IRS Releases Opportunity Zone Guidance
Posted on Oct 19, 2018
On October 19, 2018, the IRS released proposed regulations (REG-115420-18) concerning opportunity zones (sections 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2). Opportunity zones were created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and allow tax benefits for investments in low-income communities, through what are termed qualified opportunity funds. Among other items, the proposed regulations provide taxpayers with guidance on what kinds of taxable gains can be deferred by investors, the timeframe for investing in qualified opportunity funds, and the manner in which investors may elect to defer specified gains. The IRS also...
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Proposed Foreign Tax Credit and Section 163(j) Regulations to be sent to OIRA
Posted on Oct 19, 2018
On October 18, 2018, Lafayette G. Harter III, the deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs for the Department of Treasury, announced that the proposed regulations focusing on foreign tax credits under section 904 are likely to be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review on October 19 or the following week. Harter also announced that proposed regulations focusing on section 163(j), which limits the deductibility of business interest, will also be sent to OIRA within days. Harter stated that the proposed foreign tax credit regulations provide...
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Treasury Guidance May Shield Opportunity Zone Transfers From Capital Gains Tax
Posted on Oct 12, 2018
In a conversation with reporters, Senator Tim Scott, who helped draft the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, stated that he has encouraged Treasury and the IRS to adopt guidance that would allow investors to transfer funds between opportunity zones without subjecting the transfers to federal capital gains tax. His comments are in reference to new section 1400Z-2 of the Code, which was added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and allows deferral of certain gains arising from investments in opportunity zones. Without such guidance, transfers of investments between opportunity zones may not qualify for deferral...
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Treasury Confirms Issuance of Transition Tax Regulations by the End of the Year
Posted on Oct 11, 2018
Brenda Zendt, special adviser to the Treasury Office of International Tax Counsel, corroborated a prior report that the Treasury Department intends to issue final Section 965 regulations by the end of 2018. Treasury deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs, Chip Harter, previously commented on the deadline while discussing Treasury’s goal to issue proposed regulations, within the next six weeks, for sections 163(j) interest limitation and 267A anti-hybrid rules, foreign tax credits, and for the base erosion and anti-abuse tax. Read More: U.S. Treasury Hopes for Final...
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Treasury Official Clarifies Section 199A De Minimis Rules
Posted on Oct 10, 2018
The proposed regulations under new section 199A, which allows a 20% deduction for qualifying business owners, provide a de minimis rule which generally provides that a business will not be treated as a disqualified “specified service trade or business” if less than 5% or 10% of the gross receipts (depending on the amount of the business’s gross receipts) are attributable to certain barred services. At the ABA Tax Conference, Audrey Ellis, attorney-advisory within Treasury’s Office of Tax Legislative Counsel, clarified that if a taxpayer with a business subject to the 10% threshold receives...
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IRS To Extend Transfer Agreement Deadline
Posted on Oct 10, 2018
Section 965, enacted by the TCJA, imposes a one-time transition tax on certain U.S. shareholders. The proposed regulations under section 965 require corporations that have elected to make transition tax payments pursuant to an eight-year installment plan and have transferred substantially all of their assets to another corporation file certain transfer agreements by October 9. At the ABA Tax Conference, Daniel McCall, IRS deputy associate chief counsel, stated that the IRS plans to release imminently additional guidance on how and where to file such agreements, and thus, taxpayers will not...
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Proposed GILTI Regulations to Be Published in Federal Register
Posted on Oct 8, 2018
The proposed regulations for the global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) under section 951A (REG-104390-18) are set to be published in the Federal Register on October 10. Released on September 13, the regulations set forth new reporting requirements and rules for calculating GILTI inclusions. Public comments on the proposed GILTI regulations must be received by December 9. 2018, 60 days after their publication in the Federal Register. Read the Proposed Regulations: REG-104390-18 Read More: Proposed regulations under GILTI provisions released in Federal Register
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Treasury and IRS Guidance will not Address Qualified Improvement Property
Posted on Oct 5, 2018
During an ABA Tax Section meeting in Atlanta on October 5, 2018, officials from the Treasury Department and the IRS announced that they will not be able to provide an administrative fix for the drafting error in the qualified improvement property provision of section 168(k). Rather, the officials stated that Congress must make a technical correction, as the agencies do not have authority to administratively amend the “clear language in the statute.” Section 168(k) was amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and was intended to allow qualified improvement property to qualify for full expensing...
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IRS Provides Interim Guidance on Expenses for Business Meals
Posted on Oct 3, 2018
The Treasury Department and IRS issued Notice 2018-76, offering interim guidance under section 274 of the Code. The guidance provides that taxpayers may treat certain business meal expenses as non-entertainment and may continue to deduct 50 percent of food and beverage expenses associated with operating their business or trade, so long as the expenses are not extravagant and the taxpayer was present. Under section 274, taxpayers are prohibited from deducting expenses related to entertainment, amusement, or recreation. The IRS and Treasury Department intend to publish proposed regulations...
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IRS Releases Additional Guidance on Section 965
Posted on Oct 1, 2018
The Treasury and the IRS have published Notice 2018-78, containing additional guidance on the proposed regulations for Section 965, which were published on August 9, 2018. The Notice provides that the final regulations (i) will not require taxpayers to make a binding basis election until at least 90 days after finalization of the proposed regulations; (ii) will permit all members of consolidated groups that are U.S. shareholders of a specified foreign corporation to be treated as a single U.S. shareholder for purposes of the exception to treating certain items as cash under proposed...
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House Approves Three New Tax Bills
Posted on Sep 28, 2018
On September 27, 2018, the House approved two bills that are part of a second package of tax law changes advanced by House Republicans (“Tax Reform 2.0”). The first bill would create universal savings accounts, expand the utility of section 529 education savings plans, and make the offering of employee retirement plans more accessible for small businesses. The second bill would provide additional benefits for start-up companies. Also, on September 28, 2018, the House approved a third bill, which would make permanent the individual tax cuts enacted by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Read the...
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IRS to Issue Proposed Regulations on Market Discount
Posted on Sep 27, 2018
The IRS and Treasury Department have recently announced (Notice 2018-80) that they plan to issue guidance providing that market discount is not includible in income under section 451(b), which was added to the Code by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Under section 451(b), accrual method taxpayers generally must include an amount in gross income no later than when it is included in income in their financial statements. Read more: IRS Provides Guidance on Treatment of Market Discount
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House to Vote on Tax Reform 2.0 on Thursday and Friday
Posted on Sep 26, 2018
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady recently stated the House votes for Tax Reform 2.0 are scheduled to occur on Thursday and Friday. H.R. 6757, the Family Savings Act of 2018, and H.R. 6756, the American Innovation Act of 2018, are scheduled for votes on Thursday. H.R. 6760, the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018, is scheduled for vote on Friday. Read more: House to vote Friday on individual tax cuts: Republican tax chairman
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Tax Reform 2.0 Will Likely Not Be Passed By Congress Before Midterms
Posted on Sep 19, 2018
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady recently stated that the three tax bills that together comprise the new tax reform package will likely not get through the Senate before midterm elections. The House Ways and Means Committee previously passed the bills through committee. The House is expected to vote the legislation later this month. Read More: Top House tax writer Kevin Brady doubts new GOP tax cuts can get through the Senate before midterm
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Proposed GILTI Regulations Released
Posted on Sep 13, 2018
The IRS has released proposed regulations on global intangible low-tax income (GILTI) under section 951A, a provision added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The proposed regulations set forth rules for calculating the GILTI inclusion and new reporting requirements, but do not address foreign tax credit rules, which will be addressed separately in the future. Public comments on the proposed regulations are due by 60 days after the proposed regulations are published in the federal register. Read the proposed regulations here: REG-104390-18 Read more here: IRS issues proposed regulations on...
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