The media is targeting US birthright citizenship

[DFW]

56. I started working full time with my outfit in 1975, and didn't formalize my residence move here until 2011

So, I have put in my time in the States. At least I get something for all those U.S. taxes I paid in, even if Germany gets to take half of it. On that small matter, at least, Germany and the USA are in agreement--the country of residence taxes the Social Security payout (of course, I'm still paying in $10,000 a year, too. It sucks that Germany gets to take 50%´of my benefit, where the USA would be taking 85% of 39.6% (or whatever the max rate is in the USA these days). But at least they aren't trying to take over 70%, which, between the two countries, they are trying to take from most of my current income. Plus, when I made my Roth IRA conversion, I paid the full U.S. tax due on the full value at the time, following the rules to the letter. Under US law, that meant that, after the conversion, if the value went down, too bad for me, I couldn't take a deduction, but if the value went up, then good for me, since the government says the same rules apply: they consider whatever it's worth as tax paid in full. I made the conversion when the Dow was 7800 (Cheney-Bush recession). Obviously, at today's 44000+, the value of the Roth IRA has gone way up. The two governments just have different attitudes toward the Roth IRA. The USA says, "you paid your taxes in full, whatever it's worth now is yours." Germany says "we don't care what the USA or the Double Taxation Treaty says, we will take half of any distribution you take out."

I made the Roth conversion when I was still a full time US resident, so the Germans have no claim on my Roth IRA. Except they say, well, we want half of that, too. I'll forego whatever fun I might have had with that money and leave it to my daughters and grandchildren before I leave it to a bunch of German bureaucrats who, besides giving me NOTHING in return, will only use it to pay for their chauffeur-driven limousines and six week paid vacations. They said they will only tax any distributions when I take them out of it, which have, of course, been zero. Luckily, since I'm still working, I don't need any of it to live on. I consulted a German international tax specialist about the Roth IRA, and he suggested I move back to the USA for a year and a day, so I can take the payout and the Germans would have no claim on it. But I would go nuts if I had to spend a full year (or even most of it) back in the states, when my life and my job is here. At age 32, that might have been considered a sabbatical. At age 72, that would reek of retirement, something I am not yet prepared to do.

Where did you live in Switzerland? I was just down there for a few hours today, meeting with the guy from my office there. He has been with me since 1984. I can hardly believe it. He was 37 then. He's 77 now. But like me, he doesn't see any sense in retiring and sitting around doing nothing all day. He inherited the house he lives in, which is within the city of Geneva, from his dad. He could never have bought it outright, Swiss real estate prices being what they are. But he has no financial worries. Like me he is only terrified of boredom. We met up in Zürich today, since the only flight from Geneva back to Düsseldorf is currently at 9:00 AM, which would have given me the time to step off the plane from Düsseldorf, say hi, and turn right around and hope the security line wouldn't make me miss the flight. Luckily, he thought nothing of making the three hour drive from Geneva to Zürich, and then the three hours back. But since I had to get up at 4:15 in the morning to make the early flight from Düsseldorf to Zürich, I had nothing to laugh about, either.