26/04/22

US: Shift to residence-based taxation ‘would cost the US nothing’, says campaign group.

As published on international-adviser.com, Tuesday 26 April, 2022.

Campaign group American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has released an analysis in support of a move towards residence-based taxation for US citizens and greencard holders.

The United States and Eritrea are the only two countries that tax people based on citizenship rather than residence.

This has been a point of friction for many Americans living abroad, who have to complete tax returns every year. The introduction of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) compounded the difficulties many face in trying to access basic financial services in their country of residence.

According to the study, prepared by District Economics Group (DEG) for the ACA Global Foundation, the US would be able to shift to a residence-based taxation (RBT) model “without the Treasury losing revenue”.

The group said: “Under RBT, US citizens residing overseas would not be subject to US tax on foreign income. They would remain taxable on US income.

“This was recently made the general rule for US companies, and now it would become the rule for individuals.”

Marylouise Serrato, executive director of the ACA, added: “From our recent meetings on Capitol Hill and with the administration, we believe they will be very interested in this new and expanded analysis.

“ACA also looks forward to working with other groups interested in our work on RBT.”