Irony: Which Is The World’s Biggest Surveillance State? The Land of the (Once) Free. FATCA

Tax them hard enough and not only will they leave, as the sensible are, in droves, from France, but in those countries where the surveillance states have become so huge via the iron fist and long tentacles of the IR’s, the free will even hand their passports and citizenship back.

The increasing trend of citizens from America, once known as the Land of the Free, having to renounce their very citizenship of that country in order they be free of its new state tyranny is as damning as any single fact as to how far, and how completely, the free West is being destroyed, utterly.

The Founding Fathers have now floundered and been broken on the knuckles of a rampant statism, and it’s no longer possible to put into words the repugnance that free men feel brought to the heel of this. And never forget the reason is that one American in every two receives some form of State benefit, making it the biggest welfare state, and hence biggest surveillance state, in the world:

In 2005, Richard Morrison made a major life change. He moved from the sunny climate of San Diego to the chillier environs of London. It was a good move for his career and allowed him to climb the corporate ladder to where he is today, a legal counsel for an energy investment firm.

But now he's ready to make another life change: Morrison plans to ditch his American passport and become a British citizen. It's not because Morrison, 37, loves the London fog, but because his Yankee credentials will soon bring the Internal Revenue Service's gaze where it's unwanted: his workplace.

Under a new rule that is part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, all foreign financial institutions must report any accounts that have an American co-signer. Information required includes accounts used for personal and business reasons, and banks will face a hefty fine if they don't comply. American citizens abroad will also now be required to disclose certain types of assets.

…

In an email to The Huffington Post, Morrison said he fears the new regulations will make him appear as a liability to his employer, hindering a hoped-for move the partner level at his firm. “If I am a signatory, all the firms' accounts will be monitored by Uncle Sam,” he said. While it's not Morrison's employer that is required to report to the IRS, but rather the bank that holds the firm's accounts, Morrison said he is taking no chances...

And with Obama, on his win this week, warning the 'rich' of America, who already shoulder the greater portion of the tax burden, that they must be taxed more, there is truly no hope left. The flame of freedom has been all but blown out.

How did that happen?