Originally Posted by
The Dominican
"There are efforts underway to 1) increase the foreign earned income exclusion and 2) to assert pressure on the IRS to back off on the bizarre interpretation ( apparently a leap of logic from cases against merchant seamen )."
It is not only bizarre TP..., it is outright elegal as per the international laws regarding vessel sovereignty after the Tokyo agreement that came to effect after 1969. I understand if you are aboard an "N" registered airplane..., but according to the IRS, if I'm on a Japanese registered A/C on my way to Singapore, I'm in the US (although I never leave territories defined by FIR's) but when I'm in JFK on my way to somewhere else therefore in "transit" for less than 24 hours I'm not in the US.....! Oh the brilliance of our government.
I believe the IRS is incorrect in how they are enforcing "on or over international waters" as well. I believe it should ONLY be in a US flagged vessel. In a different sent of instructions for a different form, I did run across a reference to being in a US flagged vessel or aircraft. I can't remember where it was.
Even a foreign vessel sitting in a US port is technically a foreign sovereignty, and vice versa.
I am not in a position to hire a lawyer to fight the IRS on this, but I am pretty sure they are wrong.