Brent Lance, Esq.

BRENT LANCE, LL.M. (Tax-NYU), the founder of Lance Crossborder Law and Tax, has 43+ years of experience in California, Cross-border and International Tax matters. His experience includes seven years practicing international and California tax law at Baker & McKenzie, the world’s largest international law firm and five years leading an international tax consulting group as a partner of KPMG, the world’s largest international accounting and consulting firm. The balance of Mr. Lance’s 43+ years of cross-border tax and legal experience was earned by advising “snowbirds,” “expats,” international business owners, international investors and others with cross-border lifestyles in the boutique law firm he founded in Palm Desert 28 years ago.

Mr. Lance has decades of experience assisting US, Canadian and other clients to avoid tax residency in California, including planning to avoid disadvantageous information disclosures and tax-effective structuring of cross-border vacation home purchases. If you do draw the attention of the tax authorities here, Mr. Lance has successfully handled many FTB Form 4600 inquiries requesting the filing of a California tax return and defended residency tax audits and tax assessments.

Mr. Lance also routinely assists client desiring longer stays in California with pre-residence tax planning and the establishment of California businesses. In such cases, Mr. Lance coordinates the U.S. requirements of a cross-border lifestyle or business with applicable home country (or home state or province) legal and tax requirements to create the most tax efficient structure. Additionally, Mr. Lance routinely assists California and other high-tax state residents with planning domicile and residence changes, as well as with departure tax planning for relinquishment of U.S. lawful permanent residence by current and possible future long-term residents, as well as expatriation tax planning for U.S. citizens.

On the international side, Mr. Lance has handled federal cases involving undisclosed foreign financial accounts and foreign entity interest reporting oversights, as well as tax treaty competent authority cases to eliminate cases of international double taxation.

Countries in which Mr. Lance has worked on international tax, estate planning, business and investments matters include:

• Canada (international estate planning)
• Mexico (manufacturing, hotel, condo and timeshare development, residence planning)
• Australia (residence planning)
• Germany (distribution, international estate planning)
• The United Kingdom (international estate planning, distribution)
• Ireland manufacturing, international estate planning)
• France (distribution operations)
• Belgium (headquarters operations)
• Italy (distribution operations)
• The Netherlands (drug clinical trials, International licensing and distribution, US real estate investment)
• Switzerland (residence planning, holding company operations)
• Spain (residence planning)
• Cyprus (international tax planning)
• Israel (international licensing)
• Hong Kong (international estate planning, US real estate investments)
• Singapore (international licensing)
• The Philippines (international tax planning)
• Japan (international estate planning)
• China (hotel development)
• Taiwan (international estate planning, US real estate investments)
• New Zealand (international tax planning)
• Bermuda (family wealth planning, private trust company operations, international headquarters)
• The Bahamas (international trust planning)
• The British Virgin Islands (international corporate planning, private trust company operations)
• Costa Rica (residence planning, agricultural operations)
• Puerto Rico (manufacturing, hotel and golf course development)
• French Polynesia (hotel development)

As mentioned above, Mr. Lance has a Master of Laws in Tax from the prestigious New York University Law School Tax LL.M. program, concentrating in international tax planning, and did his undergraduate legal work at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

On a personal note, Brent has been an avid horseman for 30 years, including 20 years playing polo, five years whipping-in to hounds with various field hunts, many years of trail riding (including on several California sections of the Pacific Crest Trail) and more recently participating in organized endurance rides through extraordinary terrain in the mountains and deserts of Southern California.