That is actually a good point. I wondered why the US is so adamant about its citizens paying taxes while living abroad. Theoretically - you are not taking advantage of any of the US infrastructure like roads and parks while you're abroad. I kind of think a citizen living abroad should be taxed, but much less (because the cost is not zero - think embassy expenses).
You are only taxed for the difference between your US taxrate and your place of residency's taxrate, this means for many citizens the tax paid to the US is very little or even $0 (but they still have to go through the trouble of filing).
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That is actually a good point. I wondered why the US is so adamant about its citizens paying taxes while living abroad. Theoretically - you are not taking advantage of any of the US infrastructure like roads and parks while you're abroad. I kind of think a citizen living abroad should be taxed, but much less (because the cost is not zero - think embassy expenses).
You are only taxed for the difference between your US taxrate and your place of residency's taxrate, this means for many citizens the tax paid to the US is very little or even $0 (but they still have to go through the trouble of filing).
Not true if you make over $95k, or are self-employed