Hi. My question concerns the communication between the IRS and non-resident aliens. Let’s say I were to gift cash from my US brokerage account to my son’s brokerage account. Some say that such gift transfers are taxable, regardless of the fact that we both have no relation to the United States and just have our accounts opened at a US brokerage. However, that is still a disputed taxation situation. Haven’t been able to find any relevant court rulings. Let’s say I gift this cash to my son through the brokerage. How do I know for sure that I have to pay the tax? I cannot contact IRS myself to ask about this. Heck, it is actually impossible to contact them from overseas. Will the IRS contact me or send some kind of a paper-back notice to my legal address ordering me to pay the tax?
Don‘t you see the contradiction? Your US brokerage account is your relation with the US. Why not just circumvent the issue by transferring the assets in another country, even if that means that you have to move them around a bit more than you hope for?
Generally having your assets in one of the very few jurisdictions that taxes global income and is having loose definitions regarding taxable subjects (keyword: US person) sounds like a very bad idea. In fact, having your assets in a country you have otherwise no relation to is IMO always a bad idea (though very many here don’t seem to be bothered by that).