Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Posted on by Posted in Issues regarding US persons abroad 11 Comments

It appears that Meghan, Harry (and Archie) are moving in a new direction. This includes creating a new life (where they become financially independent and cease the day-to-day activities of assuming the responsibilities of being “Senior Royals”).

_______________________________________________________________________________

The family has released a new website to discuss their plans.

The most interesting part of the announcement is that they will spend significant time in North America (Canada and/or the United States). Along with this decision comes the question of “tax residency”. Along with the question of “tax residency” comes the question of taxation of foreign income and the reporting of foreign assets.

All indications are that Meghan plans to remain a U.S. citizen and that Archie (whether by accident or design) will be treated as a U.S. citizen. This leaves Harry. At present (as far as I know) he is a British citizen.

In light of all of this, should the family become tax residents of Canada, the United States or even both?

Will they remain tax residents of Britain?

Should Meghan live in Canada (U.S. property temporarily staying in Canada)?

Should Harry count the number of days he spends out of the USA to avoid becoming a U.S. tax resident?

Will somebody convince Harry that he should get a Green Card?

Might Harry conceivably eventually become a U.S. citizen?

Will the Royal family become Canadian citizens?

Will Canada be designated as a tax haven by the OECD?

The plot thickens.

All of this and more.

11 thoughts on “Meghan, Harry, Archie and the problems of tax residency in the modern world”

  1. LOL. The source of income for the impulsive, poorly skilled, unemployed Harry with an enormous sense of entitlement are monies given to him from the Cornwall Estates of his father. I’m not really sure that Harry would qualify for PR status in Canada with his lack of work experience. His wife the former cable TV actress that nobody heard of before as well would be hard pressed to qualify and her source of income is the same as above. However in the future I’m sure she’ll get payments from the tear filled interviews discussing empowerment and inclusiveness on the Oprah show after the Divorce goes through.
    I feel sorry for poor Harry in the future and the tax consequences of an international divorce after the narcissistic Me again gets everything she wanted from him.

  2. The better approach might be for Harry to avoid spending enough time in either Canada or the USA to ever become a tax resident of either country. If he retains a permanent home in the UK (which the indications are that he/they will) he may be able to avoid become a tax resident of either Canada (highly desirable) or the USA (absolutely essential).

    On the Canadian Immigration front, he might consider some of the Express Entry programs that would eventually lead to PR status. But this is not assured.

    I also feel sorry for Harry. It appears that he is under pressure from his UK family, his American wife and probing the difficulties of difficult tax residency issues. Not the traditional OMG moment, but an OMG moment nevertheless.

  3. @USCitizenAbroad
    Great post!
    Pity the Royal Yacht Britannia is no longer in service as they could spend their days cruising and Harry could claim not to be tax resident anywhere but that still leaves Meghan….
    Harry and Meghan are supported by his father Prince Charles from the duchy of Cornwall which enjoys the privilege of a net income and also bona vacantia. I wonder how that squares with IRS oversight?
    A tangled web indeed.

  5. This probably won’t be a problem for Meghan and Harry because along with that security team the UK taxpayers will likey provide, they will have a team of accountants and lawyers to deal with all that icky-pooey tax stuff. Even if they have to pay out of their own pocket for the tax team, they have more than enough to cover that cost. It sure is a fascinating example of the troubles (mostly for common folk) that are created by US CBT.

  6. Come now, they’ll surely have no problem immigrating to any country they desire to immigrate to. Not only are both of them rich (so the question of their “skills” is really beside the point), they’re also well-connected enough for the heads of state of the countries concerned to just grant them citizenship (or whatever they ask for). But yeah, being “perpetual nomads” (i.e. avoiding tax residence in any country) seems their best bet for now.

  7. @Za’lod
    Avoiding tax residency in the UK is not as simple as spending 6 moths abroad. If they maintain a home there and have family there then they are only permitted to spend up to 3 months there to claim non tax residency. But then this is all academic as Meghan will always be considered a tax resident of the USA and Harry as far as I know pays no tax from his income granted by the Duchy of Cornwall.
    Apart from trying to avoid the UK media I think one of the motives for the move is that Meghan cannot be financially independent in the UK as the Royal family would not want to put any of their net worth in her name because of IRS oversight.

  9. Being just a US resident is probably the best bet for Meghan. The whole thing is probably a mess either way for Harry. Of course having financial staff to sort it out always helps.

  11. You know when you see Harry getting picked up on the tarmac after getting off a common Westjet flight at Victoria airport, no matter what they do they will never be plebs like us.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.

%d bloggers like this: