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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Erbschaftsfalle USA - Steuerliche Nachteile für ausländische Ehegatten

(c) photo:
freedigitalphotos.net
Früher oder später stellt sich für vermögende Ehepaare die Frage einer möglichst steueroptimierten Erbfolge. Besonderheiten ergeben sich im US-amerikanischen Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuerrecht für Ehepaare, bei denen ein Ehepartner kein US-Bürger ist.

I. US-Erbschaftssteuer

Ist ein Ehepartner US-Amerikaner, so unterfällt in den USA belegenes Vermögen grundsätzlich der US-amerikanischen Erbschaftsteuer („federal estate tax“).1 War der Erblasser US-Staatsangehöriger oder hatte er als Ausländer seinen dauerhaften Aufenthalt in den USA, unterfällt das gesamte weltweite Vermögen der US-Erbschaftsteuer. Andernfalls wird nur das in den USA belegene Vermögen erfasst.

Grundsätzlich ist für amerikanische Ehepaare die Möglichkeit vorgesehen, sämtliche Vermögensgegenstände im Wege der sog. „unlimited marital deduction“ steuerfrei an den überlebenden Ehegatten zu übertragen. Diese Regelung greift jedoch nicht, wenn der überlebende Ehegatte nicht US-Bürger war. In diesen Fällen steht demgegenüber keine vergleichbare erbschaftsteuerliche Regelung zur Verfügung, die zu einer unbeschränkten Steuerfreiheit führt. Daher fällt diese Konstellation unter den Begriff der sog. „restricted marital deduction“.

Der vorgesehene erbschaftsteuerliche Steuerfreibetrag („estate exemption“) hingegen ist unabhängig von der Staatsangehörigkeit des Erblassers für alle Erben nutzbar, sofern es sich um in den USA befindliche Ausländer (sog. „resident aliens“) handelt.2 Trotz der jüngsten Steuererhöhungen beläuft sich dieser Freibetrag für das Jahr 2013 auf 5.000.000 USD, wobei der Spitzensteuersatz auf nunmehr 40 v. H. angehoben wurde.

Für diesen Betrag übersteigendes Vermögen sieht das US-Steuerrecht gleichwohl Möglichkeiten der Steuerbefreiung vor, um die negativen Folgen der „restricted marital deduction“ mangels Privilegierung des überlebenden ausländischen Ehegatten zu verhindern.

Eine Möglichkeit, um in den Genuss der vollkommenen Steuerbefreiung zu kommen, ist die Annahme der US-amerikanischen Staatsbürgerschaft. § 20.2056A-1 (b) CFR sieht unter bestimmten Bedingungen vor, dass mit Erlangung der US-Staatsangehörigkeit der überlebende Ehegatte die „unlimited marital deduction“, also die unbeschränkte Steuerfreiheit, in Anspruch nehmen kann.

Für den Fall, dass die Annahme der US-amerikanischen Staatsangehörigkeit keine Option darstellt, kann mittels der Errichtung eines US-amerikanischen Trusts3 eine Erbschaftsteuerpflicht reduziert oder verhindert werden.

2. Schenkungsteuer

Unabhängig von der Staatsangehörigkeit ist es nach US-amerikanischem Schenkungsteuerrecht möglich, jährlich Schenkungen in Höhe von 13.000 USD („annual gift exclusion“) an eine unbegrenzte Anzahl an Personen steuerfrei vorzunehmen, ohne dass diese bei der Bemessung der Erbschaftsteuer Berücksichtigung finden.

Anders sieht es wiederum bei Schenkungen von einem US-Bürger an seinen ausländischen Ehegatten aus. Das Gesetz sieht für den Fall ausschließlich einen jährlichen Freibetrag von 139.000 USD vor, wobei die zuvor aufgeführten 13.000 USD (als zusätzlicher Freibetrag) in diesem Verhältnis ausgeschlossen sind.

3. Empfehlung

Wie das vorangesagte aufzeigt, sieht das amerikanische Erbschaft- und Schenkungsteuerrecht für Ehen zwischen US-Amerikanern und Ausländern eine Vielzahl von Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten vor, die es bei der Nachlassplanung zu berücksichtigen gilt. Dabei kann eine frühzeitige Planung unter Umständen zu einer vollständigen steuerfreien Übertragungsmöglichkeit des Vermögens des US-amerikanischen Erblassers führen. Anderweitig läuft man Gefahr, der relativ hohen Besteuerung zu unterfallen.
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1 Dieser Artikel beschäftigt sich nur mit der Erbschaftsteuer auf Bundesebene. Zusätzlich kann auf der Ebene der einzelnen Bundesstaaten eine Erbschaftsteuer („state estate tax“) und/oder eine Erbschaftsteuer als Abgabe vom Erbanfall („state inheritance tax“) erhoben werden.

2 Für Ausländer, die keinen Wohnsitz in den USA haben („non resident aliens“) und bei denen das in den USA befindliche Vermögen der US-Erbschaftsteuer unterfällt, ist nur ein Freibetrag von 60.000 USD vorgesehen.

3 Zu den zahlreichen unterschiedlichen Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten eines Trust sowie ihren steuerlichen Folgen kann aufgrund der Kürze des Artikels nicht eingegangen werden.

Authors: Sebastian Meis, LL.M. und Dr. Max Oehlschlägel, Referendar - BridgehouseLaw Atlanta

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Energy Trading - Deutsche Bank pays $ 1,5 Mio. USD penalty

(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net
Did a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank pocket illegal gains on the US-electricity market? Apart from its investigations the US-regulators of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Comission (FERC) followed up the suspicion in several proceedings and dealt with a number of different illegal practices.

The FERC is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas and oil. FERC also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines as well as licensing hydropower projects.

Deutsche Bank is accused of market manipulation and energy trading in California. The payment is without admission of guilt. “We are glad to get this matter behind us.” a bank spokesman said.

The bank is accused of creating an impression of over capacity on the electricity market of California with systematic exchanges of electricity. The traders supposedly earned rewards they got from the regulators because they buy over electricity to eliminate apparent bottlenecks.

In this case Deusche Bank is a small fish, the penalty payment is negligible. For JP Morgan and Barclays higher penalty payments are imminent.

Author: Andreas Weitzell, Trainee Charlotte Office

Raleigh and Charlotte among most family-friendly cities in the U.S.

(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net
According to a recent ranking issued by the nonprofit group “The Human Life Project”, Raleigh is the most family-friendly City nationwide. The ranking has examined the 50 largest U.S. cities. Charlotte scored a top place on the list as well, the Queen City is ranked fourth on the list.

Some of the criteria for the ranking have been the marital status of the residents, age demographics, home prices and other costs of living. Additionally, educational factors, crime and unemployment rates, the median income and the availability of parks, museums and places of worship have been considered.

The ranking clearly demonstrates that business locations in North Carolina are very attractive. For a lot of businesses and people, the decision for a move to North Carolina is also easy, due to the excellent conditions in urban areas like Charlotte and Raleigh.

Author: Cornelia Heim / Rechtsreferendarin Charlotte Office

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Reshaping the Mortgage Market

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released new final rules last week aiming to force companies handling mortgage payments to deliver clear information about costs and deal fairly with struggling borrowers. The rules will take effect on January 10, 2014.
(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net

The CFPB is the federal agency holding primary responsibility for regulating consumer protection with regards to financial products and services in the United States. The bureau is an independent unit located inside and funded by the United States Federal Reserve, with interim affiliation with the U.S. Treasury Department. It writes and enforces bank rules, conducts bank examinations, monitors and reports on markets, as well as collects and tracks consumer complaints.

The mortgage servicing industry was built to handle large volumes of loans which only required limited service. In the wake of the financial crisis, the number of distressed borrowers skyrocketed and the servicing industry was unable to keep up. For this reason the CFPB is aspiring to clean up the sorts of servicer practices that made life even tougher for already struggling homeowners.

The CFPB’s final rules cover nine major topics to force lenders to consider a borrower’s ability to repay a loan. One major improvement for homeowners is the immediate crediting of periodic payments. Servicers also have to establish policies and procedures designed to achieve the objectives specified in the rule.

“Our new rules are designed to give strong protections to struggling borrowers. In this market, as in every other, consumers have the right to expect information that is clear, timely and accurate,” said Richard Cordray, CFPB’s director, in prepared remarks.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) opposes the new rules. According to the ABA ”the extensive costs that these additional requirements would impose on thousands of mortgage servicers, we do not believe that there would be a net benefit for consumers to providing this same information on a periodic statement”.

Author: Andreas Weitzell, Trainee BridgehouseLaw Charlotte Office

Friday, January 18, 2013

Rising Star Distinction for Reinhard von Hennigs

We are very proud to announce that Reinhard von Hennigs, partner at our BridgehouseLaw Charlotte office, has been named to the 2013 North Carolina Rising Star List by Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers launched the Rising Stars for the first time in 1998 to honor the top up-and-coming attorneys in each state. Reinhard von Hennigs has received this honor for the second year in a row.

In order to be eligible for the Rising Star designation (in contrast to the Super Lawyer List), the attorney has to either be under the age of 40, or in practice for ten years or less.

The Rising Stars are selected through a multiphase rating process, which includes peer nominations as well as third party research. The evaluation process includes 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. According to Super Lawyers, the objective is to “create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel.”

The decision making process is based on a point system:

  1. A candidate pool is created through peer nominations or identification by the research department
  2. The Super Lawyers' research department evaluates each candidate based on 12 indicators: verdicts and settlements; transactions; representative clients; experience; honors and awards; special licenses and certifications; position within law firm; bar and or other professional activity; pro bono and community service as a lawyer; scholarly lectures and writings; education and employment background; and other outstanding achievements. 
  3. During the final selection the candidates are divided into groups, according to firm size. The lawyers with the highest total points from each of these four categories are selected

While each year up to 5 percent of attorneys in North Carolina are named to the Super Lawyer List, only about 2.5 percent make it onto the Rising Star List.

To learn more about the selection process, please click here.

Author: Laura Hien

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Driver's Licenses for Young Illegal Immigrants - Not in N.C.?

(c) photo:
freedigitalphotos.net
President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program last June to prevent the deportation of people who were brought into the country illegally as children. The DACA program grants - under certain circumstances - two-year work permits for applicants.

Young illegal immigrants have then the chance to get a driver's license issued, as they have an employment authorization card showing their legal presence in the United States.

This means they can legally drive a car and insure it. The state Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) says it has stopped issuing the licenses, pending a ruling from State Attorney General Roy Cooper on whether an estimated 180,000 young men and women

in the state who are eligible for the federal DACA program are also eligible to drive under North Carolina law

Former DMV Commissioner Mike Robertson requested the general's ruling in October. His question centered on applicants for licenses who are not US citizens, and the documents they must provide to certify their legal presence in the USA; wether DMV should accept a federal employment authorization card with a special “C33” code, which indicates that the applicant is taking part in the DACA program.

Robertson wrote in a letter to the state's Attorney General Roy Cooper that no licenses will be issued unless he receives a statement from Cooper's office that North Carolina law requires them to do so.

Attorneys with our office are studying the legal issues involved”, Cooper's spokeswoman, Noelle Talley, said on Friday.

Initially, the DMV issued licenses to DACA participants. However, the change of the DMV policy did not reach the staff nor all offices just yet. Marty Rosenbluth, a lawyer with the Durham-based N.C. Immigration Rights Project, said that one of his client's received her learner's permit last Monday.

The question is, does it make sense that people living and working in the United States should not be allowed to (legally) drive a car?

Author: Melanie Schmitz - Rechtsreferendarin Charlotte Office

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Cloud computing - New report for the European Parliament warned of political surveillance on foreigner's data

(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net
How safe is Cloud Computing? Researchers warned of political surveillance on foreigners’ data in a new report produced for the European Parliament: U.S. public authorities, perhaps unsurprisingly, have continually rejected claims of mass snooping on Europeans' data if it is stored using U.S. cloud services like those provided by Google, Microsoft and Facebook.

According to the study “Fighting Cyber Crime and Protecting Privacy in the Cloud”, produced by the Centre for the Study of Conflicts, Liberty and Security, the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Amendments Act (FISAA) poses a “much graver risk to EU data sovereignty than other laws hitherto considered by EU policy-makers.” Late last month, the FISAA was renewed through 2017.

William Kennard, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, has continually rejected claims of mass snooping on Europeans. In a speech last year, he said that all law enforcement and national security investigations in the United States are subject to legal and judicial constraints designed to protect individual privacy.

But in Europe, serious skepticism remains.

The researchers initiate: It could be possible that until 2020, at least fifty percent of the EU-Devices will be under control of the European Union. Now, certainly, it seems unavoidable that Europe’s policymakers will eventually have to face up to questions over U.S. snooping, no matter how controversial.

Author: Andreas Weitzell - Trainee Charlotte Office

North Carolina's new Governor is former Mayor of Charlotte

(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net
The Republican Pat McCrory is the state's 74th governor. He stepped into office on January 5th 2013, taking over as only the third Republican governor of North Carolina in a century and marking a dramatic turn to red in state politics.

McCrory was sworn in at the old Senate chambers in the State Capitol, with Democrat Beverly Perdue passing power to him.

McCrory is being joined in office by new Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, another Republican.

Nine of North Carolina's 13 Congressional seats are held by Republicans, including new member George Holding in the 13th District. The House and Senate convene Wednesday, and Republicans will have big majorities in both. The House includes 77 Republicans and 43 Democrats. The Senate includes 33 Republicans and 16 Democrats. The Senate has to fill the seat of Democrat Ed Jones, who died Dec. 14, 2012.

Pat McCrory completed his Cabinet on Thursday:

Tony Tata, Raleigh - Secretary of Transportation

Experience: He served as chief operating officer at the District of Columbia school system and spent 28 years in the military, retiring as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army.

Bill Daughtridge, Rocky Mount - Secretary of Administration

Experience: Served as a Republican in the N.C. House from 2002-2008, at one point as a committee chairman. He also acted as an unpaid senior policy adviser to Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis for two years and served on the UNC Board of Governors. He runs his family's oil and gas business.

Sharon Decker, Rutherfordton - Secretary of Commerce

Experience: Spent 17 years at Duke Power Company, now Duke Energy, where she was the youngest and first female vice president. She worked at various community organizations and served as Charlotte Chamber president in 1998.

Susan Kluttz, Salisbury - Secretary of Cultural Resources

Experience: A Salisbury City Council member and 14-year Democratic mayor who lost her post in November 2011 after issuing a controversial proclamation declaring a gay pride day. Along with McCrory, she co-founded the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition in 2001.

Kieran Shanahan, Raleigh - Secretary of Public Safety

Experience: A former assistant U.S. attorney in North Carolina and Georgia, he serves on the East Carolina University board of trustees. Now in private practice, he takes high-profile cases, including two legal actions against the N.C. Democratic Party.

Lyons Gray, Winston-Salem - Secretary of Revenue

Experience: A Republican member of the N.C. House for 14 years. Served as chairman of the House Finance Committee. He recently worked as a senior adviser to the president of the UNC system and spent four years as chief financial officer at the federal Environmental Protection Agency during President George W. Bush's second term.

Dr. Aldona Wos, Greensboro - Secretary of Health and Human Services

Experience: Born in Poland, Wos came to the United States for a medical fellowship, working in private practice and for hospitals in New York and North Carolina. A major GOP donor, she was appointed by Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to Estonia in 2004. She was a campaign co-chair for McCrory and serves on the UNC Board of Governors.

John Skvarla, Raleigh - Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

Experience: Chief executive officer for Restoration Systems, an environmental firm that works with businesses and developers. Experience includes working as an investment banker, a senior partner at a law firm in Raleigh and chief operating officer at an airline cargo company.

Author: Melanie Schmitz - Rechtsreferendarin Charlotte Office

Thursday, January 10, 2013

US banks have undertaken to pay $ 8.5 billion in the course of foreclosure abuses

(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net
A lot of US banks are still confronted with claims of foreclosure abuses they have committed in times of the financial and housing crisis. Above all, they are blamed for the so called “robo-signing”, which means that plenty of times foreclosures against homeowners were made without examining the documents of each single case in an appropriate way.

On January 7th, 2013, ten US banks (among them Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo) have entered into a foreclosure settlement arrangement with federal banking regulators. The signatory US banks have undertaken to pay the amount of $ 8.5 billion to former and current homeowners. $ 3.3 billion of this settled amount will be paid directly to American borrowers who went through foreclosure in 2009 and 2010. The remaining amount of $ 5.2 billion is designated to support current homeowners, who are in danger of losing their homes, by reducing their monthly mortgage rate.

As far as foreclosure abuses in the years of 2009 and 2010 are concerned, the settlement enables the involved US banks to bring their outstanding disputes with federal banking regulators to an end.
Homeowners's representatives opinions about the beneficial effect of the settlement to borrowers and homeowners is mostly doubtful. On the one hand affected borrowers may expect quicker financial relief than without the settlement. On the other hand the settlement sum does not nearly cover the total harm homeowners suffered from foreclosure abuses. In addition to that the distribution of the funds amongst homeowners is still unclear.

Author: Cornelia Heim / Rechtsreferendarin Charlotte Office

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Solar panels in every home - why solar panels are cheaper in Germany

(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.com
The Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) has recently published a study that looks at the price differences in the solar panel industry in Germany and the U.S. By looking at pre-incentivized prices paid for customer-owned systems, they were able to pinpoint the major differences between the two countries.

In the last five years, German solar panel prices have dropped by more than 50%. Some places in the U.S. are almost on par with German prices, but on average the study found a pretty significant gap:

The most obvious difference between the United States and Germany is the total amount of solar power installed in each country—there’s five times as much installed in Germany.

The study found that the soft-costs (i.e. permitting, licensing, connecting to the grid and other business processes) of solar panel installations, which account for everything except the hardware (i.e. solar modules, inverters), were much higher in the U.S. compared to Germany. In fact, average German soft-costs were at $0.62 per watt in 2011 – $2.7 per watt lower than soft costs reported by installers in the U.S. Another way of looking at it is that German soft-costs are 20% of the prices in the U.S.

Additionally, the permit process is streamlined. It takes only eight days to license and install a solar system in Germany, compared to 120 to 180 days in the United States.

It is important to realize that what has contributed to Germany’s rapid growth in the solar industry (and the rest of their renewable sector) is their feed-in tariff scheme – an intrinsic part of Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) a law that was already passed back in 2000.

“In the United States utilities have little interest in helping customers generate their own power. Secondary state regulatory agencies and local governments impose burdensome permitting and siting requirements that unnecessarily raise installation costs.” said environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is calling for the installation of solar panels in homes being rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy.

Quelle: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/opinion/solar-panels-for-every-home.html?smid=pl-share

Author: Andreas Weitzell, Trainee Charlotte Office

Progress Energy obligated to grant current prices to solar developers

(c) photo: freedigitalphotos.net
The prosperity of solar developers depends largely on the so called “avoided cost” rate. As solar developers are mostly small power producers, they are usually not allowed to sell their power directly to customers. Instead, they have to sell it to big utilities like Progress Energy Carolinas. The prices utilities owe, are determined by the N.C. Utilities Commission and are supposed to represent the amount that utilities would have to spend on producing additional power on their one. These prices are therefore called “avoided costs”.

The nation wide declining of costs for natural gas recently motivated Progress Energy to request a reduction of the “avoided cost” rate by more than 20%. A lot of small solar developers expected the Commission to accede to that request and therefore filed a variety of project applications until December 1st of last year.

In response to this, in November 2012, Progress Energy asked the N.C. Utilities Commission to reduce the “avoided costs” retroactively as from December 1st, 2012. Even solar developers who applied for a new project before December 1st, 2012, that is due for approval in the next few months, should be concerned by these new price cuts.

The Commission refused Progress Energy's request. It decided that Progress Energy is obligated to grant the current prices to all small solar developers who have applied for a project before December 1st, 2012.

The Commission's ruling is welcomed by the small power producers as it ensures that planned projects stay profitable and therefore, can be built.

Author: Cornelia Heim/ Rechtsreferendarin Charlotte Office