People say lots of things to make a point. LBJ said "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." Hmmm. Fat lot of truth in that. Obama said something to Assad about red lines and chemical weapons. Hmmm. So when Boris "says" he won't pay the tax, I don't think that makes him guilty of anything, except grand standing.

And we're losing sight of the real issue. Of course the law says USCs have to pay taxes. But laws can be changed, and that's certainly within BJ's constitutional right to argue for. Plenty of people have gone to jail to protest against laws they wanted changed (e.g. slavery, voting for women, Maggie's Poll tax, metric weighed bananas, etc., etc., etc.).

So bully for Boris for taking on an issue that many USCs abroad think is an "unfair" law. It doesn't matter whether you personally think the law is fair or not. Others have a right to take exception. I doubt BJ will go the distance in a "Can't Pay, Won't Pay" kind of protest, so he's unlikely to spend any time in stir.

As usual the problem isn't on the UK side, it's with the US.

It is a hypocritical issue is what it is because wasn't it Johnson who said the American ambassador is "a no good crook" over these congestion charges. Those were the words used "no good crook" Didn't he say during the election campaign for mayor he would get the yanks to pay. Yet he won't pay them. Pot calling the kettle black if you ask me.

But yeah it is a good for a giggle.

I think that's a view many subscribe to, to be fair.

There's a touch of irony in all this.

Alexander Boris de Pfellel Johnson can trace his direct lineage back to George II. George II was the grandfather of George III, of "no taxation without representation" fame, as any American high school student will tell you.

But Boris, as a USC, has representation. Boris last lived in New York, so his Senator is Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer is one of the most vocal supporters of halting "obvious tax evasion" by all those renouncing US citizenship.

The Senator has proposed a flat 30% capital gains tax on all US citizenship renouncers unless they can show they didn't renounce citizenship to avoid paying tax (Ex-PATRIOT Act). The Act has yet to gain approval in Congress which should please Boris.

It was certainly the view of the prior mayor.

Not really. One is a sovereign nation not paying a bill and the other is a person.

The real issue about folks not paying tax is how stupid this all is because no one really seems to make the same stink about corporations not paying their share for a host of naff reasons and that lost revenue must dwarf the individual citizens.

He also has famous Turkish ancestors. I'm not sure of the NY residency since he last lived there when he was 5. I wonder if he files any state taxes...I assume that he doesn't need to, and is only eligible to vote in Federal elections.

Being a US citizen and having signature authority over London Authority financial accounts is an interesting question....I'd love to see Boris' FBAR and FATCA filings.....but wasn't there some exemption for US citizens who worked overseas for corporations and financial firms and signature authority over financial accounts as part of their work?

Oddly enough if you search for Boris Jonhson and tax in google a number of recent news reports surface that makes you question where he really stands on paying taxes.

Britain's super rich must pay more council tax, says Boris Johnson (and Russian oligarchs like Roman Abramovich could be targetted first) | Daily Mail Online

Boris Johnson tax row: I earned £1.7m over 4 years | Daily Mail Online

Sorry for the DM links, it's what turns up first.

Of course Boris might be in the right here. It sounds like he is filing 1040s and the GCT tax bill might just be confusion over whether the home was his primary residence. Or even with the US CGT allowance on house sales Boris's gain might be well over that and he's miffed that he has to pay US tax. He's obviously not familiar with the concept that a US citizen living in the UK will pay the higher of the two countries taxes in each situation.

You've lost me there . . . he did exactly as he said and left office.

IIRC, either his grandfather or great grandfather was Turkish, and an influential member of the community in Turkey. He was active in the ruling government at the time, but his opinions were in conflict with those in power. As a result, he was publicly executed. Tread lightly, Boris. The family history of protesting is not good.

According to the 'rules', you may vote in the State where you last had a US residence. I don't believe your age at departure comes into it.

Again, IIRC, account values do not need to be declared unlike an individuals 114 filings, but the accounts over which there is signature authority do have to be reported. I may be wrong.

There's probably an exception for government entities.

I wouldn't bet on that!

Surely, the rules will vary according to each state and whether he is registered. He probably couldn't vote in many states, even if he'd lived there once, because he doesn't have the correct photo ID.