Note: This post was originally written in 2015. Parts of this post have been updated in January of 2021. (The original post is here.) The changes reflect the evolution of my thinking. I now believe that Treasury could (or could have) accomplished much of this proposal through Treasury regulations.
The 2015 Obama budget "non-tax proposal" for “dual citizens” cannot be implemented without Congressional approval http://t.co/wFVv9kaxUu
— John Richardson – lawyer for "U.S. persons" abroad (@ExpatriationLaw) February 8, 2015
Part 1 – The Obama 2015 Budget Proposal – Change you can believe in?
This was the subject of significant discussion at the Isaac Brock Society. It was also the subject of an insightful blog post by U.S. Tax Lawyer Virginia La Torre Jeker.
Relief for Accidental Americans: Obama Administration's 2016 Revenue Proposal https://t.co/KOqHXcy0WN
— V. La Torre Jeker JD (@VLJeker) February 5, 2015
It is possible that (at long last) the U.S. government is beginning to recognize that there is a difference between “technical citizenship” and a voluntary U.S. connection indicative of “substantive citizenship” that might (but is not required to) justify taxation of U.S. citizens abroad in the 21st century.
The relevant provision (page 282) includes: