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).
The HEART act is also very ironic, since it is basically taxation without representation, one of the founding reasons of America.