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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024
Sales and Use Tax Annotations
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F
250.0000 Foreign Consuls—Regulation 1619
Annotation 250.0050
(a) Sales Tax
250.0050 Federal Republic of Germany. The consulate general of the Federal Republic of Germany requested the Board to issue its tax exemption cards to foreign nationals who are employees (clerks and secretaries), not diplomatic officers, of the consulate. These employees' applications listed their visa status as "immigrant."
"Immigrants" are generally aliens who seek permanent residence in the U.S., with the possibility of later becoming citizens, as contrasted with alien nonimmigrants who seek only a temporary stay in the U.S., with no intention of abandoning their country of residence. (8 U.S.C.A. section 1101 (a)(15).)
The multilateral Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to which the U.S. and Germany are parties, in summary exempts consular employees from certain taxes, including state sales and use taxes, except when consular employees are permanent residents of the receiving country unless the receiving country so provides. (Articles 49 and 71, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, U.S. Treaties and other International Acts Series No. 6820.)
With respect to German nationals, the U.S. has done so under Article XIX of the 1925 U.S.-German treaty. Therefore, tax exemption cards should be issued to the consulate general's employees as requested. This is based on the fact that immigrants to the U.S. do not lose their status as foreign nationals, nor do they acquire status as U.S. nationals even though the immigrants have become permanent residents of the U.S. under their immigrant visas. 12/6/83.