U.S. Income Taxation of Cross-Border Pensions

This article will explore the U.S. income tax rules applied to deferred compensation transactions that cross national borders; it will consider whether the rules that the U.S. has developed, as a source country and as a residence country, constitute both a coherent and administrable approach and one that meshes harmoniously with the laws of other countries. One objective in this context is to avoid erecting barriers to the free movement of employees across borders. Others are to avoid creating unwarranted loopholes for employees and to insure that the U.S. obtains its rightful share of tax revenues. This topic is of increasing significance because of the growth in cross-border movements of employees in recent years.