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Congress Allows Transfer of Improperly Filed Cases to Tax Court

by McDermott Will & Schulte | Dec 21, 2018 | Appellate Courts, Court Procedure Matters, Tax Reform, Trial Courts, Uncategorized

Taxes and tax litigation can be complex and confusing. Taxpayers have the option of filing a petition in the United States Tax Court (Tax Court) prior to payment of any asserted deficiency. Alternatively, taxpayers can pay the deficiency, file a claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service and, if that claim is denied or more than six months have elapsed, file a complaint in local District Court or the Court of Federal Claims requesting a refund. These forum rules sometimes trip up taxpayers and can lead to the filing of a suit in the wrong court.

In the Protecting Access to the Courts for Taxpayers Act (H.R. 3996), Congress has provided relief for taxpayers in this type of situation through an amendment to 28 USC section 1631:

Whenever a civil action is filed in a court as defined in section 610 of this title or an appeal, including a petition for review of administrative action, is noticed for or filed with such a court and that court finds that there is a want of jurisdiction, the court shall, if it is in the interest of justice, transfer such action or appeal to any other such court (or, for cases within the jurisdiction of the United States Tax Court) in which the action or appeal could have been brought at the time it was filed or noticed, and the action or appeal shall proceed as if it had been filed in or noticed for the court to which it is transferred on the date upon which it was actually filed in or noticed for the court from which it is transferred.

Practice Point: Allowing improperly filed cases to be transferred to the Tax Court is a welcome development for taxpayers. The amendment to 28 USC section 1631 protects taxpayers in situations where a complaint is filed within 90 days of receipt of a Notice of Deficiency in a refund jurisdiction when it should have been filed in the Tax Court.

Proposed BEAT Regulations | Tax-Free Transactions May Give Rise to a Liability

by David G. Noren, Jonathan D. Lockhart and McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 20, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

On December 13, 2018, US Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations for the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (the BEAT), which was added to the Code as part of the 2017 Tax Act. The proposed regulations provide helpful guidance on a range of important topics and generally go a long way toward a reasonable implementation of a very challenging statute. There is one aspect of the proposed regulations, however, that may be an unwelcome surprise for many taxpayers; the proposed regulations treat stock consideration in non-cash transactions as BEAT “payments,” thereby creating the potential for BEAT liability in situations involving certain liquidations, tax-free reorganizations and other non-cash transactions.

Located in section 59A, the BEAT imposes a minimum tax on US corporations (and certain foreign corporations, which are not the focus of this Insight) that consistently have annual gross receipts of $500 million or more and claim more than a de minimis amount of “base erosion tax benefits” for a taxable year. In general, as base erosion tax benefits increase, a corporate taxpayer’s BEAT liability increases.

The proposed regulations, which are generally proposed to be effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, include guidance for determining the base erosion payments that will give rise to annual base erosion tax benefits. Prop. Reg. § 1.59A-3(b) applies the same four categories of base erosion payments found in section 59A(d) for amounts paid or accrued to a related foreign party. The two categories that should affect the most taxpayers are the general category for currently deductible items and the special category for the acquisition of depreciable or amortizable property. With respect to this latter category, the acquisition price of the property will constitute the base erosion payment, but only the amount of any depreciation or amortization deductions claimed in a tax year will produce a base erosion tax benefit for purposes of computing the BEAT.

(more…)

Weekly IRS Roundup December 3 – 7, 2018

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 10, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of December 3 – 7, 2018:

December 4, 2018: The IRS issued a news release granting taxpayers an extra day, until Thursday, December 6, 2018, to file any return or pay any tax originally due on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, in light of the Executive Order closing all federal agencies on December 5, 2018, as a mark of respect for President George H.W. Bush.

December 4, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-95, providing transition relief from the “once-in-always-in” condition for excluding part-time employees under Treas. Reg. § 1.403(b)-5(b)(4)(iii)(B).

December 6, 2018: The IRS in Revenue Ruling 2018-32 released the interest rates for underpayments and overpayments applicable for the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2019.

December 7, 2018: The IRS issued Notice 2018-97, providing initial guidance on the application of section 83(i) of the Code, enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which allows qualified employees of privately held corporations to defer paying income tax—for up to five years—on the value of qualified stock options and restricted stock units granted to them by their employers.

December 7, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandums and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Le Chen in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Weekly IRS Roundup November 19 – 23, 2018

by McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 26, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 19 – 23, 2018:

November 19, 2018: The IRS in a news release reminds taxpayers that the non-recognition treatment for like-kind exchanges under Code Section 1031 is now limited to certain exchanges of real property.

November 19, 2018: The IRS issued the final regulations under Code Section 267A on allocating costs to certain property produced or acquired for resale by a taxpayer.

November 19, 2018: The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2018-56, expanding the list of changes of methods of accounting for which the taxpayers may obtain automatic consent under the regulations of Code Section 267A.

November 20, 2018: The IRS issued a notice to request comments on Form W-8CE, Notice of Expatriation and Waiver of Treaty Benefits, which the taxpayers use to notify expatriating payers of information necessary to determine the proper tax treatment of their payments.

November 20, 2018: The IRS in IRS Tax Reform Tax Tip 2018-179 advises that certain taxpayers may benefit from converting an S corporation into a C corporation due to the new, 21 percent tax rate.

November 23, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Alex Cheng-Yi Lee in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Proposed Regulations under Section 956 Provide Benefits for Corporate Taxpayers

by Bradford E. LaBonte, Lowell D. Yoder and Timothy S. Shuman | Nov 20, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

On October 31, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released proposed regulations (REG-114540-18) (the Proposed Regulations) that would prevent, in many cases, income inclusions for corporate US shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) under section 956. As a result, among other considerations, the Proposed Regulations could significantly expand the ability of corporate US affiliates to benefit from credit support of CFCs.

Read the full article.

Bloomberg Tax: Prop. GILTI Regs: ‘Tested Income’

by Lowell D. Yoder | Nov 15, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

The Treasury and IRS recently issued proposed regulations under §951A.1 The regulations provide rules for determining the amount of the inclusion in a U.S. shareholder’s gross income of global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI).

The GILTI inclusion amount is the aggregate of a U.S. shareholder’s pro rata shares of tested income less tested losses from each directly and indirectly owned controlled foreign corporation (CFC), less 10% of its aggregate pro rata shares of qualified business asset investments (reduced by certain interest expense). 2 This article discusses the rules in the proposed regulations for determining a CFC’s tested income.

Read the full article.

Originally published in Bloomberg Tax: Tax Management International Journal, November 2018.

Weekly IRS Roundup November 5 – 9, 2018

by McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 13, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of November 5 – 9, 2018:

November 6, 2018: The IRS added in “Questions and Answers about Reporting Related to Section 965 on 2017 Tax Returns” information concerning the filing of transfer agreements under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 965(h)(3) and Section 965(i)(2)(c). For our prior coverage related to the election to pay the transition tax under Code Section 965, see here, here and here.

November 7, 2018: The IRS in IRS Tax Tip 2018-173 reminds taxpayers of the blended tax rate as a result of tax reform and provides guidance on the computation of the blended rate.

November 8, 2018: The IRS in a notice announced that the charter for the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council has been renewed for two years beginning October 17, 2018.

November 9, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Alex Cheng-Yi Lee in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

Law360: A Look At Tax Code Section 199’s Last Stand

by Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Schulte | Nov 7, 2018 | Alternative Dispute Resolution, Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Settlements, Tax Reform, Trial Courts, Uncategorized

Andy Roberson, Kevin Spencer and Emily Mussio recently authored an article for Law360 entitled, “A Look At Tax Code Section 199’s Last Stand.” The article discusses the IRS’s contentious history in handling Code Section 199 and the taxpayers’ continued battle to claim the benefit – even after its recent repeal.

Access the full article.

Originally published in Law360, November 2018.

The LB&I Campaigns Keep Coming!

by Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Schulte | Oct 31, 2018 | IRS Audits, IRS Guidance, Uncategorized

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International (LB&I) Division continues to churn out new audit “campaigns.” The most recent announcement on October 30, 2018, identifies five new campaigns, which were identified through LB&I data analysis and suggestions from IRS employees. With the addition of these new campaigns, LB&I has now identified 50 campaigns since the program’s initial release on January 13, 2017.

The five new LB&I campaigns are listed verbatim by title and description.

Individual Foreign Tax Credit Phase II

Section 901 of the Internal Revenue Code alleviates double taxation through a dollar-for-dollar credit against U.S. tax on foreign-sourced income in the amount of foreign taxes paid on that income.

Individuals who meet certain requirements may qualify for the foreign tax credit. This campaign addresses taxpayers who have claimed the credit but do not meet the requirements. The IRS will address noncompliance through a variety of treatment streams, including examination. (more…)

Weekly IRS Roundup October 22 – 26, 2018

by McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 29, 2018 | IRS Guidance, Tax Reform, Uncategorized

Presented below is our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of October 22 – 26, 2018:

October 23, 2018: The IRS released an updated Form 1040 Schedule B for reporting interest and ordinary dividends and draft Form 1120 Schedule D instructions for reporting capital gains and losses. Both documents include changes made to reflect the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

October 25, 2018: The IRS released IRS Tax Reform Tax Tip 2018-166, which advises business owners of the basics regarding potential deductions under Internal Revenue Code Section 199A for domestic businesses operated as sole proprietorships or through partnerships, S corporations, trusts and estates.

October 25, 2018: The IRS released Internal Revenue Bulletin 2018-44, dated October 29, 2018, which includes REG-104872-18, Notice 2018-82 and Revenue Procedure 2018-51.

October 26, 2018: The IRS released its weekly list of written determinations (e.g., Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memorandum and Chief Counsel Advice).

Special thanks to Alex Cheng-Yi Lee in our DC office for this week’s roundup.

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