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London mayor's IRS bill

Moved to "Serious Discussions", John, as not really related to working in Japan... :rolleyes:
 
It`s a demand for the capital gains on the first home he bought (and subsequently sold) in the UK.
He wants to keep his dual citizenship status ... so is subject to US tax laws whether he agrees with them or not.

New York-born London mayor Boris Johnson refuses to pay US tax bill

He`s a bafoon and scarily, has a fairly good chance of leading the Conservative party if they lose the next election !! ......... Come to think of it, not such a bad thing : )
 
There is probably some rule or clause somewhere that means the owes no tax. And it probably has something to do with his country of residency.

And I would not be surprised if the IRS leeches know about it but are just hoping he doesn't, in much the same way they take estimated tax from you before you owe anything, and when they overcharge, you not only have to figure that out, you also have to ask for your money back. And if you don't, they just keep it.

He wants to keep his dual citizenship status ... so is subject to US tax laws whether he agrees with them or not.

That is one way of looking at it. Another is that the IRS and the U.S government think they own the world, but they don't.

The guy should do the same as Superman and renounce his U.S. citizenship.
 
It`s a demand for the capital gains on the first home he bought (and subsequently sold) in the UK.
He wants to keep his dual citizenship status ... so is subject to US tax laws whether he agrees with them or not.

New York-born London mayor Boris Johnson refuses to pay US tax bill

He`s a bafoon and scarily, has a fairly good chance of leading the Conservative party if they lose the next election !! ......... Come to think of it, not such a bad thing : )

The comments on that article are telling.

I think he's liable, and will eventually have to pay those US taxes (and pay penalties?). I'd guess he has been paying US taxes on his income, and doing his FBAR reports/submissions, but that he thought he might slide this real estate sale by so that it wouldn't be noticed, and now he's playing the victim.

I'm not excusing the US tax system/IRS--the US "owns" the world financial system, and they've got (or can get) info on everything. FATCA is just the latest major land grab within that.
 
If he is a US citizen, he is liable for taxes on worldwide income and capital gains. Abandoning his US citizenship at this stage won't resolve the conflict as the US penalizes people for ditching their US citizenship in order to avoid tax payments.

Considering he is pursuing the US for unpaid fees incurred by the US Embassy in the city of London, my guess is that the US Embassy, the IRS, and Boris will come to an amicable arrangement on all of this. He might even abandon his US citizenship (which would play well at home) pay some token fine which we will not hear about, and the US will in turn cough up some of the money that Boris says is owed by the US.

Would that we all had similar leverage over the US government.
 
I agree that Boris will probably get out of paying the majority of what he owes .....surprise, surprise ..... another wealthy man avoiding his dues in tax!

I have no time for tax dodgers in general, but am disgusted by the way big corporations avoid paying their fair share to the very societies that enable their profits.

Although the US has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, American companies are also the biggest tax dodgers .... depriving their country of many billions of dollars each year, that could be put to good use in so many ways.

10 Corporate Tax Dodgers You Should Know About | BillMoyers.com

Everyone has the right to minimise their tax liability within the law, but the loopholes afforded to companies and the complex avoidance strategies devised by their wealthy tax advisers is, to put it simply, plain old robbery.

The American IRS (as well as other countries who have the same problem) need to focus on the big guys and bring in some far stricter tax laws......... but good luck trying to get anything like that through Congress ..... past the Republicans and others who dance to the tune of big business and the dollars that line their `political` pockets!!.
 
I have no time for tax dodgers in general,

I do. Especially if its personal income tax. Its a ridiculous and unthinkable tax that everyone has just gotten used to.

And capital gains tax on a house of primary residence is equally ridiculous until you consider that the house was not even in the United States, then its far more ridiculous.

I am no expert on the tax laws, but I wonder if he would not have to pay tax if he used all the proceeds from the sale of the house to buy a new house?

Bah! I hate this tax nonsense. If its not straight forward it should not exist. Its all just pencil-pusher made up nonsense at this point.

Considering he is pursuing the US for unpaid fees incurred by the US Embassy in the city of London

Its an interesting side issue. The British side is that its a fee. The American side is that its a tax an an embassy is not liable for taxes (true if it is a tax).

I cannot say whether your prediction is the most likely outcome, but its a definite possibility and I salute you for being able to conceive of the possibility. It had not occurred to me.
 
Interesting article, chock full of more reasons to be utterly ashamed of my government and the people for letting this stuff happen.

Even if you are square with the IRS, you have to pay over 2000 dollars just to drop your citizenship. This is not the freedom the Founding Fathers fought for

The U.S. government needs to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch.
 
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