Hard to believe, but we’re halfway through the year. After a relaxing 4th of July (how might July 4th affect your financial planning? Click here for last week’s blog), this blog is a collection of several key stories that have shaped the financial and personal lives of Americans abroad.
TAX:
In surprising news, American expatriates, who have seen their lives generally negatively affected by tax changes (including the 2018 Tax Reform Act) gained a couple of notable victories.
First, the burden of the so-called GLTI tax was eased for American small business owners. Check out this article from Helen Brugraff on the topic at American Expatriate Finance.
Second, a French tax that the IRS had held was a social charge, has been declared a tax affording Americans living in the hexagon a bit of relief.
REGULATION:
If the news on the tax side was relatively positive, the news for Americans in the European Union regarding regulation got worse as the new PRIIPs and KIDs regulations were put in place for clients who have EU addresses by a growing number of brokers, including TDAmeritrade, Charles Schwab (so far, just for direct retail clients) and Interactive Brokers.
For more information, read this article by our Director of International Advisor Services. To see how to manage this conundrum, read our piece here.
On the United States side, the SECURE Act is moving through Congress, with bipartisan support: for what this might mean for U.S. expats, read our blog here.
MARKETS:
For a recap of the markets thus far in 2019 both inside and outside of the United States, we encourage you to check out J.P. Morgan’s Guide to the Markets, listen to our “Halftime” podcast, or watch our YouTube video which features us discussing some of the slides from the “Guide” as well.
LIFESTYLE:
The big story has been that of Meghan Markle and how she’s shined a light on the many, many issues faced by Americans abroad. See our blog here.
Keith Poniewaz