Coagro Corp: Define if Your Cross-Border Taxation Is Done Correctly

Cross-border taxes are collected in a particular way.

As international markets keep growing each day, governments across the world are adapting their taxes’ policies to guarantee more transparent and efficient market trades. When starting in this business, or when acquiring foreign properties, people often find an obstacle in their lack of knowledge about cross-border policies and taxation's processes. What do you need? How is it calculated? Where do you pay? Whether you are a foreigner or not, all of these factors and more are vital issues that you must address before starting your first international trade in the U.S.

The first thing you need to know is that U.S. citizens are taxable on their worldwide income. There is no distinction between earnings that come from business or investments inside American territory and those that come from outside. Based on this, two types of international exchanges can be done. “Outbound transactions” respond to transactions made by U.S. taxpayers in other countries and “inbound transactions” are those made by foreigners within the United States.

In outbound transactions, the government captures foreign income for U.S. tax purposes and prevents tax avoidance through the use of foreign entities. In the inbound transactions case, taxes apply to the income that comes from sources within the U.S.

Tax Treaties Exceptions

Now, you can review cross-border taxation's general rules in the Internal Revenue Code. However, these rules might not apply depending on whether if the United States has a tax treaty with the country with which transactions take place. Because of tax treaties, you might be taxed at a reduced rate or be exempt from U.S. income taxes on certain items you receive from sources within the United States.

It’s vital to understand where your taxes should be paid because you could be taxed twice from two different countries at the same time, provoking money loss in the process. In any case, you should always hire a tax specialist that understands the treaties and rules that apply to different countries when trading with the U.S.

This will help you define if your taxes are done correctly. You should watch out for different forms that must be filled according to your state of residency in the U.S., as well as currency exchange and transaction prices. Another thing to take into account is whether if you have financial assets in foreign institutions. If those assets exceed the amount of $55,000, you must report them as well.

How Important Is It to Do It Well?

The consequences of badly done taxation reports can be immensely severe for your business. From significant penalties and interest rates that can cost you thousands of dollars to a damaged reputation. International taxes can give many people terrible headaches if they don’t know how to handle them. Don’t hire just a tax specialist, hire a person specialized in the cross-border relation between those countries you are working with, someone who understands the complexities behind every treaty and every exception.

This inversion could save you thousands of dollars and help you build a better reputation with your clients, stakeholders and financial institutions. In the globalized world we live in today, even if you’re a small firm, you should know how to handle taxation to give a better service to your clients. With the purpose of identifying critical issues and creating a plan ahead of time, you must be aware of which are the obligations generated by taxes. Everything from entities involved to the proper filling of every form can affect the taxation of cross-border income.

In Coagro Corp we’re ready to deal with every international transaction to guarantee our clients satisfactory results. Our team is prepared to work all the details, as well as advising you on the process. Give us a call and let us start building an enduring and trustworthy partnership!