Oh, God. Even though I enjoy spirited conversations about this subject, at this point I kind of wish Emily Blunt would just STAHP talking about her new American citizenship. Emily gave a new interview to the Sunday Times (a British publication) to promote Sicario, and of course she was asked about becoming an American. As the Sunday Times (and other outlets) noted, Emily didn’t really give up her British citizenship – she is now a dual citizen of the UK and America. I’ve actually heard that the dual citizenship thing is pretty easy to get if you’re from certain countries (Great Britain, Israel). Anyway, Emily finally explains why she described her American citizenship as “sad”: it’s because her heart wasn’t really in it, only her wallet. Yes, Emily just came out and said that she only became an American citizen for tax purposes.
Into the country — and away from the taxes! Emily Blunt revealed in a new interview why exactly she got her U.S. citizenship this past summer — and the reason is surprising.
“It’s mainly for tax reasons,” Blunt, 32, told the Sunday Times’ Style magazine on Oct. 4. “I didn’t want to renounce my Queen.”
The Sicario actress, who married American actor John Krasinski in 2010, detailed the process of naturalization. “You have to learn all about the Constitution,” she shared. “You can’t be a habitual drunk, you can’t be on a guerrilla squad and you can’t be a prostitute, which is a shame.”
As I said when I first covered this “controversy,” I didn’t really care/mind that Emily mocked GOP politicians. But I do mind that she seems to have such mixed feelings about just becoming a dual citizen, especially when there are literally millions of undocumented immigrants fighting for that same privilege, desperate to come out of the shadows and simply work legally and pay into the social safety net. So, now we have the long-awaited real reason why Emily became a citizen, as told to a British outlet: she just wanted to pay less in taxes. Not the best reason to become an American citizen, actually.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Ugggh not this rehash again.
Seriously. Can it just die already?
Every word she says on this seems to be her digging a deeper ditch.
Not all, but surely Emily knows if she keeps talking about it the odds it will go away are less.
Agreed. She really should just stop talking about it. I love her and I don’t mind her jokes, but she should keep at least this to herself. It’s a bit like a first world problem she’s waving in everyone else’s face though. It is a bit insulting for people like those in my family and others that have to work hard, pay a butt load of money, and take pride in becoming citizens one day. It’s something that takes some people decades. I get that she’s probably nonchalant about it because the reason for her doing so wasn’t that great and it wasn’t a long hard journey for her. But she’s coming off a bit….arrogant and smug about the whole thing? Idk. I’m not mad at her or renouncing her as a citizen or going to yell at her to go back home. She’s just really privileged it seems.
Yeah, that’s the extent of my feelings about it. She’s really lucky and privileged. I don’t dislike her for it — I just kind of happen to notice how lucky she is every time the topic is mentioned. (Although in the original interview, when I watched the clip, I didn’t think she sounded terrible. Her line delivery was pretty funny. The words just read not as funny iin print. But now that she still keeps talking about it, I just come back round to the same sentiment — yeah, she’s really lucky she gets to have both British and American passports since those are two pretty good passports to have).
Anyone see that last week tonight episode recently on migration/immigration? That he is a lazy immigrant escaping social indifference and fog while .any others are escaping certain death and immigration is a major issue I love him.
How is this still a thing?
It’s a thing because she keeps talking about it.
Just because she says something doesn’t mean that it needs to be recapped and posted. Because let’s get real: if she avoided the question the header would be “Emily Blunt shuts down citizenship question”
Bridget
Maybe,but the thread would be buried on the 2nd page with 20 comments at best. She should really just give a brief comment and not try to elaborate any further.
She is lovely and amazing but I totally agree, she needs to just shut up about this NOW. She is digging herself in deeper and deeper and if she’s not careful a crowd of angry patriotic types are going to put her in a crate of tea and ship her back to Blighty!
i love that she doesn’t care tbh. if she wants to joke about it, she just does it. why should she be silenced by people who don’t like it?
I agree with @eli, she can say what she wants! Perhaps a) interviewers need to stop asking the question
and b) America should get a lot less sensitive about this. After all, unless you’re Native American….
What she does care that’s why she keeps talking about it, she trying to find the best answer that will please people. If she didn’t care she would have moved on and never addressed that public outcry.
@neah23 wrong. if she did care she’d apologise, while she basically keeps making more and more fun of the whole thing e.g. “it’s a shame you can’t be a prostitute or a habitual drunk”. also she talks about it because she’s asked.
Ell – I don’t think it’s the patriotic “USA is the best of the best” types she should be worried about. It’s the people she might actually and legitimately offend. As posters have pointed out down thread – there are so many struggling to become legal citizens and to a degree she is trivializing that struggle. It’s fine if she doesn’t identify as an American and I can understand how conflicting it probably was for her to denounce her queen, but every comment she’s made about this could’ve been handle better. I find Emily utterly charming, but she isn’t handling this with much tact.
No she care just like Matt Damon cares.
Maybe it’s the Brit sense of humour, which we Americans are apparently too daft to get…
But while I see that she’s perhaps trying to make light of the situation or to appease her people on the other side of the pond, she only seems to be making matters worse. Yet I also wonder why she hasn’t simply said that her husband and daughter are American, so it just makes sense to become a naturalized or dual-citizen anyway?
Oh, well, Sicario looks good, like The Martian, and as with her friend Matty D, these comments will be but a footnote in her career.
Moffa
If Emily Blunt renounced her citizenship right now exactly 0 other undocumented immigrants would be granted citizenship because of it. If Emily Blunt never applied for her citizenship and left it for those who love American exactly 0 extra people would be admitted outside of the normal and convoluted immigration process.
I suspect a lot of those angry about this haven’t actually experienced any part of attaining citizenship. You (General you) are angry about something that literally has 0 bearing on anyone else. Ex. You getting or not getting your driver’s license has 0 impact on if anyone else is allowed to drive.
I don’t think it’s about whether or not she is taking someone else’s “spot” on the citizenship roster, @Eternal Side-Eye. It’s just that she is making light of something that she obtained easily through privilege that others without such privilege dream of doing to make their lives better.
True. But she doesn’t have be so Blunt about it.
But aren’t the USA the land of the free with freedom of speech and all that? 😛
Sure, you can say whatever you want. But you can’t expect people to like you for it.
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from the repercussion of what you say. 🙂
I am not offended at all by what she said. She is being honest. Also it makes a lot of sense. You can only tax your citizens so much (even rich ones) until they look into better alternatives.
Also, many immigrants ( legal and illegal) are coming here for financial reasons, not out of any desire to reject their former native country. I realize she is wealthy but that is just a matter of degrees.
This is why people have to learn about the Constitution… “you keep saying that word… ” etc.
I totally said her reason for becoming an American citizen was for professional reasons, and reporters were thirsty to make it sound controversial. Also, Kaiser, you’re the one who keeps writing articles about her & this topic.. maybe youre the one who needs to “let it go” too?
Or will you block my comment again for saying something “negative” about you?
I agree. I love her to pieces and will continue to love her to pieces, but I also want her to shut up. Some people aren’t going to get her humor. Some aren’t going to delve deeply into her statements. They’ll read the headline and run with it. Sweetie, just shut up!
BTW, Matt was right. The purpose of his TV show isn’t diversity. But he was also wrong, in that you can gain diversity behind AND in front of the cameras.
I still like the red dress…
OMG, girl you seriously need to STFU. I am Mexican American, and I know my mom worked her ass off to become an American citizen, and she did it because us, her kids, were citizens and she has been a teacher for well over a decade so she wanted to set an example for her students and their parents. I mean Emily really is pissing me off.
I hear you, @Esteph. Your mom sounds awesome. Emily’s comments are really trivializing the struggle that so many are facing right now. Just goes to show how out of touch and privileged she is.
She really does need to shut her yap. She will find otherwise, to her cost, that the land of freedom of speech does not look kindly on those who abuse that right. There are literally hundreds of thousands who would give their right arm to enjoy a fraction of the privileges she does. She is really not being amusing, but rather deeply insensitive to those to whom citizenship is not just a financial whim.
Exactly!
Except Emily’s comments have 0 to do with the actual immigration process and how it’s unbalanced and catered to those with resources and money.
Furthermore how America is slow to change because it loves all that amazing undocumented immigrant money without having to offer them benefits or coverage.
As someone who’s parents also worked hard for it I’m surprised by people who are actually offended or angered by her comments. It’s a cynical ugly process.
Except it does effect us, eternal side eye. It effects the entire country when a millionaire cheats the system to get out of paying taxes. She straight up said that’s all she was doing. Now we’re out tax money, by her own admission, and are going to have to give her the benefits of citizenship.
If the country was concerned about millionaires cheating out of taxes then maybe they’d actually do something about it. Obama was the first president to go after the offshore bank accounts of actual birthright US citizens that were cheating and I saw plenty of folks raising a stink about it. How it’s a sign of how pathetic this country has become and how we suddenly reject capitalism in the pursuit of just giving out welfare like candy.
So which is it. Do we support the good ol red, white, and blue capitalism or are we suddenly trying to make our country fair and balanced? In which case the number of immigrant millionaires is so low it’s a blip on the radar. Also what benefits is Emily going to qualify for? She is a millionaire so odds are low she’s going to be applying for Medicaid or Food Stamps. She’d be a moron if she forgoed a private doctor and Insurance plan for a state sponsored one. What exactly is she taking from the mouth of someone else?
@ESI
Well put. I agree.
“They ” as in government, will love to get those new citizens’ money. I bet so many rich people do change their status to pay less, hey that includes moving entire companies. They like it when they are patriotic, and to get the taxes.
I understand the patriotic thing, but they should be realist, many people do change status for convenience, hey, that is the main reason the immigrants have traveled for centuries, not usually for love of their new country (at the beginning)
“Except it does effect us, eternal side eye. It effects the entire country when a millionaire cheats the system to get out of paying taxes. She straight up said that’s all she was doing. Now we’re out tax money, by her own admission, and are going to have to give her the benefits of citizenship.”
Won’t she be paying taxes to the US system though? So how does the US get cheated out of their taxes if she takes on citizenship? I guess I could understand the Brits complaining about this since the money probably gets diverted from their system, but it sounds like the US benefits from the tax money she’ll be giving them as a citizen. Okay, the taxes are lower, but that’s how the US government chose to create it. That’s different from actually cheating the system out of taxes.
+1 I’m also from an immigrant family and I’m starting to get offended. If you don’t want to be a citizen, don’t be one. We arent begging you, Emily blunt. So let’s all part ways then.
Exactly. I wonder how the British would react if an American said that s/he hated becoming a British citizen and only did it to save on tax money. It’s a privilege, treat it accordingly.
I agree, esteph! There are people like your family who worked so hard to be Americans, and are proud of it. Then there are people like Emily who make TONS of money and is just trying to get out of paying her fair share! She made fun of GOP politicians!?!? She’s a millionaire doing whatever she can to get out of paying taxes–sounds like she IS a GOP politician!
Meh. Again I don’t think she should share things like this and yes it does come off privileged, but it’s okay that she does it. I won’t lie it definitely stings a bit and she comes off a a bit smug.
But I’m not going to ask her not to take advantage of something like this. Even if she lived on some principle where she didn’t do that. It’s not like Republicans would stop of out nobility. The republican party is all about utilizing sh-t to their advantage like no other. Emily should do it too if it’s an option for her. I certainly encourage people to use any government code to their advantage while still staying on the right side of the law. I get so annoyed when people don’t take advantage of their welfare benefits out of some I don’t want to be a burden type mentality. They are your entitlements. DO NOT feel embarrassed for using them by some sh-t bag republican guy who thinks he earned his way through life while he’s using the tax code to make some sort of shelter so he doesn’t have to pay back into a system that has done nothing but benefit him.
And dang girl the prostitute/habitual drunkard thing was funny the first time. Not so much the second. Like legitimately it’s one of those cute things you share once, but if you do it like this….you’re like telling a dad joke.
You know, that’s a great point. She is mocking GOP politicians while at the same time saying that she has zero patriotism and only became an American citizen so that she can pay less money in taxes…which is about as Republican as you can get.
Can’t have it both ways, sister.
Of course Emily Blunt leads a very privileged existence compared to most immigrants, but this does not negate her feelings. I think the fact that she apparently did have qualms about taking the oath of allegiance and is conflicted about having to naturalize to avoid leaving her family with a ginormous estate tax bill if she dies suggest that becoming a U.S. citizen was a big deal to her. She did NOT take the process or her promises to her new country lightly at all, and I respect her for that.
Some of my clients treat naturalizing as just another step they have to take to make sure they do not get deported and can sponsor all their relatives for green cards. They moan and complain about how expensive it is, how long the process takes, and all the hoops they have to jump through (passing the background check, studying history and civics, taking the tests, and submitting to yet another interview at CIS, etc.). When they finally go to their oath ceremonies and turn in their green cards to get their naturalization certificates, they whine about that too. Yeah, I get it – bureaucracy sucks, but even though I was born in the U.S. I always get teary-eyed when I attend a naturalization ceremony. I know firsthand how difficult it was for some of these new citizens to finally make it to that day, and it is truly touching to see the USCIS and federal court staff as well as the military honor guard trying to make each ceremony a meaningful and patriotic celebration. It is one of the rare occasions when I see a lot of smiling and happy USCIS employees, and many of them are genuinely thrilled to welcome new citizens and give them voter registration cards, passport applications, and a free American flag. So it really bothers me when people act like the process of becoming a citizen is just another box to tick on their lists of things to do or a hassle that they must undergo. It does not sound like Emily Blunt felt that way AT ALL.
“So it really bothers me when people act like the process of becoming a citizen is just another box to tick on their lists of things to do or a hassle that they must undergo.It does not sound like Emily Blunt felt that way AT ALL.”
….yeah that’s not at all how she comes off in her interviews regarding the ceremony or the entire process. She complained about the citizenship test and even said “I doubt most American’s would know the answers to those questions.” (No shade I have no disagreements with her on that) And even asked Guerillmo how he passed it. She joked about the entire ceremony and seemed pretty honest that it wasn’t a really big deal for her. She was pretty jokey about it too. So sorry it does sound like it was a hassle for her and a box for her to tick off SO THAT they could avoid taxes. That’s fine. It stings that she can take it lightly and have it happen easily, but whatever. It’s really not a big deal at all.
Non citizen here who would be very happy to get my citizenship and yeah. It is a pain in the ass. I’ve had to wait a long ass time for the chance to even apply and I still have to pay a boatload of money to get it done. Had to wait longer when the lawyer misspelled my name on a few documents. That was a massive pain in the ass. Of course I’m going to complain. Lol yeah it is a box I need to tick off, but also a lifelong dream. I have a ton of dreams. I’m privileged to be able to have them. Doesn’t mean I don’t complain along the way.
Your mother sounds amazing!
I’m a naturalized citizen in the states and had an easy time getting that. I have also seen people who desperately needed citizenship and had a very difficult time.
I doubt blunt took onto account those cases when she was telling a British outlet she didn’t want to become an American citizen at all. Although, now that she’s been told the struggles many have and what privilege she enjoys surely she could pull back on talking about this more? If she can’t figure that out or if her team isn’t telling her to politely address the issue and move on there’s a bigger issue here.
That’s a really good point. Probably something we should all keep in mind. It’s easy to take for granted the rights we have, but there are millions who wants to be in our position.
Amen. She showed a blind spot. Not the worst thing in the world, just time to learn and grow.
Yes, many people would love to become Americans, but one reason why the BRITISH Puritan Pilgrims came to the new world in the first place was so they would NOT be persecuted for their religious beliefs. It bothers me that people are jumping all over her when she is behaving in a quintessentially American way by exercising her freedoms of speech and conscience. To demand that she change her personal feelings or public statements about naturalizing to US citizenship is antithetical to the Bill of Rights and not very American at all!
Exactly. And doing it to avoid taxes is actually quite American. We did break with England over taxes after all.
The British Puritans left the kingdom initially to Netherlands, which they left for New England because of… excessive religious toleration in Holland.
Yes, and they tossed the tea into Boston harbor, not the rum. Looking out for Number One, even though the taxes that were levied on tea were also levied on rum. The same rum the Sons of Liberty drank in local bars, talking over their plans. I can’t blame them as rum punch is delicious, but still.
Hypocrisy! It’s the American Way.
I don’t know of any tax reasons to become an American citizen (are there?), but I do know of estate reasons to do so. At this point I’ve chosen not to become a citizen, but if my husband predeceases me from what I understand any assets have to be placed in trust so I don’t take money out of the country.
I totally understand where she’s coming from. I don’t want to renounce any loyalty to Britain either. Doesn’t mean I don’t have loyalty here because I do, but I have a very hard time renouncing where I came from. And I’m very surprised that more US citizens don’t understand that as I suspect many would feel the same way if they were living in Britain long term.
Britain will acknowledge dual citizenship but the US will not in my case. That’s why I have not done it.
So why don’t those people tearing their hair out about her comments actually put some effort into trying to ammend and make the immigration process easier?
I assume because one action is easier than the other.
@bluhare, it can actually be done, and you don’t have to give up your British passport. They change the law from time to time, but my daughter just recently became a US citizen, and retains her British passport. She is very lucky, I know.
Immigrants cannot vote, and since immigration is a benefit – not a Constitutional right – Congress giveth and taketh away with few political repercussions.
BUT when immigrants become citizens and vote and speak out, then Congress and the President pay a little more attention or at least lip service to their concerns. The trouble is that many immigrants-turned-citizens do not have the resources to make game-changing donations to political parties or candidates. In the end, money talks and BS walks.
Thanks antipodean . . . I can do that as well, but it’s the renouncing thing I don’t like. Britain will recognize my dual citizenship but the US will not. So that’s why I haven’t done it yet.
Plus there’s that pesky “habitual drunkard” thing. 🙂
It isn’t necessarily that she will pay less in taxes as the UK and the U.S. have an income tax treaty already. It is almost certainly so that in the event of her death, her husband and child(ren) will not be hit with huge estate taxes. Most lawful permanent residents (green card holders) with substantial assets essentially have no choice but to naturalize to US citizenship for the same reason.
I understand why people find her comments off putting, but I find her refreshingly honest. Taxes are a very good reason someone in her socioeconomic bracket would seek citizenship. I think it’s healthy to have a population of personality types that run the gambit. Not everyone needs to be a flag waving, “USA!” shouting patriot.
Sounds to me like she has a lot in common with the Republican politicians she claims to dislike. They’re in favor of lower taxes, too!
And if she’s not a Republican, she’s a hypocrite. I get so angry when people call themselves liberal and claim to want more social services for the poor and struggling but then do everything possible to pay as little in taxes as they can. Where do they think the money comes from to fund social services?
If you believe in greater economic equality, be prepared to pay for it.
Are these our only choices? A spoiled ‘honest’ idiot or a shouting patriot? Bummer!
Yeah, I’m not understanding the sentiment here that her only alternative is to run around holding an American flag and singing the national anthem. She has been disrespectful, and I would say that even if she had become a citizen of any other country and found it necessary to repeatedly express how much she didn’t want to do it. She also really trivializes the struggle of people who actually DO want to be citizens of the U.S., who don’t share her privilege or copious amounts of money and options. Like her or not, it’s a major issue in the U.S. right now and if she’s going to find it necessary to voice her sarcastic opinion, she has to understand people are going to take it however they want to.
I think her point was not to avoid paying taxes per se. She lives in America, pays taxes on both she and her spouses income whether jointly or otherwise, and as an English citizen living in America would still be required to pay English income taxes, as well. (That’s double taxation and the political parties feelings on that are clearly outlined) This isn’t an example of skirting the system, it’s basic accounting.
Maybe income skimming for tax reasons would be better addressed to say Mitt Romney, any of the Bushs, or large corporations. An actress is kind of a dumb example to wave a flag behind in the very convoluted argument of liberal/taxes/personal wealth/conservatives/social programs.
In her case, I don’t think she’s avoiding taxes. I don’t actually get how you can get lower taxes as a dual. Sounds like she’ll be paying the taxes she’s supposed to and the taxes get divided legally between the two countries, depending on which country she spends more time in or however the tax agents deem appropriate. I assume she doesn’t want to have to deal with the headache of paying MORE THAN what other people have to pay out simply because she has residences in two different countries (not simply physical residences, but the paper that says you’re a legal resident of those countries).
I think someone like Mitt Romney who has one citizenship is more likely to dodge taxes in some kind of off-shore account.
The U.S. and U.K. have a double taxation treaty. You don’t pay double taxes on the same income; you can write one set of taxes off against the other. Blunt probably gets some tax breaks as a U.S. citizen that she doesn’t get as a U.S. ‘resident alien,’ possibly having to do with real estate ownership co-owned with her husband, a U.S. citizen.
Incidentally, I don’t think my initial logic is ‘convoluted’ at all.
You support expanded social services, you should be PROUD to pay taxes for expanded social services. Simple.
“You support expanded social services, you should be PROUD to pay taxes for expanded social services. Simple.”
But if one is going to remain a resident alien and pay more taxes (no tax break for the real estate) than a citizen without getting the privilege of being able to vote and cross a border more easily, the option Blunt decided to take makes more sense if that’s how the taxation process works. In this case, the country is giving two options and you get to choose from option A or B (assuming you’re lucky enough to get to choose between being a resident alien or citizen). I don’t see her circumventing any system to avoid anything — it’s up to the country to decide how the taxation process works and if they give an option where you can become a citizen, VOTE, pass in and out of a country without any hassles, and pay less taxes, I think it’s too hard to tell whether she dislikes paying taxes for expanded social services. I have no idea if she really cares that much about voting or any of the other privileges either, but if a system is in place where you get extra benefits from being a citizen — the biggest one of being able to cross in an out of the country so easily — and it so happens the other advantage is that you get to pay less taxes/get a tax break because that’s how the government decided those are the options they’re going to give people, taking the dual citizen route sounds more logical, regardless of whether you take pride in paying taxes or not.
they have a no double taxation treaty?? ARGH. I LIVE in the WRONG PLACES. So obviously, you would prefer to pay low US tax rate over high UK ones. Presumably the double taxation deal applies to citizens (otherwise you’re just a UK citizen living in the US, so you’d pay UK taxes, right?)
Although I do agree that she sounds Republican. I find it annoying when wealthy people do whatever they can to pay lower taxes (in the US, where they already pay so little). But I don’t take particular offense to her as the UK tax burden is heavy and if she doesn’t live there…it’s just logical. I’d admire her if she paid it, though, from a sense of social responsibility. But given the burden, she might then eventually find herself dropping to a lower tax bracket, haha.
I still don’t really think her taxes could possibly be that low as a dual, unless she’s actually hiding money somewhere like actual tax-evaders do.. It simply sounds like she’s choosing one country over the other in terms of tax distribution. The US tax burden is most likely lower, but regardless of that fact, if she’s spending more time in the United States than in Britain because her husband and daughter are there, then all I get from any of that is that she’s giving taxes to the country she spends more time in even if her emotional ties are to Britain. She’s not dodging social responsibility, but exercising responsibility in the country where her husband and daughter live, and consequently, where she lives too because of those ties. I still find it odd that a resident alien would be expected to pay more than an actual citizen though. I feel the burden should go more on the citizen since they get more privileges or that the burden should be equal (rather than more if you’re a resident alien), but maybe there’s some logic to how people decided the rules should be which I have no knowledge of. However, to clarify, I’m operating on the assumption that she would be expected to pay taxes to the USA even if she’s only a green-card holder and residing in the US past a certain number of days, not that she’s simply a UK citizen living in the US as a green card holder whose taxes go back to the UK.
I should have scrolled down, bearcatlawyer!
Exactly, if anything she’s making a HUGE commitment to the States. If she ever decides to live elsewhere, she will still have to file with the IRS every year for the rest of her life — the US and Eritrea are the only two countries in the world that forces their citizens to file taxes regardless of residency, as in taxation without representation — regardless of the source of the income or if she ever sets foot in the US again. (She could also give up US citizenship down the line, but that’s a lengthy process, she winds up on all sorts of lists, and she’d have to pay a hefty exit tax.)
This I am experiencing currently. I am living in canada (american citizenship). I stand to inherit millions once my father dies. I probably will be forced back to the US to avoid being taxed by the IRS every year.
@Andrea
You might want to expatriate. It costs US$2350 (the price used to be US$450, but shot up five-fold in 2014) and takes up to a year.
If your father is American, the IRS will still get a big chunk of his estate, whether through estate taxes (if he dies without relinquishing US citizenship) or exit taxes (if he expatriates before he dies). No matter what, you’ll be sharing your inheritance with the IRS.
By the way, I hope you’re already filing. You’ll need to hire an accountant, because the paperwork is crazy complicated. Since Canada’s not exactly the Cayman Islands, you’re unlikely to have to pay taxes to the IRS (unless you’re already a millionaire) but there are harsh consequences for non-compliance. Plus I think expatriation requires at least the last five years to be filed, so you’d better do that before applying.
PS There are about a million Canadians who have dual Canadian/US citizenship. Most of them are unaware that they have to file with IRS, never having even lived in the States. Moreover, some don’t even know they’ve got US citizenship.
To be perfectly blunt, Emily, nobody cares. God bless Your Queen and America’s green.
If nobody cared, then Celebitchy wouldn’t reach to find articles about it. She is married to a U.S. citizen, so it is easier for her to get citizenship than others wanting it. She didn’t jump the line, and way too much has been made over this.
I just wanted to do the blunt, emily thing…..didn’t put much thought into the comment….oh Lord…
I for one appreciated the pun, Nancy.
Thank you Kitten! Sometimes I think people get way too serious on here, but I can’t resist when something is punny to me. Okay I’ll stop. By the by, if anyone would get it, it’s you….I love reading your posts. Intelligence with a splash of wit and a dash of sarcasm. Woman after my own heart!
Nancy, I think Emily has a talkshow in her future. It’s called Being Blunt, and if I had my way, it would be like Graham Norton. Except that nobody’s quite as fun as him.
Oh, well, cheerio and carry on…
i don’t know what to say anymore, other than people please stop taking her seriously. she’s joking with a british publication here, she’s saying that not being able to be a prostitute is a “shame”. come on, it’s a joke.
Sanity at last! Thank you, ell. 🙂
The sensitivity factor on here is off the scale!
Interestingly “habitual drunkard” wasn’t defined last time I looked at the process as I asked a lawyer about it. (It was a few years ago, though.). I used to be a habitual drunkard, but now I’m not but I suppose I could be at any time,, so I might have a strike against me. 🙂
That’s practically a breach of a person’s human rights, to demand that they not be a habitual drunkard. 😉
Yeah, that one gave me pause. Could being a “habitual drunkard” cause me to lose my American-born citizenship?
Actually, our forefathers were all habitual drunkards, and given how culture and holidays have always been here, I’d say it’s the American Way.
I think she needs to stop talking about it. I totally get that people have varied reasons for making citizenship decisions, but she probably should have kept this to herself. America has been extremely good to Emily Blunt, financially speaking. She should probably keep that in mind when she says stuff like this. She doesn’t owe anybody an explanation about why she did it. She makes herself look worse the more she discusses it.
+1
I agree. I don’t think celebrities should get into politics unless they believe in something very strongly and are prepared to go all-in to make what they believe is important social change. You’ll definitely lose some of your fan base no matter what side you take, so it had better be worth it.
I agree she should just shut up about it, but why do people keep saying “America made her rich”? She’s not making money off the American National Treasure. She’s making money from American private film-making companies. ENORMOUS difference there.
Because those films would make nothing if Americans did not go see them. America is one of the largest movie markets in the world. Americans have paid millions to see her films, and if they were to suddenly decide to stop, you can bet that her lifestyle would probably take a major hit. She’s in an industry that’s dependent upon people liking you enough to pay money to watch you. She needs to keep her PR in check.
I can understand not wanting to renounce a country or sovereign state, but I have to admit I don’t get the whole “I don’t want to renounce my Queen” bit. I don’t even dislike Queen Elizabeth and I assume she’s talking about Elizabeth as a figurehead/Head of state/institution rather than as a person, but I still find that answer a little funny. I’m into royal gossip and what-not and I think it would be a little weird to think about Britain without a monarchy, but I feel there are other things I would be more prickly about renouncing if I were ever in a similar position to her.
Anyway, I wonder if she doesn’t want to devote to much emotion to the American citizenship issue for fear of reprisals from the British press. Maybe they’re not extremely dramatic about being British like Fox News is about being American, but I can still see them turning on a British star who “goes American.” I don’t think any country’s press is completely immune to beating the nationalistic drum when it suits them for certain political purposes.
Congrats America for your brand new citizen! May this alliance be tax-free forever. It definitely is brain-free.
So? I’m (eventually) getting married for tax reasons. People do a lot of things for tax reasons, because our tax code is so effing crazy. Also, let’s not pretend like she’s taking the place of an immigrant from a lesser-privileged country than Britain. There’s no immigration quota, she’s not cutting a line or stealing anyone’s spot. She became a citizen to streamline her sh-t, the end. If she hadn’t married and had a kid with an American, she probably wouldn’t be living in America in the first place, so let’s not pretend like she’s an original patriot. She fell for a guy from another country, she is not required to suddenly become an All American Girl.
thank you.
Agree. As I said in my comment below, I think most people acquire the extra nationality for other reasons rather than sentimental ones. My aunt became US citizen so she could adopt, my Belgian friend became Mexican because of taxes, another friend became Spanish because it’d be easier for him to do a master there and because its easier for him to travel with that passport….
I think few people really feel like “This country is so amazing, I love it so much and I want to become a citizen!”. And I’m not saying they arent grateful with their “new” countries, but at the end of the day, there is always that original place we consider home
Pretty much. This country is set up to cater to those who have the abilities to find ways around our tax issues (ever filed taxes with someone who had their dependent claimed by someone else?) and unfair to those who can’t and yet folks are angry at a cog in the system and not the system itself.
Finally some sense! Does it really matter if it was a purely financial decision? She’s not undermining those who are fighting for their own citizenship, or belittling their struggle. Since she was obviously going to be asked about it, I think it’s great she was honest. Not only because she should be allowed to make harmless comments like these without such a backlash, but because her (again, completely benign) reasons are shared by MANY other migrants who are lucky enough to move from one ‘first world’ country to another. Why would it be controversial?
And as Saks points out, for many people the idea of your ‘home’ citizenship is sentimental, and any others on top of that more practical than anything else. I have dual citizenship because my parents moved for employment, and this is definitely the case for me.
Seriously!
Wealthy people with more to lose will do whatever they need to do legally (sometime illegally) to pay less taxes. It’s a perfectly normal and customary tax strategy.
Generally I agree, but I know non-wealthy people from places like Canada, Britain, France, and Germany that are permanent residents and their tax situations are bizarre. I’m pretty sure one guy has to sacrifice a goat every year to pay his taxes in Germany. They’re all in the process of being naturalized citizens because it’s such a freaking headache for them to deal with every year (or in some cases, twice a year, depending on their home country’s tax laws). I think this is just a headache for anyone who pays taxes in two countries because tax laws are insane and nonsensical.
exactly. like start a charity. oh, wait, almost every star is somehow so charitable lately…
Ok you are ridiculous…yes there are plenty of people who come from horrible countries and want to be american but there are also of ppl who become american for other reasons. I have lots of canadian friends who became american bc they wanted to be in sunny florida. Others for tax reasons…hate to break it to everyone but if u dont come from a 3rd world country you arent dieing to be american
I hate to break it to you but no movie money is like America movie money. Maybe China. And Blunt loves America studio money
When was the last time she did an inependant movie? America is the countty that offered her more career and financial opportunities. I expected a little more decorum from the Queen’s representative.
India is the biggest one. Hollywood comes in third place.
Why would you?
Are you really personally invested in making sure every single one of the BILLIONS of people in this country loves and respects it? Because so long as she’s not shooting or raping anyone I could give less than a – .
“offered her more career and financial opportunities”
Exactly. She moved for financial reasons, and presumably stayed for both her new family and those same financial reasons — why should she have to pretend it was anything else? What exactly would more “decorum” from the “Queen’s representative” involve, other than a bald-faced lie?
“Horrible countries”….?
Note to Emily Blunt: your last name is not supposed to dictate your every word and deed.
“But I do mind that she seems to have such mixed feelings about just becoming a dual citizen, especially when there are literally millions of undocumented immigrants fighting for that same privilege, desperate to come out of the shadows and simply work legally and pay into the social safety net.”
This is an excellent point that I didn’t consider. You’re completely right. She needs to just stop talking about it. Even if she gets asked in interviews, she can decline to perpetuate this topic.
I assume her guerrilla and ho comment refer to arrest records..of course if you pimp yourself out for free fashion or pr, that’s okay. When you become a citizen you’re required to pledge an allegiance to that country..too bad there’s no more draft…
It’s a shame 18 year olds are no longer drafted to fight and die in foreign wars. You’re joking? Joining the military somehow proves allegiance?
…wouldn’t the draft effect millions more of YOUR young men than anything else. We saw how that worked for society as a whole during World War 1 and 2 but um…sure…let’s kill as many as our promising youth as possible depenant on their arrangement of their last name in the alphabet – oh oh! and rich kids like Trump get a pass cause ‘ankle issues’.
You’re blowing up this thread complaining about all the oversensitivity and then you take this “too bad there’s no more draft” comment literally? Come off it.
LMAO.
It’s not really over sensitivity I’m complaining about. It’s a complete absence of logic. I used the logic of the driver’s license. Driving is a privelage you have to apply for that is denied to many. Many of those who can drive are cynical and some downright destructive with their privelage but whether they hate or love driving doesn’t effect whether someone else is allowed to get a license.
Lindsey Lohan in her worst days wasn’t the one stopping someone from getting a license.
Cost, documentation, time and resource were stopping someone.
I think most people actually become US citizens (or of any other country) for these types of legal stuff and not for sentimental reasons, like getting better jobs or immigrants who just dont want to be kick out of the country. My aunt became a US citizen because it would be easier for her and my uncle to adopt.
I think people shouldn’t feel her comments as attacks and I don’t consider she is being offensive, she just loves her country as we all do. We all feel our countries are the best in the world.
I’m sure her country would love if she loved it enough not to try not to pay her taxes there.
oh dear emily keep your British mouth closed. Just open it when they write lines for you and keep benefiting from our great generous country.
Ill just stop to say your “great generous country” donated weapons and financed a dictatorship in my second-world not so great country, that resulted in the death and torture of thousands, with pretty much every human right in the book being violated. Just because the USA wasnt cool with the idea of a leftist government in their backyard.
Next time you see someone bashing the USA, instead of playing victim and acting like people have become so un-American all of a sudden, stop, look at your history and put yourself in these people’s shoes. Fast food and reality TV are not the things people hate that country for.
Pretty much this. The issues in Syria have our finger prints on them and now we’re dealing with the consequences in waves.
Oh, Josepha, lucky you get air out your grievances on American invention (US Military) the World Wide Web ie: the internet via US based gossip website. And that fact that this website is liberal. In fact bashing the USA on this site is a daily occurrence, so as a result you have not been banned from airing your anti-usa rhetoric. God Bless America!
kind of a bummer to hear it put this way though . . . I like to hear when folks actually WANT to be American, not save cash . . .
The comment about not wanting to renounce her Queen actually shows a certain lack of intelligence…I could think of much better (real) reasons. And if she loves her country so much, but doesn’t want to pay taxes there, what is it that she loves but doesn’t want to support by way of taxation? It all started with a kind of very British joke, but now she got herself into the territory of arrogance, and ignorance…well, she has only herself to blame.
I actually she would keep talking about it because America is oppressive and a bully when it comes to its tax code. I live in the UK and am married to a US citizen who has to pay a large chunk of extra money each year because he has to file as “married, single” (so loses all the breaks available to married people)…because I’m not a citizen and live in the UK I am obviously not obliged to file so he can’t file as “married, joint”. The only way around it is for me to VOLUNTARILY elect to pay US taxes. Wtf?! We don’t live or work in the US, why is the US trying to drag ME into their tax net and/or penalising my husband? SMH, America.
That’s way too complicated for my brain to compute
I can answer that for you, Amanda Panda. If I remember correctly from my two semesters of federal income tax law in law school, the Internal Revenue Code says everyone in the universe in history must pay U.S. income taxes UNLESS you can prove you are exempt from US taxation. I kid you not. Obviously enforcing that provision is against all 7 billion+ people in the world is unrealistic, but technically speaking, that is what the IRC says.
Basically, the IRS will always claim it’s your fault for marrying a U.S. citizen. Or Congress’ fault for writing the IRC that way. But never their fault!!!
Hope this helps! 😉
Yup. I lived in the US for 7 years (college and law school) and the IRS and my law school state sent me tax notices for years, to my UK office address, before (I guess) reluctantly concluding that even they had no way to enforce a tax demand against a Canadian living and working in the UK.
I was actually planning to explain why this situation angers me again but you know what? Im over it. Whatever. Just stop talking about this, Emily.
Of course. Wealthy, privileged person making privileged move, followed by a statement that reeks of privilege (note: I am referring to her glib complaining on TV about the citizenship oath that she took voluntarily when so many underprivileged individuals are desperate to become citizens, rather than her statements about the GOP), followed by shock that people called her out on her privileged cluelessness. Also, the sun came up this morning. I guess her loyalty to the quid trumps her loyalty to the queen?
WHY won’t she just stfu already? My God, some people are just so tone deaf. Poor poor little rich girl had to renounce her Queen to save her millions. What an a*s.
I really don’t care, Emily. Just stop talking about this already. If asked, defer to answer on the grounds it has been exhaustively addressed and move on to the next thing.
“….especially when there are literally millions of undocumented immigrants fighting for that same privilege…”
I totally agree. Does she have no sense of her privilege to have the opportunity to be a US Citizen? She may also have no sense or the ability to relate to the new controversy surrounding her film.
Her new movie Scicaro, is not very well received in the Mexican border town the movie was based on. Ciudad Juarez has been working very hard to shed a good light on themselves as they have taken large efforts to rehabilitate tourism. Currently, there have been less killings and drug related violence than in the past and now they feel that the negative portrayal of Juarez in this movie is setting them back. The Mexican Mayor is trying to ban the movie from showing in town and many of the residents who saw the flick are claiming that city was misrepresented in the movie.
To many this is just a movie filled with Hollywood drama, but to others like the ones that live in the El Paso/Juarez region, feel that it affects them poorly.
http://fusion.net/story/208629/why-does-ciudad-juarez-want-to-boycott-benicio-del-toros-hit-film-sicario/
http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2015/10/04/sicario-movie-not-reality/73359360/
Y’all are completely naive if you think everyone becomes a citizen because they just love America and think Americans are amazing!!! It’s practical, familial, financial reasons 98% of the time.
I appreciate the honestly! Honestly, the outrage from Americans is ridiculous. This is real life, not the movies!
Lots of musicians all over the years have done it for that reason or lived somewhere else for that reason. Keith Richards became an American citizen.
Yeah, this. I think it’s funny people talk about how immigrants die to get a citizenship. Well, yeah. Because of financial reasons and fear of getting kicked out, not some particular love for the country. You guys talk about becoming American as if it was some kind of upgrade from being of another nationality.
And then we blame awful Gerard Depardieu for becoming Russian citizen…again for tax reasons.
yeah, it’s like people totally forgot that huge waves of (legal) US immigration were fuelled by economic and financial motives, every single person who landed at Ellis Island etc was not some refugee fleeing persecution, some just wanted to eat and have a better house. Are they to be considered “disrespectful” too?
Yeah so as someone who actually went through this process recently I could not be less bothered by her comments.
Those arguing her comments show a lack of respect for those who struggle to attain citizenship status…yeah…they struggle BECAUSE of the system. Because the system is not designed for easy entrance. I have known people working for 20 years to try and raise enough money to cover the cost of bringing their whole large family and paying a lawyer. Don’t want to pay for a lawyer? Gee, better hope every single line and dot is crossed perfectly or your application is rejected, the money you put into it lost, and your efforts wasted.
Many people have their applications rejected repeatedly 4 or 5 times and that’s for those who don’t just give up. Depending on the political climate you can enjoy political parties spewing ugly lines about your efforts or have your application under ‘special’ review. You’ll have to go from govt building to govt building repeatedly, all of which – of course – are only open during the hours of work and school. So be prepared to miss a LOT of both as you get your paperwork in order.
Trying to attain citizenship for yourself if you’re already here? Agony. Trying to ‘legally’ (cause remember you’re scum if you do it any other way) bring a family member? LMAOOOOO
This isn’t a trip to the DMV. Emily’s cynical tone isn’t what defines this process. It’s our govt. and our immigration process that is broken, I’m not mad at her for taking advantage of it because she’s able to finance (and probably fast track) it the same way I’m not mad at the people who use legal loopholes to pay less tax. I’m mad the system that allows both and knows full well it caters to the 1% in everything. That imbalance prompts no loyalty from either side of the tax bracket and fuels an ‘every man for himself’ hunger.
You’re right as usual, Eternal Side-eye.
It is funny how she says, she became a citizen for tax purposes, since many US companies and citizens try to hide their money in Foreign banks , investments and claim residence in other countries to protect their money from the IRS.
It’s difficult, close to impossible, for immigrants to gain US citizenship, and she only did it to pay lower taxes, despite being rich. Wow.
eh. It’s not that hard. 10/10 immigrants in my family got it.
same here, and mine had immigrated for financial reasons too (oooh, bad citizens!)
Really? Every single member of my extended family (besides my sister and myself) is an immigrant and over the years all of them have become US citizens – including my Palestinian (now American!) brother-in-law and my Mom’s family who were refugees.
After he became a US citizen my (formerly) Palestinian brother-in-law bought a gigantic US flag – like 8 feet by 14 feet – and hung it off the front of the house. My sister was embarrassed but what could she say. 🙂 He was so excited to be American!
So she loves her country of origin, remains a citizen, but she doesn’t want to pay taxes to support it? Nice. For a 1%er.
Like I’ve said, American citizenship is only a privilege relative to where you’re coming from. If you’re coming from Canada/UK, US citizenship doesn’t really do much for you. It’s not a particular privilege. It just provides some advantage compared to a green card that you might wish to go for if it conveniences you. Right now, my US citizenship is a ball and chain around my leg. I’ll keep it for easier entrance to visit, but I would seriously consider giving it up otherwise.
It’s fine to acknowledge that US citizenship is a privilege for a lot of people. But that’s not necessarily relevant to whether or not it’s a privilege for Emily. It isn’t, in her case. It’s a convenience. She’s not reeking with privilege because she’s less than embracing of US citizenship. She’s reeking with privilege because she’s from the UK. Wrong measure.
There are people dying to acquire the privilege of UK citizenship. By Celebitchy logic, shouldn’t the fact that Emily is reluctant to give up her privilege of UK citizenship speak to her appreciation?
“It’s fine to acknowledge that US citizenship is a privilege for a lot of people. But that’s not necessarily relevant to whether or not it’s a privilege for Emily. It isn’t, in her case.”
THANK YOU.
Becoming an American Citizen is a privilege to million of people. Sorry to see Emily is doing it for greed. Shame on her. Btw, she is free to say it’s not a privilege but i am are free to call her out for being greedy B for taking something that millions of people are waiting for for several years to get that privilege, jmo.
how much of a privilege is it to live in a country where gun massacres occur more than anywhere else and yet nothing gets done to improve gun laws? When nothing gets done after children in Sandy Hook are massacred but holy crap Emily Blunt dares to say she isn’t hugging and kissing the flag, you may need to get over yourselves. Especially those of you who had the dumb luck to be born in the US. The US is far from perfect. It is a great country if you are rich, like Emily Blunt. It is not so great if you are not rich or white.
But distractions work well and it is sad to say that the movie Idiocracy is becoming more and more a reality.
@NIC919 (hope I hit the right reply button on my phone), that’s sort of my point. My quality of life went down absolutely after I moved to the US relative to where I was. That stuff still impacts me–I stopped seeing a doctor after I moved because my parents didn’t want to pay copays (which seemed expensive to them) and to this day, i still avoid the doctor. Yet this was terrible for me during my pregnancy, as my reluctance to engage doctors and tendency to avoid lab work due to unanticipated costs (even tho I now live somewhere where my care is pretty much free) nearly resulted in stillbirth. In many ways, I would have had a better life if I’d never moved to the US, but it wasn’t my decision.
You can call Emily greedy but keep in mind greed is relative. The UK tax burden is far higher than in the US. You have plenty of wealthy people trying to evade taxes in the US, which is gross. She’s actually on the hook for a heavy tax burden with no personal benefit (not because she’s wealthy but because she doesn’t even live in that society)–to me, it’s just logical.
I think it’s heartening to know how much of a Royalist she is. It must indeed be painful to”renounce your Queen” for strictly financial reasons. Bless her heart.
Heh! 🙂
Completely off topic, I wish she went back to brunette. Blonde hair doesn’t suit her. Makes her generic. Embrace your brunetteness, EM!
this is my only take away
was she always so bland and boring looking or is it the hair?
Dark hair makes her stand out. She was so gorgeous in The Adjustment Bureau. http://media.theiapolis.com/d4/hJ4/iTES/k4/lTF2/wZK/emily-blunt-as-elise-sellas-1.jpg
Emily Blunt was gorgeous in My Summer of Love, really just strikingly beautiful. Sadly she seems to have had a lot of cosmetic work done since then – it looks like implants in her jaw, along with a nose job and eye lift.
She’s still attractive and her body is totally on point, but she’s lost that true beauty she used to have.
I agree.
Yup just like I (and most of us here) said, it was for tax reasons. Also, why is this STILL a story? This girl has been attacked for a month straight over the littlest comment. I guess they don’t have anything else to say about her.
BearcatLawyer, Eternal SideEye & Saks have all explained this quite logically. The woman was born & reared in G.B. & her blood relatives are British. emily married an American & their child is a US citizen. Britain’s inheritance/estate taxes are punitive & her US citizenship protects her assets for her family so less of it will go to support Harry, Will, & Kate.
Yes, it was easier for her for a few reasons: she has a job & can support herself; she’s legally married to a US citizen. How many non-citizens in the US who supposedly want to get green cards, H1B visas, permanent resident status, or citizenship don’t still feel nostalgia or sentimentality toward the countries where they were born & grew up?
Her comments are quite realistic & understandable. Move on.
I get what she’s saying, but the way she says it doesn’t go over so well. I know she’s over there when saying it, but there’s ways to couch things. She is the wife of an American and the mother of their child born here and living here in the U.S. So it’s easy to say why she wants a dual citizenship. No reason to be so dramatic about the Queen. She retains dual citizenship.
Five months after Natasha Richardson’s death, Liam Neeson said he became a U.S. Citizen. He has said he was moved by America’s response.
“In the wake of that horrific event, the 57-year-old actor says he received a steady, extraordinary and continuing, stream of condolence letters from Americans.
“That is partly the reason why I’ve recently become an American citizen,” Neeson said. “I’m still a proud Irishman, of course,” he added, “but I’ve become an American citizen – I’m very proud of that.”
He never went into the other reasons, which I am sure had to do with dealing with Natasha’s estate when she died, who had a dual citizenship, and probably realized he needed to do that for his children. He just didn’t mention any of that stuff and kept it private, which is none of our business. And I thought what he said was just right, he’s still a proud Irishman, but he’s also proud of becoming a U.S. citizen.
Another example is the model Anne V who became a citizen last year (I think it was). She had really nice things to say. No mention of jobs or taxes or her allegiance to her birth country, etc. I am sure all those things still stand — she just chose to express gratitude instead. I respect that.
@taxi
“her US citizenship protects her assets for her family so less of it will go to support Harry, Will, & Kate”
I am sure her family would starve otherwise, without those extra millions. Her taxes go to support far much more than the purported £10 per annum spent on those wastrels, like society at large. But then you knew that already and chose to ignore that and that caring for one’s country means caring for its people. Geez.
Stir, stir, stir.
So much ado over nothing.
I can’t with her anymore. Her arrogance and disregard for her citizenship — which so many have even died to try to get — is revolting. This isn’t about “Murica” for me. I would feel this way for any country that let me in, gave me a wonderful career and a home, and then granted me citizenship over others who wanted/needed it even more than I did.
Her film roles will dry up eventually. She isn’t all that. So she had better save her money now.
Over-discussed convo. Duncur…. At all. I don’t have any problems with what she’s saying but its such nothingness its not worth the complaint. If anyone moved away from there home country they loved you don’t begrudge them for still caring about it. Its silly. And people get naturalization for far worse reasons so lets move on to her dress lol.
She feels guilty about letting her British citizenship go I guess. She identifies as British. But I do agree she’s said too much about it already.
I’m not faulting her. C’mon. It’s a smart business decision that anyone would make regardless of income. Just because they are celebrities doesn’t mean they should be naive to sound business decisions. She is a Brit and takes pride in it. I’m an American and I somewhat take pride in my country despite our issues.
I’ve never met anyone who’s made a permanent move to another country and not had mixed feelings about it, and that includes refugees and immigrants looking for a better standard of living. Even if their country has turned into a hellscape, people miss the culture, the food, the people, the traditions, the landscape, the family and friends left behind…home is home, even when home is a wreckage of a country that wants you dead.
My grandparents were immigrants. They were so happy to be able to provide a better life for their children, but not necessarily happier themselves. It was very bittersweet for them. They had a better standard of living for sure, but they lost a lot of their own identities and I don’t think they ever really felt comfortable anywhere again.
Eh, it depends on where it is and how often you can go back. I moved from Canada to the UK. I miss hockey on TV and I guess timbits, and that’s about it. I do NOT miss winter. I go back and see my family all the time. Nothing bittersweet about it for me.
well you might have not met people who haven;t had mixed feelings about this, but that does;t mean they don;t exist. I, for example. In the process of getting US citizenship and not bittersweet about it at all. US is my home now.
Let me get this straight. It’s acceptable to some of you here because she’s lovely. Wow her comment is so elitist and incredibly insulting all around. She loves being British but her privilege ass doesn’t want to pay taxes in her country to contribute to her country’s infrastructure. Then she basically is admitting she’s rich but in American she will pay less taxes. And that’s supposed to be lovely knowing this rich woman is shirk in paying taxes. Do we working class Americans have a way of shirking and getting out of paying taxes like rich foreigners do?
She had better save her pennies because she is one hell of a mediocre actress. The remaining cast made Sicario great.
This aside, the fact that these actors [not just her] make millions and yet complain about paying taxes, shows how elitist they are.
Same reason Murdoch became a U.S. citizen.
She doesn’t have to run around in an American flag bikini but it would be nice for her to stop griping about how sad her citizenship is. It’s making me lose any kind of respect I once had for her being a level headed non Hollywood type. She’s sounding just like all the others now.
There are quite a few people who don’t have the ability to just become citizens and her tax reasonings are really stupid.
Sure she can do as she wishes and say whatever she wants, but there are also consequences to actions and words.
It’s been a terrible PR move to comment as she has done, but her tax reasons for taking out US citizenship aren’t “stupid.” US-UK marriages have many tax pitfalls. It’s not a matter of avoiding tax, it’s a matter of ensuring that you only pay tax once, in one country rather than twice, in two countries, for the same thing (i.e. inheritance). There are many holes in the treaty that permit double taxation and the countries themselves don’t care.
Did anybody seriously think this wasn’t for taxes? That’s not a bad thing as many people have said not everyone has to be a flag waving patriot and her speaking about her own situation does not belittle anybody else’s would you rather she lie just to fit in?
Also she gets asked about this repeatedly so has to answer repeatedly but bloggers don’t have to cover it repeatedly so no she doesn’t need to shut up about it IMO.
She is not wrong and it’s not wrong to feel sad about renouncing her Queen. But are there no other aspects of her life to talk about? The hard (blunt) truth is that her career is dependent on good PR and it is especially precarious PR for her to elaborate on this. She could have just said simply her kids and husband were American so it was natural for her, although she doesn’t feel any less English. And then talk about something else. That’s why I only feel a bit sorry for her and I wish her well as she becomes the ‘aging’ Hollywood actress. I would still watch movies with her in it. Tom Cruise, not so much.
J.K. Rowling made a great point about three or so years ago when she said the following:
“I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.
A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism.”