united-states tax-law federal-tax-law
Global taxation for US citizens
<p>The United States is pretty unique in requiring their citizens to pay taxes regardless of residence (even if living abroad). I'm surprised that other countries don't enforce the same. It seems like they are giving up potential revenues for no good reason.</p>
<p>Is there currently any international laws that regulate taxation? After all, if someone resides abroad, there needs to be some enforcement by the host country and that needs to be legislated.</p>

<p>There are lots of bilateral tax treaties governing how tax issues that arise involving the two countries are handled. The E.U. has certain regulations of the kinds of taxation that can be imposed by member states. But there is very little in the way of multi-national international law governing taxation. The fact that many countries do not tax their citizens to the same extent as the U.S. on extraterritorial income is not the product of international law.</p>
<p>Also, the difference between the U.S. and other countries is exaggerated.</p>
<p>The U.S. does not tax the foreign earned income of most upper middle class or less high income earning citizens abroad.</p>
<p>The U.S. also has a foreign tax credit that effectively eliminates or greatly reduces income taxation of foreign income primarily subject to another country's tax laws, when the other country has comparable levels of taxation to the U.S.</p>
<p>And, some particularly brazen attempts to use shell corporations to hide the &quot;hot income&quot; of a U.S. citizen abroad don't work.</p>
<p>Likewise, many countries that primarily have a territorial rule for foreign taxation will still tax certain kinds of income of their citizens from intangible assets as located where their citizens reside for tax purposes, or otherwise consider foreign income or assets in some manner, in some circumstances.</p>
