Today (11/16/2017) the floor of the House passed the House tax reform bill. The earlier version is here .
Today also the Senate Finance committee passed the Senate tax reform bill. See link
Do not yet have the final versions of either bill but suspect that we are not helped in the bills. Will post here final versions when they become available.
Listen to the C-span clip found by BB in which Residence-based taxation is mentioned by Golding and Brady in the House tax bill debate — none of this however, appears to have been incorporated into the House or Senate bills passed on 11/16/2017
Republicans Overseas (RO) continues to press on, to make changes in the final tax package that will help us. The fight is not yet over, but it continues, right from the beginning, to be an uphill battle — and the odds don’t seem very good right now. RO says: “Again we need to focus on the Senate side since this fight is far from over.”
Personally, it makes no sense to me to blame Solomon and the handful of people at Republicans Overseas for trying to make a change and, so far, failing. Yesterday a friend reminded me that there was this Ismene, who kept telling her sister Antigone that it was pointless to even “try”: “…but you’re bound to fail…No sense in starting a hopeless task…Go then, if you are determined, to your folly, etc. etc.” Antigone responded: “When I have tried and failed, [then] I shall have failed.”
the screenshots posted on FB by Republicans Overseas come from a Senate Finance Committee document. See pages 137 and 138 of https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Master%20Tax%20Amendments.pdf
Links to all Senate Finance Committee documents on the bill are available at https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/open-executive-session-to-consider-an-original-bill-entitled-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act
“Okay, what kind of person is an NRA?”
There are bumper stickers that say “IMNRA”. When preparing for our flight to US Tax Court after I had my CLN, I wanted to buy T-shirts for both my wife and me saying NRA, but my wife felt that would be too explosive. Besides, even though the NRA is associated with the last remaining constitutional amendment to still have any life to it, I hesitated to give them that big a contribution just to get two T-shirts.
The other meaning of NRA is Non Resident Alien. That’s why I wanted to wear those T-shorts in Tax Court.
In US nationality law, anyone who doesn’t possess either US citizenship or US non-citizen nationality is an alien.
The US has laws that primarily control residence of aliens but which also controlled residence of US non-citizen nationals who were citizens of one particular US territory. Those laws don’t control residence of citizens or US non-citizen nationals who aren’t citizens of that one particular US territory. That territory was the Philippines not American Samoa. So a US non-citizen national from American Samoa can move to the US and become a resident non-citizen national.
US tax law defines aliens differently. Non-citizen nationals are treated as aliens even if they’re American Samoans. So if they don’t move to the US then they’re NRAs for US tax purposes. Also of course anyone who doesn’t have US nationality is still an alien. I think US tax law defers to residence laws to determine if an alien is a resident or not, so if an alien doesn’t move to the US then they’re an NRA.
And, for those of you with a spare three hours .. here’s the youtube link to the Senate Finance committee hearings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQBK2Uttz7U
“That’s why I wanted to wear those T-shorts in Tax Court.”
Oh shirt. As suitable as it would have been to do that, I didn’t mean shorts.
@ Karen and JC
Sen. Heller’s amendments are so general how do we know they are related to TTFI? There are so many Senators offering amendments how do we know which ones will actually make it into the Senate bill?
I wondering something similar EmBee. Could they also cover ACA’s RBT proposal?
ASKING FOR HELP FROM READERS:
John Richardson wants to send a letter to Senators Hatch, Wyden, Heller, and Scott and, if possible, their DC legislative assistants regarding some text in the tax reform bill.
Could someone please provide in this post the best way to contact these people?
This could include email addresses, fax numbers, and addresses for overnight FEDEX.
Thanks
@Norman Diamond – just get a Roswell Alien T-shirt with the words. “I don’t live or work in the USA”.pasted on it. That oughta work.
@Stephen
Deedee Gierow from DA was just doorknocking with Carmelan Polce and talked to many legislators and their assistants. Unfortunately she’s just gone to bed (finally home in Sweden after 22 hours of travelling). Maybe someone knows how to get in touch with Carmelan. I’ll ask Keith.
From today’s Japan Times
“Considering a work stint in Japan? You’d better make it short, and you’d better stay alive.
That’s because the government subjects long-term foreign residents to inheritance tax of up to 55 percent on their worldwide assets — meaning heirs could be forced to give up their family homes or businesses even if they’ve never set foot in Japan.”
This is all I could find Stephen.
Hatch, Orrin G. – (R – UT)
104 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5251
Contact: http://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact?p=Email-Orrin
Heller, Dean – (R – NV)
324 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6244
Contact: http://www.heller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form
Scott, Tim – (R – SC)
717 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-6121
Contact: http://www.scott.senate.gov/contact/email-me
Wyden, Ron – (D – OR)
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5244
Contact: http://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/
From the same Japan Times article.
“When the inheritance tax was introduced in 2013 — mainly to target Japanese nationals who give up their citizenship to avoid paying taxes on their overseas assets”
Where America leads, the world follows.
Sent Carmelan an email.
@EmBee We were tipped off by Solomon Yue about the amendments. This suggests it is all about TTFI. Yet of course no detail as to the text of the amendments.
@JapanT I saw that today in the Australian Financial Review. I thought if you did not know about it, best not to have something else to think about. The article itself says that this is a problem as a blocker to attracting talent to Japan from other countries.
@JC
Well, it does not affecr me. The “asset” I have is debt. But, it is another example of the rest rest of the world following America’s lead in this.
At least a highly public figure is calling out the bad effects the law has on Japan, unlike in the US where it is downplayed.
Also, not good for those who have spent a long time in Japan and do have asets.
Can’t wait for the holier than thou homelanders abroad in Japan, supports of FATCA and CBT, to start squawking about this.
Closing paragraph from Wealth Management.com article,
IRS Announces New Compliance Programs
Many of the campaigns target international taxpayers and financial institutions.
Gregory C. Walsh | Nov 13, 2017
“In the era of FATCA, CRS and Country-by-Country Reporting, the automatic exchange of information will continue to allow tax authorities to focus on more targeted international compliance goals, using the account and payment information now available. In addition, the IRS will continue to leverage its information from the QI Program, the Swiss Bank Program, and other targeted enforcement efforts. Both individual and corporate taxpayers, including financial institutions subject to intermediary and withholding agent requirements, should take note of these and other existing IRS enforcement initiatives and in all cases ensure careful compliance with their information reporting and tax obligations. “
The Japanese Gov. starting tax overseas assets has had a similar effect on residents in Japan as FATCA has on USCs abroad, they are being kicked out of their accounts overseas as FIs do not want the bother of reporting to Japan’s tax authority.
The end of “offshoring” anything is coming soon.
“Considering a work stint in Japan? You’d better make it short, and you’d better stay alive.
That’s because the government subjects long-term foreign residents to inheritance tax of up to 55 percent on their worldwide assets — meaning heirs could be forced to give up their family homes or businesses even if they’ve never set foot in Japan.”
Out of curiosity, what would happen if both the heirs and the assets were located outside of Japan? Presumably the heirs would not make a voluntary payment to the Japanese government.
@Stephen
Carmelan is not being forthcoming, but Keith said he could help you tomorrow.
EmBee and BB,
Thanks, I am passing the info on to John.
Stephen,
From the FixTheTaxTreaty wiki:
Excellent, Karen.
“Out of curiosity, what would happen if both the heirs and the assets were located outside of Japan? Presumably the heirs would not make a voluntary payment to the Japanese government.”
That’s where CRS comes into play, outside the US, and FATCA IGAs in the US. The court challenge by the Texas and Florida Bankers’ Associations was against the REGULATIONS compelling US FIs to share data with foreign governments. Legislation or not, Treasury has issued regulations to facilitate US FIs to send certain data to Japan and elsewhere.
I do not know the mechnism, in earlier discussion on Brock others have known of its existance, but FIs outside of Japan have been refusing accounts from residents of Japan regardless of nationality. A friend of mine, a British citizen and long term resident of Japan, had his shares accounts in Great Britain and elsewhere closed because he is a resident of Japan. This was 2 or 3 years ago.
We already have FATCA and CRS, why is a common collection scheme so far out of the realm of possibility? Especially, if the US came out on he losing end of it, having more foreign investors than many and fewer citizens living abroad than many other nations have living in the US.
Point one, the refusal of accounts for non-residents. That’s been going on for a while, for citizens and residents of various countries, not specific to Japan. Certainly for US citizens abroad it can be a problem to maintain investment accounts in the US, as there are quite a number of FIs that don’t like your having a foreign address. The simple workaround, of course, is to keep a US mailing address. Possibly the same thing is going on with your British friend.
Point two, while reporting is one thing, collection is quite another. My hypothetical example was someone going to work in Japan for five or ten years who had left assets behind in the US (or Canada or the UK) along with the heirs to his or her estate. I suppose it would to some extent depend on what was done for a will, and in which jurisdiction. But if that person died while resident in Japan, and had their will, heirs and assets “back home” then I expect there would be little chance of Japan taking a 55 percent cut. How would the Japanese government know of the estate, or compel payment? Even if the long-term resident had been diligent about reporting financial assets under CRS, there’s still the issue of real estate holdings, which are not reported.
“How would the Japanese government know of the estate, or compel payment? “
They and everybody is working on that.
Not of this reporting was posdible a few short years ago, now it is close to becoming universal. They aren’t spending the money and effort setting all the up just to update their holiday card mailing lists.