Overview
White House Announces Signing of U.S.-Brazil Social Security Totalization Agreement: Today, the White House announced that the United States has signed a Social Security Totalization agreement with Brazil. According to a fact sheet issued by the White House, the agreement “will eliminate dual Social Security contributions, which occur when a worker from one county works in another country[,]” and “close the gaps in benefit protections for workers who divide their careers between the United States and Brazil.” The White House estimates that this agreement will save U.S. and Brazilian companies more than $900 million over the first six years.
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear California Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt: Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in California Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt, a case involving a number of state sovereignty issues. Last year, the Nevada Supreme Court determined that the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) could not invoke discretionary-function immunity to protect itself from an intentional tort and bad-faith cause of action, thus declining to extend to California the same immunities Nevada enjoys in its own courts. FTB appealed the decision. The Court will determine (i) whether a state must respect other states’ sovereign immunity to the same extent as its own and (ii) whether it should overrule Nevada v. Hall, a U.S. Supreme Court case that holds that a state can be sued without its consent in the courts of another state.
Miscellaneous Guidance:
Notice 2015-43 provides interim guidance on the application of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act to expatriate health insurance issuers, expatriate health plans and employers in their capacity as plan sponsors of expatriate health plans.