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The University of San Diego School of Law & Chamberlain Hrdlicka International Tax Institute

May 5, 2023

The University of San Diego School of Law & Chamberlain Hrdlicka International Tax Institute in Mexico City on May 5, 2023

Club de Industriales A.C. Mexico City

The University of San Diego School of Law & Chamberlain Hrdlicka International Tax Institute

For more information and to register, please click here.

*Most of these courses will be presented in both Spanish and English with simultaneous professional translation for all courses. 

Schedule

8:00 - 8:45 a.m. - Breakfast and Registration

8:45 - 9:00 a.m.- Opening Remarks

9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Sessions 1-5

2:00 - 2:50 p.m. Lunch

3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Sessions 6&7 

Location: Club de Industriales A.C. Mexico City

9:00 - 9:50 a.m. - U.S. Investment Visas: What Mexican Investors Need to Know (E-1, E-2 EB-5, L-1 Visas)

Presenters: 

  • Jan Joseph Bejar, Certified Specialist – U.S. Immigration Law
  • Patrick W. Martin, Shareholder, Chamberlain Hrdlicka
  • Sebastien Chain, Shareholder, Chamberlain Hrdlicka
  • Ernest Hiat, Associate Hiat y Amezcua
  • Anuar Estefan, Senior Associate, Chamberlain Hrdlicka   

This course will have immigration and tax lawyers explain in detail the requirements under U.S. immigration law for different types of investor visas for the international investor. Legal and tax consequences for the Mexican investor who is thinking about obtaining these visas, E-1, E-2, EB-5, among others will be explained in detail.  This will include the type of ownership of U.S. based companies (if any), the percentage ownership, investment/capital requirements, management limitations and other requirements will be reviewed.  What flexibility is available to the Mexican investor and how might that their spouse and/or children (depending upon age) be able to reside in the United States for short or long term periods. The Mexican tax advantages or disadvantages of terminating Mexican income tax residency and becoming a U.S. tax resident (including the U.S.-Mexico Tax Treaty rules) will be discussed as well.

10:00 - 10:50 a.m. - New Federal Money Laundering Reporting Requirements for Mexican and other Foreign Investors in US companies: FinCEN – New United States Regulations Regarding Transparency of Ownership (The Corporate Transparency Act)

Presenters: 

  • Guillermo Villaseñor Tadeo, Partner at Sanchez Devanny
  • Daniel Silva, Stripe Product Counsel, Former Assistant U.S. Attorney – Department of Justice
  • Luz E. Villegas, Associate, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Starting on January of 2024 there is a potential new reporting requirement for most all Mexican shareholders or members of U.S. entities. The final regulations of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) part of the anti-money laundering regime published on September 2022, requires mandatory disclosure of the beneficial owners of certain existing and newly formed U.S. entities. Knowledge of the who, when, and how of this new reporting requirement is critical for any person involved in the forming of an entity or to any Mexican who has a membership or shares of a U.S. entity, already in existence or newly formed. More importantly, this new reporting requirements have penalties of up to US$10,000. In addition, this panel will cover the new requirements under Mexican law to maintain information on the foreign “beneficial owners” of Mexican companies.

11:00 - 11:50 a.m. - Tax-Free Cross-Border Business and Entity Reorganizations

Presenters: 

  • Elena Robles, Legal and Governmental Relations Director Estafeta Mexicana
  • Sebastien Chain, Shareholder, Chambelrain Hrdlicka
  • Jose de Jesus Gómez Cotero, Gomez Cotero Abogados
  • Anuar Estefan, Senior Associate, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Mexican business owners often seek to expand their businesses by incorporating entities in the United States, sometimes it may be in the best interests of a business to have a United States entity owning a majority interest in Mexican entities, in cases where for example, the children and successors of the owners are U.S. citizens, in the pre-immigration context, and perhaps to access the investment protections provisions set forth in the USMCA.  The course will provide the mechanisms under both U.S. and Mexican tax laws to achieve a corporate reorganization in a tax efficient way. 

12:00 - 12:50 p.m. - Multinational Mexican Family Offices: Careful with the SALT Issues (Texas vs. California vs. New York)

Presenters: 

Local and state taxation in the United States is an important element to take into consideration for cross border corporate and wealth planning. How best to invest in the United States through Mexican owned family office operations? Forming entities or deciding on establishing in one state over another can create additional or unforeseen tax consequences when not considered. For example, Texas not having an individual income tax in comparison to California or New York having an individual income tax of up to 13.30% and 10.9%, in addition to the federal income taxes that may apply, knowing Mexican nonresident investors have many tax exemptions and exclusions under US federal tax law. This course will address multistate compliance, planning and controversy issues on income state and local taxes in the United States, in addition to the estate tax consequences that could arise in different scenarios. In addition, this panel will discuss how to minimize the global tax costs with cross-border family office investments.   

1:00 - 1:50 p.m. - Cross-border Tax Efficient Real Estate Funds for Mexican Investors

Presenters: 

  • Donald Braun, President of the Hall Group
  • Erika Baez Elizondo, Partner at Greenberg Traurig, S.C.
  • Roberto Perez Teuffer, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Mexican investors have owned what is now U.S. real estate for centuries – going back long before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848).  Current day global real estate investors from Mexico have seen healthy real estate returns on investment (ROI) in commercial, multi-family and land investments in different parts of the U.S. This panel will discuss key U.S. and Mexican tax and legal aspects that should be considered when structuring real estate investment funds by Mexican investors.  What type of legal entity (if any) should be considered, with different tax consequences; e.g., corporations, partnerships, LLPs, LPs, trusts, with a specific focus on the cross-border tax consequences for the Mexican investor.  A decades long experienced real estate business development CEO will discuss how his group has managed and developed billions of dollars of U.S. based real estate projects in their home base of Texas and states such as California and other regions throughout the U.S.  Explaining the legal and tax consequences of debt versus equity and how the U.S.-Mexico income tax treaty impacts (and does not) these decisions will also be covered.

3:00 - 3:50 p.m. - IRS Powers Collecting International Records and Evidence in Civil Examinations: Summonses, John Doe Summonses, Treaties, and Other Information Collection Tools

Presenters: 

  • Daniel N. Price, Law offices of Daniel N. Price, Former IRS Attorney on International Tax Matters
  • Daniel Silva, Stripe Product Counsel, Former Assistant U.S. Attorney – Department of Justice
  • Leo Unzeitig, Shareholder of Chamberlain Hrdlicka

The U.S. Treasury Department and its agencies including the IRS have many tools to collect information about businesses, financial accounts, and nearly any other matter. The course will provide an overview of information collecting tools used in civil and criminal tax and tax-related investigations. Those tools include summonses, John Doe Summonses, requests to international governmental partners, and much more. Beyond the basic tools, this course will also discuss how the government is leveraging technology in gathering and analyzing information.

4:00 - 4:50 p.m. - The Use and Abuse of Foreign Trusts in Cross-border Estate Planning

Presenters: 

  • Juan Manuel Jimenez Illescas, Mexican Federal Tax Court Judge
  • Ambrosio Michel, Michel Abogados
  • Daniel Silva, Stripe Product Counsel, Former Assistant U.S. Attorney – Department of Justice
  • Patrick W. Martin, Shareholder of Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Multi-national families with a base in Mexico with investments in the U.S., Europe and Asia often find that the use of common law trusts, as testamentary instruments are the most legally efficient and tax advantageous way to hold these investments.  The U.S. has specific tax rules (taxation and reporting) regarding foreign trusts with U.S. beneficiaries and with non-resident beneficiaries and settlors.  At the same time, unscrupulous professional advisors globally, particularly lawyers, have found ways to abuse common law trusts in order to help their clients keep their taxable income and reportable assets hidden from tax revenue authorities to whom the law requires they be reported.  This panel which includes two former prosecutors from Mexico and the U.S. will discusses the beneficial uses of foreign trusts and their planning and the abuses that can give rise to not only legal penalties and severe civil liabilities to the family wealth holder, but also criminal liability to advisors when intent to defraud is identified by government investigators

BREAK-OUT SESSIONS

1. U.S. Tax Identification Numbers: What Mexican Tax Professionals and Mexican Investors Need to Know About Them

Presenters:

  • Anuar Estefan, Chamberlain Hrdlicka
  • Roberto Perez Teuffer, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

What do Mexican investors need to know about US taxpayer identification numbers? When are they required with financial investments in US banks? When does a tax treaty position require reporting and use of a United States taxpayer identification numbers? What is the difference between a Social Security number, a TIN and an EIN as far as a United States taxpayer identification number? What are the limitations of obtaining a number is the officers of a United States company are all foreign Mexican nationals without United States, Social Security number? Are Mexican individuals eligible to obtain a Social Security number and under what circumstances? How does the IRS track these taxpayer identification numbers to track individuals, their investments, and report back to foreign tax revenue authorities, such as SAT?

2. Planning with Mexican-Owned U.S. Companies Eligible for the 14% Income Tax Rate (“FDII”)

Presenters:

The United States has a special tax regime for domestic corporations that either perform services or sell inventory property to customers outside of the United States, or that license intellectual property to foreign related parties.  This panel will discuss how Mexican business owners can take advantage of this special tax regime to reduce their effective income tax rate with respect to certain items of income by relocating certain business activities and assets to a U.S. corporation.

3. EB-5 Visas: Understanding all the Key Elements Visas

Presenters:

  • Jan Joseph Bejar, Certified Specialist – U.S. Immigration Law
  • Jim Long, Hall Group
  • Ernest Hiat, Associate Hiat y Amezcua
  • Anuar Estefan, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

What Latin American investors need to know about this EB-5 visa. When does it lead to lawful permanent residency? When are children of a parent investor entitled to become a lawful permanent resident to live in the United States to eventually obtain citizenship? What are some of the key tax consequences? How are investment funds commonly structured in these investments? What is the best way to secure your investment as an EB-5 investor? How can you expect to recover your investment? How long does it take typically to become a lawful permanent?

4. The United States Supreme Court decision in Bittner - amicus brief; minimizing penalties with Global Accounts; + Aroeste vs U.S. - District Court & The U.S.- Mexico Income Tax Treaty

Presenters: 

This panel will discuss three recent key U.S. judicial precedents favorable to international individuals.  These cases have helped clarify the requirements of individual taxpayers and the limitations on the powers of the IRS regarding international information reporting (“IIR”) requirements.  These IIR decisions relate to (i) Title 31 penalties for Foreign Bank Account Reports (“FBARs”), (ii) Title 26 IIR specific to reporting of ownership interests in foreign companies, and (iii) how these two federal statutory regimes of Title 31 and 26 crossover into international law as set forth in U.S. income tax treaties negotiated with different countries around the world.  Aroeste v. United States  – where the District Court concluded in Aroeste that the IRS/DOJ could not ignore the U.S.-Mexico income tax treaty (“Treaty”) and its application to a Mexican national who has resided almost all of his life in Mexico City. Next, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) resolved in Bittner v. United States[1], that the applicable non-willful FBAR penalty is not measured by every foreign account. Finally, Farhy v. Commissioner[2] stating that the IRS does not have statutory authority to assess certain IIR penalties. 

To register, please click here.