FALCON POWERS – The U.S. Supreme Court, on Thursday, rejected an appeal against the imposition of a tax on Americans who have invested in certain foreign companies, and issued the ruling at a time when some Democratic lawmakers are seeking to impose a wealth tax on the super-rich.
According to a report published by Reuters and reviewed by Sky News Arabia, the judges, in a 7-2 majority ruling, upheld a lower court’s decision against Charles and Kathleen Moore – a retired couple from Washington – who had objected to the tax imposed on investment earnings in foreign companies.
The “one-time mandatory repatriation tax” was part of the Republican-backed tax law signed by former President Donald Trump in 2017. According to Reuters, the dispute in this case was whether this tax on unrealized gains was permissible under the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which empowered Congress to “lay and collect taxes on incomes.”
The Morris family, supported by the Institute for Competitive Enterprise and other conservative and business groups, claim that “income” means only those gains that are realized by taxpayers receiving cash payments, and not just an increase in the value of assets.
The Morris family was seeking to recover about $14,729 in taxes that the law requires them to pay as minority shareholders in a company in Bangalore, India, called “Kisan Kraft,” which supplies equipment to farmers.
