The Supreme Court on Thursday (June 20) by a 7-2 majority upheld a Trump-era tax on foreign investment that was part of a larger package enacted by Congress in 2017 and challenged by a Washington couple. Charles and Kathleen MooreA couple was hit with a $15,000 tax bill for investing in an India-based company. They claimed the profits were reinvested and not distributed to them.
justice Brett KavanaughThe majority opinion author emphasized that the ruling was narrow and not relevant to the ongoing debate over wealth taxes. The tax at issue was a one-time mandatory repatriation tax imposed on shareholders of certain foreign corporations majority-owned by Americans on undistributed earnings earned between 1986 and the end of 2017. The provision was expected to raise taxes by $340 billion over 10 years.
The case was closely watched because it could have implications on other current tax provisions on the wealthy, including some international tax rules intended to prevent U.S. residents and companies from moving assets or operations overseas to avoid paying federal taxes.The ruling was seen as a victory for the Biden administration, which has proposed new taxes on the wealthy to fund spending plans to help low- and middle-class Americans.
