US plans remittance taxation

[Lorry]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/world/africa/trump-bill-remittance-tax-africa.html

 

Seems to be the reverse of the Thai remittance taxation. 

Yankees, of course,  may have to be taxed twice: once when the money leaves the US, a second time when the money enters Thailand. 

 

Never underestimate the creativity of tax authorities!

[Everyman]

That sucks but it clearly only affects money sent by non-U.S. citizens. Still I had to find a different article to read that, since the NY Times article kept blathering on about Africa instead of the details of the bill. 

 

So for US citizens sending money to Thailand it will mostly be a matter of proving US citizenship. 

 

Still, better the bill not pass at all. 

[JohnnyBD]

9 hours ago, Lorry said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/world/africa/trump-bill-remittance-tax-africa.html

 

Seems to be the reverse of the Thai remittance taxation. 

Yankees, of course,  may have to be taxed twice: once when the money leaves the US, a second time when the money enters Thailand. 

 

Never underestimate the creativity of tax authorities!

The tax proposal in the article you refer to only affects non-US citizens who transfer money out of the US, and it's just a proposal right now.

 

Also, some US citizens (like me) are not required to pay taxes on monies remitted to Thailand due to their (my) income being tax-exempt.

[Thailand J]

Think of Non-US citizens with US investments such as Schwab accounts.

[InlandSea]

Are there any governments making things better these days?

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

On 6/5/2025 at 11:50 AM, Thailand J said:

Think of Non-US citizens with US investments such as Schwab accounts.

 

Some of the articles I've read have stated that the present proposal would tax remittances of non-US citizens residing in the US who remit funds abroad. If this is accurate, then presumably a non-resident alien with an account at Schwab registered to a foreign address would not be impacted. But it is difficult to say at this time.

 

 

[gargamon]

Of course Trump would do this. If we can't steal your money with tariffs when you spend it in the US, we will screw you another way and steal your money when you send it out of the country.

[gargamon]

A source not paywalled: 

A tax on foreign remittances could hurt US.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/a-tax-on-remittances-could-hurt-us-households-and-national-security/#:~:text=Last month%2C the US House,a US citizen or national.

 

Last month, the US House of Representatives narrowly passed a sweeping tax and spending bill that is the top legislative priority for President Donald Trump. Among its lesser-known provisions is a proposed 3.5 percent tax on remittances sent by anyone who is not a US citizen or national. 

Currently, remittances are not taxed separately, as senders already pay income tax on the earnings they transfer to family and friends abroad. “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill” would upend that system—effectively taxing those transfers twice. But that’s not all. A tax on remittances—valued at $905 billion globally—would not only hit US households and low-income countries, where they can account for more than 30 percent of gross domestic product; it could also undermine key US national security and foreign policy priorities.

[NoDisplayName]

Also unclear is whether US citizens are exempt from the tax when transferring, or will have to apply for a refund or credit.

[Jingthing]

16 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

Also unclear is whether US citizens are exempt from the tax when transferring, or will have to apply for a refund or credit.

Exactly right and for the time being concerning.

 

Issues that I've uncovered.

 

Legal U.S. persons not citizens on green cards are NOT EXEMPT under the proposed law. I don't know how many expats in Thailand are in that status status, but anyway, they'll be screwed.

 

It is NOT DEFINED the process to prove U.S. citizenship. A social security number is not necessarily proof of that.

 

For U.S. accounts I have I don't recall whether I was required to say I'm a US citizen or not, but even if that happened, just stating that is not proof.

 

My information says that at this time it is not defined whether or not people who are clearly exempt (US citizens) are going to have that status honored upon remittances OR if they'll need to apply for refunds later.

Obviously, if the latter, that would be majorly negatively impactful for many of us. For example people sending 65K a month for retirement status. Less than 65K would then be remitted.

 

To be clear, I think this policy is really awful for all, including non U.S. citizens. The magas as selling this as only going after illegals but they are lying. 

 

 

[NoDisplayName]

19 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

For U.S. accounts I have I don't recall whether I was required to say I'm a US citizen or not, but even if that happened, just stating that is not proof.

 

My information says that at this time it is not defined whether or not people who are clearly exempt (US citizens) are going to have that status honored upon remittances OR if they'll need to apply for refunds later.

 

Financial institutions are required to adhere to "know your customer" regulations, so they likely know ezzackly who is/not a US citizen, but that doesn't mean they're going to reprogram their system to account for exceptions.  Simplest for them is to deduct tax from all overseas transfers.  Leave it to the customer to beg for a refund.

 

But there's more to worry about......

 

British fintech Wise to move primary listing to the U.S. in blow to London stock exchange

Wise will move to a dual listing, with its main listing hub shifting to the U.S. while maintaining a secondary listing in London.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/05/wise-to-move-primary-listing-to-us-in-blow-to-london-stock-exchange.html

 

That puts WISE under the thumb of the tanned god of finance.

[NoDisplayName]

27 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

My information says that at this time it is not defined whether or not people who are clearly exempt (US citizens) are going to have that status honored upon remittances OR if they'll need to apply for refunds later.

 

And just how will this "refund" be handled?  This is a TRANSFER tax, not income tax.

 

Will it be a 100% refund for US citizens with yet another special IRS form required, or will it be a credit to income tax on the 1040?

 

Expats on lower sociable security don't owe INCOME tax, have no INCOME tax withheld, so have nothing to apply the credit to.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

And just how will this "refund" be handled?  This is a TRANSFER tax, not income tax.

 

Will it be a 100% refund for US citizens with yet another special IRS form required, or will it be a credit to income tax on the 1040?

 

Expats on lower sociable security don't owe INCOME tax, have no INCOME tax withheld, so have nothing to apply the credit to.

Unknown.

[RupertIII]

Is this the "revenge tax" being discussed here? https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/6/4/what-is-the-revenge-tax-in-the-us-tax-bill

[ukrules]

I heard it only applies to people who are physically inside the US at the time of the transfer and has been criticised by many due to this being a huge gaping loophole.

 

[Everyman]

19 minutes ago, ukrules said:

I heard it only applies to people who are physically inside the US at the time of the transfer and has been criticised by many due to this being a huge gaping loophole.

 

 

The whole bill is an ugly mess. Congress should just let the tax cuts expire. The government needs more revenue. 

 

What I find weird in the press in that when criticizing the bill they call the tax cuts “for the rich.”

 

Yet when the consequences of allowing the cuts to expire are discussed, they say it would raise everyone’s taxes. 
 

It surely can’t be both.