Antarctica Wages Subject to Tax

The United States Tax Court has decided that wages earned in Antarctica are still subject to taxation.

The court issued its decision in the case of Scott E. and Ellen J. Hulse of Boulder, Colorado, who worked at McMurdo Station in Ross Island, Antarctica, in 2000. On their 2000 federal income tax return, they excluded wage income they earned for the work they did there that year.

However, the court pointed out that U.S. citizens generally are taxed on income earned outside the geographical boundaries of the United States unless the income is specifically excluded from gross income.

The court concluded that Antarctica is not a "foreign country" for purposes of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion section of the Internal Revenue Code.

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