The Supreme Court Case that Could Rewrite the Tax Code – The New York Times

Oral arguments are to begin on Tuesday at the Supreme Court in a tax case with a lot at stake.

Moore v. United States may appear to center on a request for a $14,729 tax refund, tied to a law that affected relatively few Americans. But it could redefine what is considered income in America, change how Congress taxes it, and preemptively block future efforts by Democrats to impose levies on billionaires wealth.

The back story: In 2018, the Trump administration and Congress changed how foreign profits of American companies were taxed, via a one-time levy on earnings from overseas subsidiaries. (Before then, duties were owed only on profit that was brought back to the U.S.)

But Charles and Kathleen Moore, a couple from Washington State, sued over the $14,729 they were assessed under the new law, derived from their stake in an Indian company. The couple argued that they shouldn t owe tax because they were sitting on unrealized gains and not actual dividends. The case was dismissed at the district and appellate court levels, but backed by conservative groups it has reached the Supreme Court.

via www.nytimes.com