The Australian Treasury is currently asking for submissions on updating Australia’s tax treaty network. Submissions are due 31 October 2021. Fix the Tax Treaty has posted a draft of our submission in our Facebook Group. Comments and feedback are welcome. Everyone is encouraged to make a submission of their own as well.
Tag: Australia
More on the Transition Tax…
In January, John Richardson and I recorded a conversation about the “Transition” tax that was part of US tax reform. John’s post introducing the videos is here: U.S. Tax Reform and the “nonresident” corporation owner: Does the Sec. 965 transition tax apply?
The transition tax is the provision in the tax reform bill that concerned us so much when it was introduced that we posted a Call to Action! In short, when applied to an Australian-resident US taxpayer, the transition tax asserts the right of the US to reach inside an Australian corporation and tax previously earned active business income just because a majority of the company is owned by “US Shareholders”. This is a major departure from prior law, and calendar-year taxpayers were given not much more than a week from the date the law was signed to the end of the tax year in which this new tax would be applied – certainly not enough time to understand the new law, let alone plan to avoid the inherent double taxation. Furthermore, in all of the hearings on the bill, not one Representative or Senator mentioned anything about the applicability of this provision to corporations owned by tax-residents of other countries, for whom the idea of “repatriating” profits to the U.S. is not only absurd, but also a drain on the economy of the country they call home.
Investment Constraints 5: Final Thoughts
In this series we’ve discussed how Australian investments impact a US tax return. To finish up, this post will discuss the pros and cons of investing directly in the US as well as a quick discussion of the types of records you should be keeping to assist with US tax preparation.
This is the final installment in our series of posts discussing the ways US tax laws constrain the investment choices of US taxpayers living in Australia. This post covers investing in the US and what records should be kept. These are the areas we have covered in all five posts in this series:
- Superannuation
- Homeownership
- Real Estate
- Australian Managed Funds
- Australian Shares
- Business Ownership Structures
- Investing in the US
- Record keeping
This series (and everything on this website) is general information only. I am not a lawyer, tax professional, or financial planner, just someone who has learned about US tax and wants to pass on general knowledge. Many areas of tax law are interdependent, so changes in one area may have unintended consequences in another. You should consult a professional who can consider your own personal circumstances before taking any action. Continue reading “Investment Constraints 5: Final Thoughts”
Investment Constraints 4: Structures
An entrepreneur starting a new business has a choice to make – how should she structure the business legally. In Australia, there are actually four alternatives to choose from: sole proprietorship, partnership, company or trust. The reasons for choosing a company or trust often include limiting legal liability, protecting personal assets, or ease of sharing or transferring ownership. And, in the wake of recent caps on superannuation contributions, more financial planners are recommending family trusts to hold savings that cannot be put into the superannuation system. What are these structures? How do they work in a purely Australian context? And what problems or challenges might arise when a US taxpayer tries to do exactly what her Australian neighbour would find optimal?
This is the fourth instalment in our series of posts discussing the ways US tax laws constrain the investment choices of US taxpayers living in Australia. These are the areas we will be covering:
- Superannuation
- Homeownership
- Real Estate
- Australian Managed Funds
- Australian Shares
- Business Ownership Structures
- Investing in the US
- Record keeping
This series (and everything on this website) is general information only. I am not a lawyer, tax professional, or financial planner, just someone who has learned about US tax and wants to pass on general knowledge. Many areas of tax law are interdependent, so changes in one area may have unintended consequences in another. You should consult a professional who can consider your own personal circumstances before taking any action. Continue reading “Investment Constraints 4: Structures”
Citizenship matters…
Storify is being de-commissioned. The story originally posted here is on the Internet Archive . You can also find it at Wakelet.
Investment Constraints 3: Equity
60% of Australians own equity based investments (listed or non-listed) outside of institutional superannuation accounts, and 37% of Australians own listed shares (2017 ASX Australian Investor Study). There are two main ways to invest in equity – purchase shares directly on the share market or purchase a slice of a portfolio managed by a professional portfolio manager. For Australian investors who are claimed by the US, the US tax implications of these two choices are quite different.
This is the third instalment in our series of posts discussing the ways US tax laws constrain the investment choices of US taxpayers living in Australia. These are the areas we will be covering:
- Superannuation
- Homeownership
- Real Estate
- Australian Managed Funds
- Australian Shares
- Business Ownership Structures
- Investing in the US
- Record keeping
This series (and everything on this website) is general information only. I am not a lawyer, tax professional, or financial planner, just someone who has learned about US tax and wants to pass on general knowledge. Many areas of tax law are interdependent, so changes in one area may have unintended consequences in another. You should consult a professional who can consider your own personal circumstances before taking any action. Continue reading “Investment Constraints 3: Equity”
Investment Constraints 2: Real Property
Last week we started a series of posts discussing the ways US tax laws constrain the investment choices of US taxpayers living in Australia. These are the areas we will be covering:
- Superannuation
- Homeownership
- Real Estate
- Australian Managed Funds
- Australian Shares
- Business Ownership Structures
- Investing in the US
- Record keeping
This series (and everything on this website) is general information only. I am not a lawyer, tax professional, or financial planner, just someone who has learned about US tax and wants to pass on general knowledge. Many areas of tax law are interdependent, so changes in one area may have unintended consequences in another. You should consult a professional who can consider your own personal circumstances before taking any action. Continue reading “Investment Constraints 2: Real Property”
How do US Tax Rules Constrain the Investment Choices of US Taxpayers Living in Australia?
In the Facebook group last week, someone claimed that only the very wealthy are disadvantaged by the dual tax obligations imposed on US citizens and green card holders living in Australia. Certainly, for an Australian resident with only salary income, it is likely that foreign tax credits (FTC) or the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) will completely eliminate any US tax liability. However, for anyone who is considering investing for the future or running their own business, there are many pitfalls and traps in US tax law that need to be carefully considered. It seems like almost anything “foreign” is treated punitively by US tax law, and these xenophobic rules make it difficult for middle class US taxpayers to save effectively while living outside the US.
Over the next few weeks, I will be covering the following areas where US taxpayers living in Australia need to be particularly careful:
- Superannuation
- Homeownership
- Real Estate
- Australian Managed Funds
- Australian Shares
- Business Ownership Structures
- Investing in the US
- Record keeping
This series (and everything on this website) is general information only. I am not a lawyer, tax professional, or financial planner, just someone who has learned about US tax and wants to pass on general knowledge. Many areas of tax law are interdependent, so changes in one area may have unintended consequences in another. You should consult a professional who can consider your own personal circumstances before taking any action. Continue reading “How do US Tax Rules Constrain the Investment Choices of US Taxpayers Living in Australia?”
CRS – Coming soon to a bank near you…
From 1 July 2017, Australian financial institutions will be required to report account information of anyone with a tax residence outside of Australia to the ATO under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Once the United States rolled out FATCA, countries in the OECD decided that cross-border reporting of financial accounts might be a good way to rein in use of tax havens for tax evasion. However, while the two are similar, there are some differences. The key features of CRS are a common standard for: the scope of reporting (type of information, which account holders and which institutions), the due diligence required, format of the data to be exchanged.
With the current push for FATCA repeal, and the recent Hearing on The Unintended Consequences of FATCA, CRS is mentioned by some as a possible substitute for FATCA. Unfortunately, there seem to be a few misconceptions about the differences between the two Automated Exchange of Information (AEOI) schemes. As implemented in Australia, CRS is perfectly compatible with Citizenship Based Taxation.
While it is exceedingly unlikely that the U.S. Congress will ever sign on to CRS, it is important for those who advocate CRS as a more “benign” alternative to be clear on exactly what CRS entails.
This article covers:
Explaining the Saving Clause III
This is Part 3 of our series explaining the Saving Clause in the Australia / US tax treaty. In Part 1 we saw how international tax works for 90% of the world’s population: income sourced in the country where you live is taxed only by that country. Income from elsewhere is governed by the treaty and generally taxed by the source country – with a tax credit in the resident country if it is also taxed there. In Part 2 we saw how the Saving Clause works in US tax treaties[1]: US citizens are subject to US tax wherever they live due to the unique practice of Citizenship Based Taxation; the Saving Clause allows the US tax its citizens as if most of the treaty did not exist, allowing the US to tax foreign-source income of foreign residents. Continue reading “Explaining the Saving Clause III”