The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
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As the Supreme Court starts a recent term, experts are closely watching a case that would have sweeping effects on the U.S. tax code, including corporate revenue and future wealth tax proposals.
This summer, the high court agreed to listen to Moore v. United States, a case involving a Washington couple with a controlling interest — greater than 10% investment — in KisanKraft, a profitable India-based farming corporation.
The plaintiffs are fighting taxes on earnings that weren’t distributed to them by arguing in regards to the definition of income, which could have broader implications, in line with policy experts.
“This could have the most important fiscal policy effects of any court decision in the fashionable era,” said Matt Gardner, a senior fellow on the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, who recently co-authored a report on the case.
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The case challenges a levy, often known as “deemed repatriation,” enacted via the Republicans’ 2017 tax overhaul. Designed as a transition tax, the laws required a one-time levy on earnings and profits amassed in foreign entities after 1986.
While the sixteenth Amendment outlines the legal definition of income, the Moore case questions whether individuals must “realize” or receive profits before incurring taxes. It’s a difficulty that has been raised during past federal billionaire tax debates and will affect future proposals.
Ruling could affect pass-through businesses
Depending on how the court decides this case, there might be either small ripples or a significant effect on the tax code, in line with Daniel Bunn, president and CEO of the Tax Foundation, who recently wrote in regards to the topic.
If the court decides the Moores incurred a tax on unrealized income and says the levy is unconstitutional, it could affect the long run taxation of so-called pass-through entities, resembling partnerships, limited liability corporations and S-corporations, he said.
“You’ve got to listen to the best way the foundations are going to affect your corporation, especially in case you’re doing things in a cross-border context,” Bunn said.
There’s also the potential for a “substantial impact” on federal revenue, which could influence future tax policy, Bunn said. If deemed repatriation were fully struck down for corporate and noncorporate taxpayers, the Tax Foundation estimates a $346 billion federal revenue reduction over the subsequent decade.
However, with a choice not expected until 2024, it’s difficult to predict how the Supreme Court may rule on this case. “There’s quite a lot of uncertainty in regards to the scope of this thing,” Gardner added.
