Boris in trouble......?
 

Well Boris Johnson's dual citizenship and tax status surfaces again.

New-York-born London mayor Boris Johnson refuses to pay US tax bill | Politics | The Guardian

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

What a bloody hypocrite! I seem to remember him going on about the embassy refusing to pay the congestion charges. I wonder if he will renounce the U.S Citizenship and never been allowed back in again

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

And here:

Mayor Boris Johnson's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...As An American - Forbes

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

I love how the Guardian quotes him complete with all the extra ums and errs and you knows.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

The betting amongst the chattering class is his US tax problems (if there are any) won't become an issue. Too delicate of an issue with possible bad press on both sides of the Atlantic. Note the final sentence in the Guardian article: "The mayor’s spokesman said he would not be commenting further on his US tax affairs."

Boris joins an elite club:

Penny Pritzker, who was worth $1.5 billion at the time, neglected to report $80 million income to IRS due to a “clerical error.” She did eventually report it, on the eve of her hearings to be Secretary of Commerce. She was appointed Secretary of Commerce the next day.

Timothy Geithner was appointed Secretary of Treasury after mistakes of failing to pay payroll taxes on income he received from the International Monetary Fund to the IRS over 4 years.

Jack Lew admitted before the Senate Finance Committee he “didn’t know” he had $56,000 in the Cayman Islands, from which he benefited via a current tax law that allowed a decrease in his investment principal. He's now Secretary of Treasury.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

The more sunlight that is shone on the US's pernicious tax policies towards non-resident citizens the better imo. I hope Boris sticks to his guns, becomes Prime Minister and then visits the US...

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Boris must be filing 1040s, how else would he have an outstanding capital gains tax bill with the IRS. He dealt with this terribly and made some stupid comments. His lack of political skills is probably more of an issue for his future career than some tax problems.

There is a bigger problem of a US citizen working for a foreign government and swearing allegiance to a foreign head of state. He needs to renounce if he wants to progress in UK politics.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

It is certainly an interesting mess he is in. As you say his continuing retention of the US citizenship should be asking lots of questions of his suitability for office. Yet people still vote for him and even suggest he is in line for PM.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Irrespective of whether you think BJ is a twat or not, it's useful for a "leading figure" to raise the profile of this problem. How many of the 535 members of congress really understand the issue. If a prime minister of Britain (appreciate that's a long shot for BJ) refused to comply, it would certainly get people talking. And what's missing is a reasonable debate.

I thought it interesting on the Guardian site that someone mentioned US Corps can park earning overseas. Why not have a "remittance based" taxation for US expats abroad. So, if you bring your earnings back to the USA, you pay tax, but if you stay abroad, you don't. That can deal with the "principle" that the US taxes its Citizens abroad, but only if they bring it home.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

It won't prompt debate though. A great floppy haired fuss will be made before he pays up and it will suddenly go quiet. He'll say one thing while doing another. You may or may not recall when this issue of his citizenship first arose he loudly proclaimed he was going to renounce forthwith then later on one of his minions was seen going to the Embassy to renew his US passport. Typical politician.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

"We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes"

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

They presumably saw his change of address on his 1040, his level of income (maybe) and queried whether he'd sold his residence.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

That's a far too sensible suggestion.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

It would also make it more consistent with the taxation of US corporations, which apparently are people anyway.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

His presence in Parliament as a US citizen was not an issue in the past. If Wiki is to be believed:

"Joining the Conservatives, he was elected MP for Henley in 2001. During his period in the House of Commons, Johnson became one of the most conspicuous politicians in the country, authoring books and making regular television appearances. Under Conservative leaders Michael Howard and David Cameron, Johnson served on the opposition front bench, first as Shadow Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries and then for Higher Education."

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

When did it become generally known that he was a US citizen?

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

The first questionnaire he completed that asked for place of birth?

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

I am going to hazard a guess that most Brits wouldn't know that being born in the US automatically confers US citizenship. So, no.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

The most vocal previous incident was around 2006 I think

Furious Boris renounces his US citizenship | UK | News | Daily Express

Then apparently renewed his US passport in 2012,

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

I'd hazard a guess (and I could be well, well wrong on this) that the solicitors and financial advisors for the City of London may have known of the reporting obligations of US citizenship, especially if Boris has signature authority over any accounts as Mayor (which he may not).

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

I just find it amusing.

It's also a separate issue to the US government not paying the £7M congestion charge bill.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

And what about FATCA and FBAR I wonder?

And if he's submitting a knowingly incomplete return is that fraudulent?

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Yeah, this is very bad behaviour and it should disqualify him from future political offices.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Guilty until proven innocent?

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

There's a reasonable possibility we'll never know what has, or hasn't been filed in the past. One thing is for sure, it's no longer an unknown situation. There are already close to 1700 readers comments under the article in the Guardian.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

No. He doesn't. There is no compulsion for a Cabinet Minister or PM to renounce a second citizenship.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

According to my friend (a Judge) a US citizen has a Constitutional obligation to pay taxes. Mr Johnson clearly says he made a profit and he is not going to pay the US Govt its share of the taxes. As others have said, if you don't like the taxes give up the citizenship.

The issue is very clearly laid out in the article. This is a simple issue, so your generalization adds nothing of value.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Clearly his well paid accountants will handle this all for him. The fact he owes money is quite a strong hint there was nothing 'fraudulent' about it.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

You don't think people are "innocent until proven guilty" - my "generalization" as you put it?

And please show me something to support the contention that failure to "pay US taxes" disqualifies him from public office in the UK.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

According to wikipedia, only Australia and Egypt bar dual citizens from parliament.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

People say lots of things to make a point. LBJ said "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." Hmmm. Fat lot of truth in that. Obama said something to Assad about red lines and chemical weapons. Hmmm. So when Boris "says" he won't pay the tax, I don't think that makes him guilty of anything, except grand standing.

And we're losing sight of the real issue. Of course the law says USCs have to pay taxes. But laws can be changed, and that's certainly within BJ's constitutional right to argue for. Plenty of people have gone to jail to protest against laws they wanted changed (e.g. slavery, voting for women, Maggie's Poll tax, metric weighed bananas, etc., etc., etc.).

So bully for Boris for taking on an issue that many USCs abroad think is an "unfair" law. It doesn't matter whether you personally think the law is fair or not. Others have a right to take exception. I doubt BJ will go the distance in a "Can't Pay, Won't Pay" kind of protest, so he's unlikely to spend any time in stir.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

As usual the problem isn't on the UK side, it's with the US.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

It is a hypocritical issue is what it is because wasn't it Johnson who said the American ambassador is "a no good crook" over these congestion charges. Those were the words used "no good crook" Didn't he say during the election campaign for mayor he would get the yanks to pay. Yet he won't pay them. Pot calling the kettle black if you ask me.

But yeah it is a good for a giggle.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

I think that's a view many subscribe to, to be fair.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

There's a touch of irony in all this.

Alexander Boris de Pfellel Johnson can trace his direct lineage back to George II. George II was the grandfather of George III, of "no taxation without representation" fame, as any American high school student will tell you.

But Boris, as a USC, has representation. Boris last lived in New York, so his Senator is Chuck Schumer. Senator Schumer is one of the most vocal supporters of halting "obvious tax evasion" by all those renouncing US citizenship.

The Senator has proposed a flat 30% capital gains tax on all US citizenship renouncers unless they can show they didn't renounce citizenship to avoid paying tax (Ex-PATRIOT Act). The Act has yet to gain approval in Congress which should please Boris.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

It was certainly the view of the prior mayor.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Not really. One is a sovereign nation not paying a bill and the other is a person.

The real issue about folks not paying tax is how stupid this all is because no one really seems to make the same stink about corporations not paying their share for a host of naff reasons and that lost revenue must dwarf the individual citizens.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

He also has famous Turkish ancestors. I'm not sure of the NY residency since he last lived there when he was 5. I wonder if he files any state taxes...I assume that he doesn't need to, and is only eligible to vote in Federal elections.

Being a US citizen and having signature authority over London Authority financial accounts is an interesting question....I'd love to see Boris' FBAR and FATCA filings.....but wasn't there some exemption for US citizens who worked overseas for corporations and financial firms and signature authority over financial accounts as part of their work?

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Oddly enough if you search for Boris Jonhson and tax in google a number of recent news reports surface that makes you question where he really stands on paying taxes.

Britain's super rich must pay more council tax, says Boris Johnson (and Russian oligarchs like Roman Abramovich could be targetted first) | Daily Mail Online

Boris Johnson tax row: I earned £1.7m over 4 years | Daily Mail Online

Sorry for the DM links, it's what turns up first.

Re: Boris in trouble......?
 

Of course Boris might be in the right here. It sounds like he is filing 1040s and the GCT tax bill might just be confusion over whether the home was his primary residence. Or even with the US CGT allowance on house sales Boris's gain might be well over that and he's miffed that he has to pay US tax. He's obviously not familiar with the concept that a US citizen living in the UK will pay the higher of the two countries taxes in each situation.