Monthly Archives: May 2015

Interview with GordonTLong.com – Citizenship based taxation, PFIC, the S. 877A Exit Tax and #Americansabroad


On May 22, 2015 I was interviewed by Gordon T. Long. There is NO way to discuss U.S. “citizenship taxation” (which is primarily “place of birth taxation”) without discussing the S. 877A Exit Tax rules. During the month of April 2015, I wrote a 14 part series on “How the S.877A rules affect Americans abroad“. The interview with Mr. Long serves as a good reminder (or if you don’t want to read the posts) on:
– what it means to be a “covered expatriate
how the U.S. S. 877A “Exit Tax” rules operate to impose punitive “taxation” on non U.S. pensions (See the actual scenarios of how the Exit Tax applies to various individuals including those with a non-U.S. pension.

– more
This topic is of extreme important to anybody with a U.S. place of birth. Those with a “U.S. place of birth” begin life as a U.S. citizen. Therefore, those born in the U.S. are in effect:

“U.S. Taxpayers by birth”.

The U.S. is using FATCA to search the U.S. for people who were “born in the USA” to bring them into the U.S. tax system. More and more people are receiving “The FATCA Letter“.

This interview with Mr. Long really should be included as part of the “Exit Tax” series.
Therefore, I have designated my interview with Mr. Long to be:
Part 15 of the Exit Tax Series.
As a reminder this series of “S. 877A Exit Tax Posts” includes:
Part 1 – April 1, 2015 – “Facts are stubborn things” – The results of the “Exit Tax
Part 2 – April 2, 2015 – “How could this possibly happen? “Exit Taxes” in a system of residence based taxation vs. Exit Taxes in a system of “citizenship (place of birth) taxation
Part 3 – April 3, 2015 – “The “Exit Tax” affects “covered expatriates” – what is a “covered expatriate“?”
Part 4 – April 4, 2015 – “You are a “covered expatriate” How is the “Exit Tax”  actually calculated
Part 5 – April 5, 2015 – “The “Exit Tax” in action – Five actual scenarios with 5 actual completed U.S. tax returns
Part 6 – April 6, 2015 – “Surely, expatriation is NOT worse than death! The two million asset test should be raised to the Estate Tax limitation – approximately five million dollars – It’s Time
Part 7 – April 7, 2015 – “Why 2015 is a good year for many Americans abroad to relinquish U.S. citizenship – It’s the exchange rate
Part 8 – April 8, 2015 – “The U.S. “Exit Tax vs. Canada’s Departure Tax – Understanding the difference between citizenship taxation and residence taxation
Part 9 – April 9, 2015 – “For #Americansabroad: US “citizenship taxation” is “death by a thousand cuts, but the S. 877A Exit Tax is “death by the guillotine”
Part 10 – April 10, 2015 – “The S. 877A Exit Tax and possible relief under the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty
Part 11 – April 11, 2015 – “S. 2801 of the Internal Revenue Code is NOT a S. 877A “Exit Tax”, but a punishment for the “sins of the father (relinquishment)
Part 12 – April 12, 2015 – “The two kinds of U.S. citizenship: Citizenship for “immigration and nationality” and citizenship for  “taxation” – Are we taxed because we are citizens or are we citizens because we are taxed?”
Part 13 – April 13, 2015 – “I relinquished U.S. citizenship many years ago. Could I still have U.S. tax citizenship?
Part 14 – April 14, 2015 – “Leaving the U.S. tax system – renounce or relinquish U.S. citizenship, What’s the difference?
Part 15 – May 22, 2015 – “Interview with GordonTLong.com – “Citizenship taxation”, the S. 877A Exit Tax, PFICs and Americans abroad
 
 

Part 2: Cook v. Tait 1924 – The evolution of Citizenship, Taxation and "Citizenship Taxation"

Part 1 of this post traced the evolution of taxation.

This brings us to:

Part 2 – The Evolution of Citizenship

In 1924, the Supreme Court of the United States, per Justice McKenna ruled in Cook v. Tait that U.S. “citizenship taxation” was constitutional. Since that time Cook v. Tait has been cited to justify the constitutionality, although not necessarily the propriety, of “citizenship taxation”. Note that “citizenship taxation” contains both the words “citizenship” and “taxation”. As a result, Justice McKenna’s decision along with the relevant statutes, may tell us a great deal about what “taxation” and “citizenship” meant in 1924.

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Part 1: Cook v. Tait 1924 – The evolution of Citizenship, Taxation and "Citizenship Taxation"

Part 1 – The Evolution of Taxation

As goes taxation, so goes society

As Charles Adams argued in his classic book, “For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes On The Course Of Civilization“, as go the taxing practices of a nation, so goes the nation. Given that taxes are a certainty, tax laws are a certainty, and those laws speak volumes about the “state of the nation” and the “values of the nation”. Tax laws evolve on an almost daily basis. The changes in tax laws reflect changes in societal values.

In 1924, the Supreme Court of the United States, per Justice McKenna ruled in Cook v. Tait that U.S. “citizenship taxation” was constitutional. Since that time Cook v. Tait has been cited to justify the constitutionality, although not necessarily the propriety, of “citizenship taxation”. Note that “citizenship taxation” contains both the words “citizenship” and “taxation”. As a result, Justice McKenna’s decision along with the relevant statutes, may tell us a great deal about what “taxation” and “citizenship” meant in 1924.

This is Part 1 of a two part series. Part 1 will focus on the evolution of taxation. Part 2 will focus on the evolution of citizenship.

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Birthright Citizenship: Is it the Right Policy for America? Is it right for people "born in the USA"?


If you go the link referenced in the above tweet you will be able to see the video of the testimony. This is very interesting. It seems to address the “citizenship” issue primarily from the perspective of people wanting to acquire U.S. citizenship. As always, it neglects the problems of U.S. citizenship imposed on people without their consent. Nevertheless, this is a very valuable discussion.
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