Relocating to the USA

[-Asdfgh-]

it's surprisingly available to anybody who has widely-published work, presented at international conferences, received awards, etc.

I have done the last two in science, and papers have been published. I don't think I can rely on a few recording credits on niche albums though...

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I don't honestly know how that works or who recognizes what.

Most countries only recognise one citizenship. Most EU countries will ignore this if you are from another EU country. Germany will let you be dual US-German too (handy for my wife, potentially). The UK doesn't seem to much care where else you claim to be a citizen of unless you want to work in secret government labs, etc. Not many countries require you renounce other citizenships, but a few do at least officially but don't really check up.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Are you talking about high profile musicians, or average joes? Either way, anymore I find myself wondering why people from other highly developed countries want to move here.

 

[Guild B301]

Being in the 90% bracket does not mean that you owe 90% of your income in taxes.

I did not say anything about a 90% tax bracket.
I said the guitarist was going to have to pay in about 90% of what he made. The other singer was in a 78% tax bracket.
They were different people, going to have to pay different amounts. I described them differently.

 

[MichelD]

Germany has changed a lot of rules. My wife came from there to Canada in 1974 and when she took Canadian citizenship in the 1990s she had to renounce her German citizenship.

Now our Canadian-born daughter who moved to Berlin after meeting the man of her dreams there on a family visit, married there and has two-teenage children, is eligible for German citizenship because her mother was born there.

But if my wife wishes to regain her German citizenship would have to apply just like any other immigrant.

Go figure.

 

[Guild B301]

Those sort of rates haven't been around for over 40 years, though, but the likes of Morrissey moved much more recently.

Yep, the examples I mentioned were from the ‘70s. The OP said “in the last 50 years”.

 

[Acoop]

Not sure why anyone would want to, these days. ... Dreams? ... If you have a good lead for work, which would take, what was once called a J1 Visa, but, there's very little work playing and touring these days, so they're not handing those out these days. ... Plus, the places you need to live in NYC, LA, Nashville, etc to get work are not cheap places to set up house. ... Then you've got Health Insurance to pay for every month, with a heavy up front once you're into a 'for-profit' hospital. ... I'd suggest you get a trade, one that will get you there and you explore music after you've arrived. ... Maybe a trade will set you up with housing and health care insurance. ... Music, even for rock stars, is no longer a living. ...

 

[ardgedee]

The USA doesn't recognise their dual citizenship, though!

Practically speaking that only means that when they enter the US they have to use their US passport, and that they aren't allowed to evade their responsibilities as a US citizen within US borders when that's more convenient (for example you can't get out of jury duty simply because you have a second citizenship). Many countries that permit (or at least don't explicitly forbid) multiple citizenships have similar requirements; it's more about keeping tabs on who's within their own country than what they're doing outside of it.

This is somewhat different from forbidding multiple citizenships, in which one would be required to renounce their existing citizenship elsewhere as a condition for being granted a citizenship here.

 

[brianrost]

The main reason UK musicians came here to live is because they had a much bigger audience here, just as some American musicians have much bigger audiences in Europe.

For jazz musicians in particular, NYC is still considered the place where you need to go to make it and there is a very long list of European jazz musicians who live in the USA. I have no idea how many became citizens, but I would guess many of them did.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I did some more reading about it. Yeah, we don't recognize dual citizenship here. That kinda' creates some legal problems. Mick and John are both U.S. Citizens now. I don't know what that means for them over there, from a subjuct/citizen position but I doubt if many question their English-ness.

I'm still leaving a visit to merry old Huncote on my bucket-list.

 

[ToneMonkey]

I did not say anything about a 90% tax bracket.
I said the guitarist was going to have to pay in about 90% of what he made. The other singer was in a 78% tax bracket.
They were different people, going to have to pay different amounts. I described them differently.

I question the first number. To actually pay 90% tax, the highest marginal bracket would have to be much higher. I don’t believe it. I suspect your friend exaggerated.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

No, not me, I am just curious about this. For most mere mortals such a thing is difficult, but a lot of British musicians seem to have just upped and moved to the USA over the last 50 years. How do they get to just move and stay, seemingly on a whim?

Contact the US Embassy. There is a little more to it than a whim. My daughter-in-law is from Japan. It’s not impossible, but her tale to become naturalized is cautionary.

The reason why musicians move here is our tax rates plus the cost of real estate, especially land, is much lower.

 

[Guild B301]

I question the first number. To actually pay 90% tax, the highest marginal bracket would have to be much higher. I don’t believe it. I suspect your friend exaggerated.

Nope, he didn’t exaggerate. It was even in the music press at the time he moved. It was 1974.
When I asked WHY he chose to move to the US, he said one word, “Freedom”.

 

[John Stephen]

My recollection is that the 90% figure is accurate based on news articles that I saw back then. It's why Mick Jagger moved to France or someplace, and it's why George Harrison wrote the song "Taxman" ("there's one for you, 19 for me", which actually would be a 95% tax rate). At least that's what I read at the time.

 

[El Spearo]

Why would you want to move to the states?

 

[BobDeRosa]

I'm a lifelong US citizen and for the life of me I can't imagine why anyone would want to move here now. After Nov 3 might be a different story.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I question the first number. To actually pay 90% tax, the highest marginal bracket would have to be much higher. I don’t believe it. I suspect your friend exaggerated.

Check out this article: History of taxation in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

The key info is "The highest rate of income tax peaked in the Second World War at 99.25%. It was then slightly reduced and was around 90% through the 1950s and 60s."

Needless to say this was the era when politicians turned the UK into "the sick man of Europe".

 

[joeyl]

I'm a US citizen who lived abroad most of my youth, came back to the US for college, got a job, married etc. Never left again. The past 4-5 years are making me second myself now.

 

[flatrat]

The opportunities that are available to the wealthy or powerful individuals are different than those that are available to the rest of the folks. It does not matter what country you're from, if you are wealthy, all kinds of doors open up for you all over this planet. They can live anywhere and many choose the US but maintain multiple homes around the world.

For musicians, the talent pool to draw from or collaborate with in the US is huge. It is the largest single market in the world for their creative output. You can find your niche here. And their are other benefits such as favorable tax laws, insane number of investment options, great diversity in choices for living from dense cities to wide open land and everything in between. There are plenty of great reasons to relocate to the US but it is not for everyone. Many choose not to live in the US because some other place suits them better.

 

[Killing Floor]

Musician or not, once you have proper tacos or Texas barbecue you're hooked. Once you experience driving on the right side of the road you'll never want to leave.