International Tax Reform & Can Wealthy Americans Move to Virgin Islands and Not Pay Federal Capital Gains Tax?

The Senate Finance Committee Modified Mark has published the modification to source rules involving possessions; the following is a description and analysis of the proposal:

The proposal modifies the sourcing rule in section 937(b)(2) by modifying the U.S. income limitation to exclude only U.S. source (or effectively connected) income attributable to a U.S. office or fixed place of business. The proposal also modifies section 865(j)(3) by providing that capital gains income earned by a U.S. Virgin Islands resident shall be deemed to constitute U.S. Virgin Islands source income regardless of the tax rate imposed by the U.S. Virgin Islands government.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has an income tax system that “mirrors” the U.S. Code. The U.S. Virgin Islands may also impose certain local income taxes in addition to taxes imposed by the mirror Code. The Code provides rules for coordination of United States and U.S. Virgin Islands taxation. It permits the U.S. Virgin Islands to reduce or remit tax otherwise imposed by the mirror code if the tax is attributable to U.S. Virgin Islands source income or income effectively connected to the conduct of a trade or business in U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Virgin Islands has exercised that authority to provide development incentives for certain types of businesses operating within its borders. Under such initiatives, companies can receive a 90 percent reduction in their tax liability on certain income.

Under the mirror Code, U.S. Virgin Islands citizens and residents are taxable on their worldwide income. A foreign tax credit is allowed for income taxes paid to the United States, foreign countries, and other possessions of the United States. In general, a bona fide resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands is required to file and pay tax only to the possession; compliance with that obligation satisfies any Federal income tax filing obligation. …

In the case of an individual who is a U.S. citizen or alien residing in the United States or the U.S. Virgin Islands, only one tax is computed under the Code. If an individual is a bona fide resident of U.S. Virgin Islands for the entire taxable year, such tax is payable to the U.S. Virgin Islands and no U.S. tax is imposed. Otherwise, a citizen or resident of the United States who has income from sources within the U.S. Virgin Islands must determine the portion of income attributable to the U.S. Virgin Islands and the related tax payable to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The remaining portion is payable to the United States.

Concerns that U.S. citizens not resident in the U.S. Virgin Islands were improperly claiming residence in the U.S. Virgin Islands or forming entities in the U.S. Virgin Islands in order to re-characterize income earned in the United States as sourced in the U.S. Virgin Islands and claim the 90 percent economic development credit led to legislative changes in 2004. These changes provided a definition of bonafide residence in a possession and rules to determine source of income from possessions. They also impose a requirement that individuals report any change in residency status with respect to a possession during a taxable year.

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William H. Byrnes has achieved authoritative prominence with more than 20 books, treatise chapters and book supplements, 1,000 media articles, and the monthly subscriber Tax Facts Intelligence. Titles include: Lexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance, Foreign Tax and Trade Briefs, Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing, and Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture; Recovery, and Compliance (a Global Guide). He is a principal author of the Tax Facts series. He was a Senior Manager, then Associate Director of international tax for Coopers and Lybrand, and practiced in Southern Africa, Western Europe, South East Asia, the Indian sub-continent, and the Caribbean. He has been commissioned by a number of governments on tax policy. Obtained the title of tenured law professor in 2005 at St. Thomas in Miami, and in 2008 the level of Associate Dean at Thomas Jefferson. William Byrnes pioneered online legal education in 1995, thereafter creating the first online LL.M. offered by an ABA accredited law school (International Taxation and Financial Services graduate program).

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