Moore v. United States
View Official PDFBelow are plain-language sections to help you understand what the Court decided in Moore v. United States and why it matters. Quotes are taken from the syllabus (the Court’s short summary at the start of the opinion).
Summary
A short, plain-English overview of Moore v. United States.
The Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of the Mandatory Repatriation Tax (MRT), which taxes American shareholders on the undistributed income of American-controlled foreign corporations. The Court upheld the MRT, stating it falls within Congress's constitutional authority to tax income. The decision affirms Congress's ability to attribute an entity's realized income to its shareholders and tax them accordingly.
Holding
The single most important “bottom line” of what the Court decided in Moore v. United States.
The Court held that the MRT does not exceed Congress's constitutional authority to tax income.
Constitutional Concepts
These are the Constitution-related themes that appear in Moore v. United States. Click a concept to see other cases that involve the same idea.
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Why Spending Power is relevant to Moore v. United States
The case involves Congress's authority to impose taxes, which is part of its power to tax and spend for the general welfare.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)Article I of the Constitution affords Congress broad power to lay and collect taxes.
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Why Necessary and Proper Clause is relevant to Moore v. United States
The case discusses Congress's ability to attribute income to shareholders and tax them, which involves implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)This Court's longstanding precedents... confirms that Congress may attribute an entity's realized and undistributed income to the entity's shareholders or partners and then tax the shareholders or partners on their portions of that income.
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Why Judicial Review is relevant to Moore v. United States
The Court's decision involves reviewing and upholding the constitutionality of a congressional tax law.
Syllabus excerpt (verbatim)The MRT—which attributes the realized and undistributed income of an American-controlled foreign corporation to the entity's American shareholders, and then taxes the American shareholders on their portions of that income—does not exceed Congress's constitutional authority.
Key Quotes
Short excerpts from the syllabus in Moore v. United States that support the summary and concepts above.
The MRT does tax realized income—namely, the income realized by KisanKraft.
Congress can attribute the undistributed income of an entity to the entity's shareholders or partners.
The Court's holding is narrow and limited to entities treated as pass-throughs.