Eversheds Sutherland Tax Reform Law Blog
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IRS to Crackdown on SALT Deduction Cap Workarounds

The IRS intends to issue regulations pertaining to states’ attempts to subvert the state and local tax deduction cap. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act imposed a $10,000 ($5,000 for married individuals filing separately) limit on state and local tax deductions for federal income tax purposes. Certain states, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, have enacted legislation to allow...

Committee Hearing Discusses Tax Reform Impact and Next Steps

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing last Wednesday, May 16th, where Republicans and Democrats continued to be divided in their evaluations of the recent tax reform and its effects on jobs, the economy, and investment. In opening statements, Richard Neal criticized the new law for giving “83 percent of the tax savings to the top one percent.” Testimony during the hearing...

Indiana Enacts IRC Conformity Bill, Decouples from Certain Federal Tax Reform Provisions

On May 14, 2018, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law H.B 1316 (the Bill). The Bill provides a number of changes to Indiana’s tax laws, including responding to provisions of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Some notable provisions of the Bill include: updating Indiana’s conformity to the Internal Revenue Code from January 1, 2016 to February 11, 2018, effective for taxable...

The Upcoming FAA Authorization May Not Contain Any Technical Corrections to the Tax Legislation

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady has indicated that the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) reauthorization bill is unlikely to contain additional technical corrections to the 2017 tax bill, despite containing a tax title. Congress had previously passed, in the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act, a technical correction to fix a provision that encouraged farmers...

IRS Provides Timeline for Tax Reform Guidance

During the ABA Section of Taxation meeting in Washington, D.C. on May 12, David Kautter, the acting IRS commissioner, provided a rough timeline as to when IRS intends to release guidance related to the 2017 tax act. Kautter stated that a notice regarding section 965 (the so-called transition tax) may be released in the next two weeks and that proposed regulations are slated for release...

Rev. Proc. Offers Automatic Accounting Change for 606 Book-Tax Accounting Conformity

An automatic method change is now available for taxpayers wishing to change their accounting method to comply with the new financial accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) (“Topic 606”). Under the new standards of Topic 606, taxpayers recognize revenue from contracts with customers based on...

No Rules or Answers: Notices to Just Provide Notice

Rather than provide “subregulatory guidance” or answer specific questions, future notices will simply notify taxpayers of regulations to come. According to Catherine Hughes of the Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy, the Treasury and IRS will not create new rules, but give a “heads up” of what proposed regulations are in the works. This has been seen in recent notices, including Notice...

IRS Issues Guidance Related to Determining Built-in Gain or Loss under Section 382

Recently released Notice 2018-30 provides that the two safe harbor approaches in Notice 2003-65–related to recognizing built-in gain or loss–will be determined without regard to the bonus depreciation rule under section 168(k). Section 382 imposes limits of the amount of built-in losses that can offset future taxable income following ownership change. The notice states that...

State Tax After TCJA: Treatment Of International Income

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97,[1] made sweeping changes to the Internal Revenue Code, and will have far-reaching implications for state tax systems that broadly conform to the IRC. In this article for Law360, Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Jeffrey Friedman, Eric Tresh, Todd Lard and Todd Betor focus on the major state income tax implications of the TCJA’s international tax...

New York City: Penalty Relief Available for Certain Section 965 Underpayments

The New York City Department of Finance recently announced the availability of penalty abatements for certain taxpayers that have underpaid business taxes due to the inclusion of Section 965 income. NYC Finance Memorandum No. 18-4 (PDF) describes tax considerations and late payment penalty relief for NYC taxpayers affected by Section 965 and subject to the General Corporation Tax...

IRS Considering the Definition of a “Trade or Business” under Section 163(j)

The IRS is in the process of defining a “trade or business” for purpose of determining what counts as business interest for the purposes of section 163(j). The text of the statute and Notice 2018-28 indicate that all income earned by a corporation is business interest, but questions still remain on whether a corporation that receives only passive dividend income is a business and...