So, one thing about being an American abroad right now is that electoral candidates really want our votes, but they don't actually offer any benefits for Americans abroad.

Evan Prodromou

mcc

@evan donald trump becoming president made my life dramatically worse… his tax "cut" introduced the GILTI tax like, one month after I moved out here on a work visa based on owning a small business. now i have to spend gobs on a tax preparer every year just to file the paper saying I owe no GILTI tax, or risk large fines if I get it wrong

so i guess a presidential candidate can make the expatriate experience *worse*, even if it won't occur to anyone to make it better

Evan Prodromou

@mcc agreed. I am particularly talking about the appeals from celebs on the internet; they all talk about what we can do for the candidate, but not what they can do for us.

Janet Vertesi

@evan
they can absolutely do things that make your life misrrable or better. I remember when Harper restricted Canadians abroad from extending citizenship to their spouses, just a few years before I got married. And when Trudeau opened up voting to Canadians abroad I couls finally vote again after two decades away. Those decisions were made by domestic voters and I had no say, but they definitely influenced my experience.

Evan Prodromou

@cyberlyra I should have been clearer. They could do a lot for Americans abroad, but they don't mention any of those things when asking for our votes.