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Tag Archive for Estate Tax

06 Jun 2018

Foreign Investment Into The U.S. Part II: Who Is A U.S. Person?

The U.S. income tax and estate tax both function under a system with only two possibilities, a taxpayer is either a U.S. person/domiciliary or not a U.S. person, referred to as a non-resident alien (“NRA”). There is no middle ground, it is an all or nothing system. Since U.S. tax law is based on this distinction, the first step in any analysis is determining the correct category.

The U.S. laws do not define who is an NRA, rather, they define who is a U.S. person, or for estate taxes a U.S. domiciliary. Therefore, NRAs will be anyone who does not meet the definition of a U.S. person or domiciliary. Due to these rules, before we can decide how a foreigner will be taxed in the U.S., we must first make sure they are in fact a foreigner under the laws.

No comments | Tags: Aubrey Hone, Estate Tax, Foreign Investment, Income Tax

30 Aug 2017

Written by Harvey Bezozi | Posted in Tax Deductions

Valuing Artwork For Tax Deductions

A person would need the stoniest of hearts to gaze upon Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel or Picasso’s Guérnica and think about money. We all understand that the true value of a masterpiece cannot be expressed in either words or numbers—no one can put a price on art, the saying goes.

Yet when tax time rolls around, the law requires doing exactly that. The IRS has developed extensive guidelines for converting brush strokes and chisel marks into dollars and cents. Read more

One comment | Tags: Art Advisory Panel, Artwork, Estate Tax, Fair Market Value, Gift Tax

01 Mar 2017

Written by Hale Stewart | Posted in Trusts

The 5 Ways To Create A Texas Trust

I regularly use trusts as part of my legal practice. These are the exact same methods stated in §10 of the Restatement of Trusts. And save for number 5, they are consistent with the methods outlined in § 401 of the Uniform Trust Code.

Under Texas law, there are 5 methods of creating a trust:

No comments | Tags: Estate Tax, Texas, Uniform Trust Code

12 Jan 2017

Written by Ronald Oddo | Posted in Family Wealth Planning

Minimizing The Estate And Gift Tax Consequences

The key to transferring large amounts of wealth was discussed 2000 years ago by the patron saint of estate planning attorneys, Archimedes.

Regarding leverage he observed, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.” Using leverage to move the earth—or to move your wealth—is the key to achieving noteworthy results. Each U.S. resident can give away, during lifetime, $5 million as well as the current annual gift exclusion.

No comments | Tags: Estate Tax, Gift Tax, Grantor Retained Annuity Trust, grat

16 Nov 2016

Written by Barry Fowler | Posted in Donald Trump Tax Plan • Tax Reform

A New President With Promises Of Tax Reforms

It’s a new dawn, a new day, and we have a new President.
Whether we enjoy the benefits of the reforms he has promised remains to be seen. For those of you who are not aware of the promises Trump has made regarding tax reform, I’ve provided them for you below.

No comments | Tags: 2017, Estate Tax, personal exemption, Tax Brackets, Tax Breaks

10 Jun 2015

Written by Pallav Acharya | Posted in Estate Planning Tax

Own A Villa In South of France? Some Pleasant News For Estate Tax!

Property ownership in continental Europe is often fraught with some unique issues upon death. Most countries including Italy, Spain and France impose “forced heir-ship” rules. Accordingly, a portion of the property must pass to the children of the decedent at the time of death; spouse of the decedent can not be made the sole beneficiary of the Estate. As a result spouse cannot sell the property at his or her own will and must obtain consent form the children prior to selling. This causes many issues for the U.S. beneficiaries in terms of Estate tax.

Effective from August, 2015, the EU have decided to change these rules. The new EU rules envisage that the citizens of the U.S. can make a choice in their will that the U.S. law would apply to foreign property in an EU state. This would enable them to bequeath the Read more

No comments | Tags: Estate Tax, Property Ownership

03 Nov 2014

Written by Ronald Cappuccio | Posted in Estate Planning Tax

The Smart Choice! Durable Power of Attorney

Today I received a frantic telephone call from the adult daughter of a senior citizen client for whom I prepared an estate plan 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the man, who is a widower, had a serious stroke. He is alive but is not communicative. The daughter called and asked if I had prepared a Durable Power Of Attorney. Even though I had prepared a Will and a Living Will, the client had insisted that he did not want a Power Of Attorney.

Specifically, this client is a very private person and wanted to be in complete control of all of his assets. I had suggested that we establish a Trust, with him being the Trustee and having one of his children as a Co-Trustee who could take over if he came incapacitated. That was rejected. Read more

No comments | Tags: Estate Tax, Find A Tax Attorney, find a tax professional, Power of Attorney, Ronald Cappuccio, Tax Blog, Tax Planning

10 Jun 2014

Written by Michael Atlas, CPA, CA | Posted in Capital Gains • Estate Planning Tax • Individual • International • Tax Provision/Tax Reporting

Special Rules In The Canada-US Tax Treaty Apply To Cross-Border Death Tax Issues

Canada and the United States have very different regimes for imposing taxes on death. The United States imposes a Federal Estate Tax; however, Canada has not imposed any Estate Tax since 1971. Rather, Canada taxes accrued, but unrealized, capital gains on death, as part of its income tax system.

Most tax practitioners are not aware of the fact that there special rules found in Article XXIX-B of the Canada-United Tax Convention (“the Treaty”) that are aimed at providing relief in connection with certain cross-border death taxes issues.

Some of these are summarized below: