Archive for John Richardson

Is FATCA Aimed At Resident Americans, Residents Of Other Countries, Or Both? (Part 3 – Notice 2023-11)

Is FATCA Aimed At Resident Americans, Residents Of Other Countries, Or Both? (Part 3 - Notice 2023-11)

Summary – The Reader’s Digest Version …

Although FATCA was clearly motivated by the behaviour of US citizens resident in the United States, Treasury did NOT interpret the “purpose” as being limited to prevent abuses by “residents of the United States”. Rather Treasury appears to have interpreted the purpose of FATCA (very broadly) to target residents of other countries.

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Written by | Posted in FATCA

A Definition Of U.S. Citizenship Taxation: How The U.S. Imposes Worldwide Taxation On People Who Live In Other Countries

A Definition Of U.S. Citizenship Taxation: How The U.S. Imposes Worldwide Taxation On People Who Live In Other Countries

Prologue

The term “citizenship tax” is abstract and meaningless without context. What does it really mean? In this short post I attempt to describe the defining aspect of US tax residency in simple terms.

Bottom line:

The ONLY contextual meaning of taxing based on citizenship is that it allows the US to impose tax on income earned outside the United States by people who live outside the United States.

Here is why …

What exactly is “citizenship taxation”? How/why does citizenship matter? It’s not what the “treaty partner” countries think!

1. Like all countries the United States imposes worldwide taxation on its residents. Individuals living in the United States will meet the “substantial presence” requirements and are therefore taxable on their worldwide income. Citizenship is irrelevant.

2. Like all countries the United States imposes taxation on income sourced in the United States. Generally the United States will have the first right of taxation and has the ability to withhold tax. Citizenship is irrelevant.

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Written by | Posted in Definition Of U.S. Citizenship Taxation • TaxConnections

Non-U.S. Banks May Be Forced To Sever Ties With US Citizen Clients Because Of FATCA (Part 2 – Notice 2023-11)

Non-U.S. Banks May Be Forced To Sever Ties With US Citizen Clients Because Of FATCA (Part 2 – Notice 2023-11)

Introduction – The Readers’ Digest Version

This is Part 2 of a series of posts discussing the world of FATCA and how IRS Notice 2023-11 is likely to impact it. (Part 1 is referenced in the above tweet.) In Part 1 I described how Notice 2023-11 imposes significant additional obligations on both non-US banks and the IGA Model 1 governments. (This post will be best understood by first reading Part 1 and understanding the additional compliance burdens imposed on non-US banks as a result of Notice 2023-11.) The purpose of this post (Part 2) is to suggest that the overall context of FATCA, the FATCA IGAs and US citizenship taxation will incentivize non-US banks to purge US citizen clients. It is reasonable to conclude, that US citizen clients are a clear and present danger to their businesses.

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Written by | Posted in FATCA • TaxConnections

The Carrot, The Stick And Heightened FATCA Enforcement On Overseas Americans (Part 1 – Notice 2023-11)

The Carrot, The Stick And Heightened FATCA Enforcement On Overseas Americans (Part 1 - Notice 2023-11)

Welcome To 2023 – A Year Of Heightened FATCA Enforcement

On December 30, 2022 US Treasury released Notice 2023-11. The broad purpose of the Notice is to prescribe conditions that would allow non-US banks to temporarily avoid a designation of “significant non-compliance” under the FATCA IGAs. It is important to note that Notice 2023-11 is NOT simply a “stay of execution”. It is a “stay of execution” that is conditional on both non-US banks and their governments participating in a significant escalation of FATCA enforcement on US citizens who live outside the United States.

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Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

Croatia Agrees To Allow The U.S. To Impose Tax

Croatia Agrees To Allow The U.S. To Impose Tax, Forms And Penalties On It's U.S. Citizen Residents

Croatia Agrees To Allow The U.S. To Impose Tax, Forms And Penalties On It’s U.S. Citizen Residents

On December 7, 2022 a US Treasury Press Release included:

December 7, 2022
WASHINGTON — In a ceremony held at the U.S. Department of State today, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez and Croatia’s Minister of Finance Dr. Marko Primorac signed a comprehensive income tax treaty between the United States and Croatia. The new tax treaty is the first of its kind between the United States and Croatia.

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Would A Move To Residency-Based Taxation Solve The FATCA Problem For Americans Abroad Created By The FATCA IGAs?

Would A Move To Residency-Based Taxation Solve The FATCA Problem For Americans Abroad Created By The FATCA IGAs?

Purpose Of This Post – The “Readers Digest” Version

FATCA is administered through the FATCA IGAs (international agreements) and not through the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (domestic law of the United States). the FATCA IGAs do NOT include a provision to change the meaning of “U.S. Person”. Rather the meaning of “U.S. Person” is permanently defined as a “U.S. citizen or resident”. There is no provision in the IGA to change this definition. Therefore, the IGAs are written so that they will ALWAYS apply to U.S. citizens regardless of whether the U.S. continues citizenship taxation.

In effect, implementing FATCA through the IGAs has had the practical impact that:

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Written by | Posted in Citizenship Based Taxation • TaxConnections

To TFSA Or To Not TFSA, Whether Tis Better For A US Citizen Living In Canada To Open A TFSA Or Not

To TFSA Or To Not TFSA, Whether Tis Better For A US Citizen Living In Canada To Open A TFSA Or Not

Introduction And Purpose

As the article referenced in the above tweet makes clear, a very small percentage of Canadians can expect their retirements to be funded by pensions. The message is that individuals have an obligation to themselves and to their families to engage in responsible financial and retirement planning. The tax laws in every country have provisions in their tax codes to facilitate this planning. Almost all of these planning vehicles are based on “before tax” advantaged vehicles (RRSP or Conventional IRA) or “after tax” vehicles (TFSA or ROTH IRA) which allow for tax free growth.

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Americans Abroad With Local Investments That Are “Foreign To The US” Live Under The Sword Of Damocles

JOHN RICHARDSON

Prologue – The “Take Away” And Summary For Americans Abroad

The general message is contained in the above twitter thread. Americans abroad are likely to have financial involvements with a number of different kinds of “entities” that are “local” to them and “foreign to the United States. Examples may include: pension plans, tax advantaged savings plans, small business corporations and more. The descriptive title of these “entities” is irrelevant to their classification under US tax rules.

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Written by | Posted in Americans Abroad And Taxes • TaxConnections

Bittner FBAR Appeal: U.S. Supreme Court Justices Define Three Issues Evidenced By Eleven Key Moments

Bittner FBAR Appeal: Supreme Court Justices Define Three Issues Evidenced By Eleven Key Moments

Introduction

On November 2, 2022 the Supreme Court of the United States heard the appeal in the case of:

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Written by | Posted in FBAR • Reasonable Cause • TaxConnections

How Will The U.S. Supreme Court Rule On This FBAR Penalty Case?

Supreme Court FBAR Case: ALEXANDRU BITTNER, Petitioner v. UNITED STATES Respondent - No. 21-1195

Here is the audio recording of the November 2, 2022 Bittner FBAR hearing …

https://www.c-span.org/video/?523324-1/bittner-v-united-states-oral-argument

On November 2, 2022 the Supreme Court Of The United States heard the Bittner case. The issue was whether in the context of a non-willful FBAR penalty:

1) The government is restricted to imposing one penalty based on the failure to file one FBAR; or

2) The government is authorized to impose one non-willful penalty for each of the accounts that should have been reported on the single FBAR form.

For example, let’s imagine that a US citizen has ten accounts that are “foreign” and he fails to file an FBAR form. Is the penalty based on the failure to file the form itself (one form means one $10,000 penalty)? Or may the government impose a penalty based on the failure to disclose each of the accounts on the FBAR form (10 times $10,000 = $100,000)?

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How US Tax Treaties And The “Saving Clause” Prevent Countries From Establishing Retirement Programs For US Citizen Residents

How US Tax Treaties And The “Saving Clause” Prevent Countries From Establishing Retirement Programs For US Citizen Residents

Prologue – The Circumstances Of Your Birth Should Not Determine The Outcome Of Your Life …

The above tweet references a “human interest” story where US citizen children are denied benefits in their country of residence that are available to all people who are NOT US citizens.

The description includes:

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Written by | Posted in Citizenship Solutions • TaxConnections

Extradition Is One Way That Changes In Another Country’s Tax Laws May Change Your Tax Relationship With The US

JOHN RICHARDSON

Prologue

As long as the US continues to employ citizenship taxation any changes in US tax law will continue to have unintended consequences on Americans abroad. In March of 2022 I outlined how some of the tax changes proposed in the 2023 Biden Green book would impact US citizens who live outside the United States. As important as US tax changes are, Americans abroad must be aware of how changes in the laws of their country of residence may also impact their “tax relationship” with the United States.

The purpose of this post is provide five simple examples. Some of the examples are based on Canada’s tax laws and others are of a more general nature.

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Written by | Posted in Biden Tax Law Changes • Extradition
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