Fixing Us International Taxation

International tax rules, which determine how countries tax cross-border investment, are increasingly important with the rise of globalization, but the modern U.S. rules, even more than those in most other countries, are widely recognized as dysfunctional. The existing debate over how to reform the U.S. tax rules is stuck in a sterile dialectic, in which ostensibly the only permissible choices are worldwide or residence-based taxation of U.S. companies with the allowance of foreign tax credits, versus outright exemption of the companies' foreign source income. In Fixing U.S. International Taxation, Daniel N. Shaviro explains why neither of these solutions addresses the fundamental problem at hand, and he proposes a new reformulation of the existing framework from first principles. He shows that existing international tax policy frameworks are misguided insofar as they treat "double taxation" and "double non-taxation" as the key issues, conflate the distinct questions of what tax rate to impose on foreign source income and how to treat foreign taxes, and use simplistic single-bullet global welfare norms in lieu of a comprehensive analysis. Drawing on tools that are familiar from public economics and trade policy, but that have been under-utilized in the international tax realm, Shaviro offers a better analysis that not only reshapes our understanding of the underlying issues, but might point the way to substantially improving the prevailing rules, both in the U.S. and around the world.

This paper was prepared for a book symposium at Hebrew University Law School in June 2013 on Daniel N. Shaviro's forthcoming book, Fixing U.S. International Taxation (Oxford University Press, 2014). The paper adds a few thoughts to those discussed in the book regarding the international tax neutrality analysis and certain interrelated notions concerning deferral, foreign tax credits, foreign tax deductions, and the tax rate on foreign source income.

The new edition of this well-known reference work for the tax community provides an introduction to the application of the United States (US) international taxation system to taxpayers investing or transacting business in the US and other countries. In a relatively brief and manageable form, it sets forth the principles adopted by the US in taxing US or foreign individuals and corporations as they invest, work, or carry on a trade or business in the US or abroad. The presentation focuses on the following aspects of the subject matter: general aspects of the corporation income tax, the individual income tax, the tax treatment of partnerships, trusts, and accounting aspects; the basic jurisdictional principles adopted by the US with respect to application of its income tax to international investment and business transactions; the US rules for taxing foreign corporations, foreign partnerships, foreign trusts, and nonresident aliens on their business and investment income derived from US sources; the basic mechanism adopted by the US to alleviate international double taxation on foreign source income derived by US persons; the income tax treatment of foreign corporations controlled by US shareholders, including the new GILTI minimum tax and exempt dividend rules; the special treatment under FDII of a US corporation’s export of goods, services and intangible rights; the general intercompany pricing rules and special transfer pricing rules applicable to particular transactions; rules for the treatment of transactions involving currencies other than the US dollar; situations in which US income tax treaty provisions modify the basic rules; and the wealth transfer tax system, including modifications made by estate and gift tax treaties. Throughout the discussion, the authors incorporate references not only to the Internal Revenue Code provisions under discussion but also to relevant Treasury Regulations and other administrative material and to important cases that have arisen. For non-US tax practitioners, tax professors and students both within and outside the US, and others seeking a structural framework within which a US tax problem can be placed, Introduction to United States International Taxation offers the ideal reference source.

This book presents the basic priciples and rules of the United States international tax system in a relatively brief form. The purpose is to provide an overview of the principles adopted by the US in taxing US or foreign individuals and corporations as they invest, work or carry on a trade or business in the US or abroad.

Is the current U.S. tax system for taxing U.S. international business the appropriate one for the modern era of globalized business operations, or should its basic structure be reformed? Contents of this report: The Current System and Possible Revisions; Neutrality, Efficiency, and Competitiveness; Assessing the Existing Tax System; Territorial Taxation: The Dividend Exemption Proposal; A Residence-Based System in Practice; President Obama's Proposals to Restrict Deferral and Cross-Crediting; Tax Havens: Issues and Policy Options; General Reforms of the Corporate Tax and Implications for International Tax Treatment. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.

Provides law teachers with a relatively simple, easy to use casebook to teach U.S. international taxation. The field is notoriously complex-more so, perhaps, than any other area of Federal tax law. The focus is on how the details of the tax law fit into a broader structure, which is described in the introduction. Enables students to fit the particular issues they are working on into a larger context, to develop an intuition for where the problem areas may lie.

Discusses two fundamental principles of US taxation of international transactions, i.e. tax jurisdiction and the source of income rules. Explains how the US taxes the foreign activities of domestic corporations, US citizens and other US persons. Includes chapters on the foreign tax credit, the deemed paid foreign tax credit, transfer pricing, controlled foreign corporations, foreign sales corporations and income tax treaties. Describes how the US taxes the US activities of foreign corporations, non-resident alien individuals, and other foreign persons.

Fixing U.S. International Taxation provides a major rethinking of the tax issues raised by cross-border investment and the activities of multinational corporations.

Whether your organization is contemplating a global move or is already involved in international business, you need to know about the activities that create multi-jurisdictional tax exposure and the required tax reporting for each relevant jurisdiction. Information is provided for Tax Reform and the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, this guide covers international tax terminology and regulations that apply to a U.S. entity involved in global operations, or for a foreign entity doing business in the United States. Key topics include: Export income Receipts in foreign currency Allocation and apportionment of deductions U.S. foreign tax credit fundamentals and special rules Initiation of foreign operations Foreign branches and affiliated companies Sale of use of tangible property Foreign business operations in the United States Foreign business sales of tangible property in the United States Foreign business provision of services in the United States Exploitation of business assets outside of the United States Use of foreign tangible/intangible property in the United States U.S. withholding taxes on foreign businesses FDII GILTI