Eversheds Sutherland Tax Reform Law Blog
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IRS Releases Final Regulations under Section 168(k)

Today, Treasury and the IRS released final regulations under section 168(k). Amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, section 168(k) generally allows full expensing of certain depreciable property. The final regulations address the requirements to qualify for the additional depreciation deduction and elections related to the deduction. Read the final regulations: TD 9874 Read the proposed regulations: REG-104397-18
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OIRA Completes Review of Second Set of Proposed Regulations under Section 168(k)

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) recently completed its review of a second set of proposed regulations under section 168(k). Amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, section 168(k) generally allows full expensing of certain depreciable property. OIRA has not released information as to the contents of the proposed regulations, and the release of this set of proposed regulations may be delayed since the first set of proposed regulations under section 168(k) has not yet been finalized.   Read More: Second Batch of Proposed Depreciation Rules Clears Reg...
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IRS Releases Proposed Regulations under Section 451

The IRS has released proposed regulations under section 451(b) and (c), which were amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Section 451(b) generally provides that a taxpayer must recognize income no later than when the taxpayer takes the income into account on its applicable financial statement, and section 451(c) provides rules regarding the timing of the recognition of advance payments.   Read the Proposed Regulations: Proposed Section 451(b) Regulations; Proposed Section 451(c) Regulations
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IRS Working to Address Double-Gain-Recognition Issue in Final GILTI Regulations and Temporary Section 245A Regulations

Speaking at an event on September 4, John Merrick, senior-level counsel to the IRS associate chief counsel (international), stated that the IRS is aware that the interaction between the anti-avoidance rules of section 245A (the participation exemption deduction) and section 951A (global intangible low-taxed income, GILTI) could result in double gain recognition for taxpayers and is working to correct this issue. Specifically, there is concern that a deduction could be denied for purposes of calculating the GILTI tested income of a controlled foreign corporation under the disqualified basis...
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Treasury and IRS Allow Domestic Partnerships and S Corporations to Apply Certain Proposed GILTI Regulations to Taxable Years Ending Before June 22, 2019

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the IRS recently released Notice 2019-46.  The notice allows a domestic partnership or S corporation to apply Prop. Treas. Reg. § 1.951A-5 to taxable years ending before June 22, 2019, so long as the domestic partnership or S corporation meets the notification and reporting requirements described in the notice.  Prop. Treas. Reg. § 1.951A-5 addresses the treatment of global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) inclusion amounts and adjustments to earnings and profits to account for tested losses. Read More:  Notice 2019-46
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IRS Allows Election Relief for Bonus Depreciation

On July 31, 2019, the IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2019-33, which allows taxpayers to change their elections regarding bonus depreciation for property acquired after September 27, 2017 and placed in service during the taxpayer’s 2016 or 2017 taxable year. Under the revenue procedure, a taxpayer may make late elections to use bonus depreciation on such property or revoke its election to use bonus depreciation. These changes use the automatic consent procedures of Rev. Proc. 2018-31 and are generally made by filing an amended return or a Form 3115. Read More: Rev. Proc. 2019-33
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OIRA Receives Proposed and Final Regulations under Section 168(k)

On July 25, 2019, the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service submitted final and proposed regulations under section 168(k) to OIRA (the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs), which is part of the OMB (Office of Management and Budget). Amended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, section 168(k) generally allows full expensing of certain depreciable property. The regulations are listed as not economically significant on OIRA’s website, and thus OIRA has a period of 45 days to review the regulations, although this period may be extended by an agreement between OMB and the...
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IRS Official States that Final Foreign Tax Credit Regulations Likely to Be Released by Fall and BEAT Regulations Likely to Be Released Before the End of the Year

At an event for the National Association for Business Economics on July 16, Peg O’Connor (deputy associate chief counsel (Operations and International Programs) at the IRS Office of the Associate Chief Counsel, International) stated that she expects final regulations addressing foreign tax credits to be released by the end of the summer and final regulations under section 59A (Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax or BEAT) to be released this fall. The foreign tax credit regulation package is expected to also include proposed guidance that addresses issues raised by various commenters. The BEAT...
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IRS Provides Additional Q&A Guidance on Section 965

On July 16, 2019, the IRS released additional guidance in a Q&A format with respect to section 965. Enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, section 965 generally imposes a transition tax on a US shareholder’s pro rata share of the accumulated earnings and profits of certain foreign corporations. The guidance includes information on making subsequent installment payments and filing transfer and consent agreements.   View the Q&A: General Section 965 Questions and Answers
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IRS Releases Proposed Regulations Addressing the Excise Tax on Certain Educational Institutions Under Section 4968

On June 28, 2019, the IRS released proposed regulations under section 4968. Section 4968 was added to the Code by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and generally imposes an excise tax of 1.4% on the net investment income of applicable educational institutions that have at least 500 tuition-paying students (of which more than 50% are located in the United States) and that have assets of at least $500,000 per student. The proposed regulations provide guidance with respect to the definitions of various terms, such as “applicable educational institution” and “student.” The regulations also provide...
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Treasury Releases Final and Proposed GILTI Regulations and Temporary Section 245A Regulations

On June 14, Treasury and the IRS (the Service) released final and proposed regulations on the new global intangible low-taxed income provisions, or GILTI, that were introduced under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Along with finalizing regulations related to determining a US shareholder’s GILTI inclusion and their pro rata share of a CFC’s subpart F income, the regulations also address the GILTI high tax exception as well as the treatment of domestic partnerships that own CFCs. Among other proposed items, the regulations offer taxpayers an election to exclude highly taxed income from GILTI under...
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Washington Court Games the Sales Tax Trade-In Exclusion

The Washington Court of Appeals upheld the Washington Department of Revenue’s denial of a sales tax exclusion for trade-ins of software and hardware. GameStop provides customers with a trade-in credit for software and hardware and allows customers to apply these credits towards future purchases of software and hardware. The Department denied GameStop’s exclusion for two reasons: the Department relied on its interpretation of its regulation to conclude that software and hardware are “not of a like kind,” and GameStop violated the separate statement requirement on trade-in credits used for...
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IRS Releases Proposed Regulations Addressing the FDII and GILTI Deduction under Section 250

On March 4, 2019, the IRS released proposed regulations under section 250. Section 250 generally allows a domestic corporation a deduction for its foreign-derived intangible income (FDII) and its global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI). The proposed regulations provide rules for determining the amount of the deduction, including guidance related to the provision’s taxable income limitation. Read the Proposed Regulations: REG-104464-18  
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Hearing on Proposed Regulations for Limitation on Deduction for Business Interest Expense – Treasury and IRS Hear Targeted, Industry-Specific Requests

On February 27, 2019, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) held a hearing on the proposed regulations for the section 163(j) limitation on deduction for business interest expense (the Proposed Regulations), which were released on November 28, 2018. Nine witnesses, including Eversheds Sutherland Partner Wes Sheumaker, provided a variety of comments and recommendations on the Proposed Regulations, including the following: • The final regulations should give effect to the legislative history of the TCJA by clarifying that the electing real property...
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Hearing on Proposed Qualified Opportunity Zone Regulations – Requests for Greater Flexibility

On February 14, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) held a hearing on the proposed regulations for the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program (the Proposed Regulations), which were released on October 19, 2018. More than 20 witnesses provided comments and recommendations on a variety of topics, generally stressing a desire for greater flexibility under the Proposed Regulations. Suggestions included: Relaxing the proposed 50% gross income test – which requires that 50% of the gross income of an opportunity zone investor be derived from the...
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