next President - President Obama!