This seems vaguely similar to what people leaving Canada for tax purposes - they're assumed to logically sell all of their goods that year so as to pay tax on the gain/loss. The US taxes citizens all the time, which has an advantage in this case. Doesn't cost $$, merely requires extra forms and filings.
Renouncing citizenship, to first order, sounds like leaving Canada.
Can someone explain how this is enforceable if a citizen renounces citizenship while they are abroad? Would that be similar to renouncing citizenship while you owe taxes (I'm not really sure what would happen in that case either)?
That's enough time to get citizenship. The argument is probably "If you are going to stay, get involved, make a commitment. If you don't think its worth that, then by all means leave."
The US is the only country in the world that does this. Tax it's citizens even if they don't live there for years and own no property in it's borders, or people who have lived there. It's the big wrench in me wanting to get a green card in the USA unfortunately.
The HEART act is also very ironic, since it is basically taxation without representation, one of the founding reasons of America.
Unless you live in a country with lower tax rates than the US, the annual cost of such taxation is paper, toner and postage. The advantage is that you can enter/leave without having to resolve your holdings with the IRS (at least as a citizen, no idea whether this applies to green card holders).
Make sure everything is in order before you get on the plane to the States.