Apropos being an accidental American, last week the Internal Revenue Service published a “Fact Sheet” which attempts to calm the waters upset by the widespread non-filing of US tax returns and foreign bank account reports by U.S. citizens. Quite frankly, there is very little in the Fact Sheet that is either surprising or new. Nonetheless,…
DetailsThis is the first in a series of articles on the U.S. taxation of shipping income. The series will present a brief refresher course on the U.S. tax, what it is and what it covers, how the exemptions work, and the compliance and filing requirements. This first article offers a general introduction to the history of…
DetailsThe moment a nonresident, non-US citizen passes away with US property in his possession, the US estate tax clock starts to tick away the minutes to when the return is due. The Internal Revenue Service requires a foreign estate that owns US property to file an estate tax return within 9 months after the date of…
DetailsThis blog addresses how U.S. birthright citizenship and U.S. citizenship taxation affect the millions of people around the world who have American citizenship by birth or by lineage. Specifically, I focus on people who were born in the U.S., have moved abroad, are citizens by heritage, or became naturalized citizens of other countries, and live…
DetailsThe world is getting smaller and more connected every day. Information travels at the speed of light, irrespective of national borders. Unlike never before, technology makes it is as easy to do business with someone thousands of miles away as it is with the person next door. Conducting business in this increasingly interconnected and fast paced…
DetailsAs the saying goes, there’s nothing more certain than death and taxes. That phase comes to life, pardon the expression, when a person dies owning property. If the property is located in the United States or is consider “U.S. property” at the time of the owner’s death, even if the deceased was a non-resident foreigner,…
DetailsThis article describes a combination of resources available to small and medium sized US-based businesses exporting to foreign markets, through a range of US tax incentives and governmental financial and insurance products. Many small to medium size businesses do not utilize these governmental resources at all, or at least not to the extent they otherwise…
DetailsApril 10th, 2009 BY FAX (TOTAL OF FIVE PAGES) AND REGULAR MAIL Fax No. 202-622-5756 The Honorable Douglas H. Shulman Commissioner of Internal Revenue 1111 Constitution Ave., NW, 3000 IR Washington, DC 20224 Re: Use of Offshore Bank Accounts to Evade Tax Honorable Sir: This letter addresses an aspect of the referenced subject that has…
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