Monthly Archives: December 2023

US Citizens Abroad – Discussion: Sunday January 21, 2024 – 13:00 – Prague Czech Republic (and London, UK – Jan. 17 – 18:30)

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U.S. Citizens and Green Card Holders Abroad!!

Update – … London, UK too

I will be in London on Wednesday January 17, 2024. Since I am already there, I am happy to connect with London residents who wish to discuss all things related to surviving as a U.S. citizen living outside the USA. The session is:

When: Wednesday January 17, 2024 – 18:00 – 20:00

Where: Pret A Manger 18:00 – The Sutton Arms – first floor wine room – 6 Carthusian Street, London – EC1M 6EB

Registration for the London session: Please send me an email to: citizenshipsolutions@protonmail.com

Just tell me me your name and indicate that you wish to attend.

Read on to learn what these events/discussions are about.

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Prague – Sunday January 21, 2024 – Livestream or attend live in Prague

Read on …

An appropriate New Year message …

Are you …

– frustrated with the U.S. policy of citizenship taxation?

– disappointed with the progress in achieving a change in the law?

– fed up with being asked for your vote with no candidates representing your interests?

– finding it difficult to understand what it means to be in compliance?

– finding you cannot afford U.S. tax compliance?

– forced to plead GILTI for running a small business?

– experiencing further FATCA related problems?

– wondering if/when the USA will join the rest of the world by adopting residence taxation?

– concerned that this may impact your non-citizen spouse and family?

– worried about how to plan for retirement?

– worried about estate planning?

– considering renunciation of U.S. citizenship?

These topics and more …

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in discussion with people who live with the constant of anxiety of being a U.S. citizen living outside the United States. (Green Card holders are welcome too …)

Speaker: John Richardson – Toronto based expatriation lawyer, co-founder of SEAT, blogger at CitizenshipSolutions.ca, Commentator on X.com/ExpatriationLaw

When: Sunday January 21, 2024 – 13:00

Where: Brix bar & Hostel, Rohacova 132/15, Prague 3 Žižkov

Cost: 200CZK – includes lunch

Registration:

In order to register please email:

g.smith@brixhostel.com

We look forward to a great (nonpartisan) discussion!

General Explanation Of The 1986 Tax Reform Act – PFIC Edition

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Updated July 30, 2026

PFICs were introduced as part of the 1986 tax reform. In order to understand the intent of the PFIC rules it is useful to read the general explanation of the tax reform act. The explanation starts at page 1021 of the document or page 1037 of the pdf. It is worth the read …

Archive.org

https://web.archive.org/web/20120507115421/https://www.jct.gov/jcs-10-87.pdf/

PDF of the complete notes surrounding the 1986 tax reform

jcs-10-87

A 1986 explanation of the new PFIC provisions before they were signed into law – What was Congress trying to accomplish?

jcs-10-87 PFIC section

John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw

Part 53 – Debriefing The December 5, 2023 – Moore @USTransitionTax Hearing – WHAT The Court Must Do And HOW It Will Do It

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Slicing and dicing the issues – WHAT the Court must do and HOW will the Court do it …

Prologue – Threading the needle – The job facing the court

On December 5, 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in the Moore Transition AKA MRT case. Both the audio and a written transcript of the hearing is available on the Court’s website here. Additional discussion and commentary about the December 5, 2023 Moore v. United States MRT hearing is here.

The disappointment: There was no discussion of the fact (save a brief reference by the Solicitor General) that the Moores are INDIVIDUALS and theat INDIVIDUAL shareholders were treated very differently from CORPORATE shareholders under the MRT AKA transition tax. This was disappointing.

The hope: There was discussion about whether retroactivity and attribution could conflict with “due process” issues.

The questions from the court were helpful in identifying and categorizing the issues raised in the case.

The purpose of this post is to define the task that faces the Court and to offer some thoughts on what the Court must consider to achieve the task.

The post is divided into the following four parts:

Part I – WHAT must the Court must do?
Part II – HOW will the court do what it must do?
Part III – The context in Moore is what matters most
Part IV – What does the Moore decision imply for Americans abroad?
APPENDIXES – Important excerpts from the decision

Continue reading →

Part 52 – December 5, 2023 – The Supreme Court Hearing In Moore v. United States

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Moore v. United States – December 5, 2023

https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2023/22-800

Audio of the actual hearing:

This podcast is an audio of the actual argument that took place before the court. The relevant link to the Supreme Court site is:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2023/22-800

Significantly a transcript of the argument is available at:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2023/22-800_9ol1.pdf

The audio of the argument is also available at:

https://prep.podbean.com/e/moore-v-united-states-december-5-2023-the-argument-before-the-court/

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SEAT President Dr. Laura Snyder attended the hearing. A fascinating podcast discussing her observations (right after the hearing ended) is available here.

https://prep.podbean.com/e/december-5-2023-debriefing-the-moore-case-what-happened-at-the-hearing/

SEAT along with AARO authored an amicus brief which explained the how the 965 transition tax impacted Americans abroad.

IRS Medic hosted a podcast both before, during and after the Supreme Court hearing. A link to that podcast is here:

Interested in Moore (pun intended) about the § 965 transition tax?

Read “The Little Red Transition Tax Book“.

John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw

Part 51 – Twas The Night Before Moore – SEAT Members Discuss What They Expect In Moore Hearing

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December 2, 2023 – Participants include:

Dr. Karen Alpert – @FixTheTaxTreaty

Dr. Laura Snyder – @TAPInternation

John Richardson – @Expatriationlaw

SEAT members Dr. Karen Alpert, Dr. Laura Snyder and John Richardson discuss their predictions on how the Supreme Court will grapple with the difficult decisions in Moore. The SEAT/AARO amicus brief is here.

Prologue:

Twas the Night before Moore Poem

Twas the night before Moore, when all through the court
Not a justice was stirring, not even a clerk.
The issues were hung in the briefs with care,
In hopes that the justices soon would be there.

The tax profs were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of fake-income danced in their heads.
And Kathleen in ‘kerchief, and Charles in cap,
Had just settled their brains for a retroactive tax.

Interested in Moore (pun intended) about the § 965 transition tax?

Read “The Little Red Transition Tax Book“.

John Richardson – Follow me on Twitter @Expatriationlaw