Features

Administrative Challenges Multistate Businesses Face—and Potential Solutions
Sales and use taxes impose idiosyncratic—but fixable—burdens on businesses

Since the beginning of time, multistate taxpayers have faced significant administrative challenges to complying with all the variations in state and local tax laws. If “the beginning of time” may be a bit of a stretch, those challenges are a reality today. And any business that operates in multiple states… Read more »

IRS Formalizes Process for Evaluating Advance Pricing Agreement Requests
Practical effects remain to be seen

The Internal Revenue Service has issued interim guidance on the process the Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program (APMA) will follow when determining whether to accept taxpayer requests for an advance pricing agreement (APA).1 Existing guidance already states that APMA has discretion to reject an APA request and identifies some… Read more »

Excising Stock Buybacks From the Corporate Playbook
How will the excise tax be applied to taxpayers in light of the statutory language, Notice 2023-02, and Announcement 2023-18?

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA) was signed into law.1 Among a number of changes the IRA introduced to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 was a new excise tax imposed on what are commonly referred to as stock buybacks by publicly traded corporations.… Read more »

TEI Roundtable No. 44: Leadership Development and Succession Planning
One critical factor is finding high-potential candidates on the team

As we’ve learned from the fabulous TV series Succession, leadership development and succession planning can often get a little, shall we say, dicey. Fortunately, in the tax realm, it doesn’t get quite as chaotic as in the Roy family. To find out more about best practices in our profession, we… Read more »

New Developments in Canada’s General Anti-Avoidance Rule
Is Canada overreaching with proposed changes?

Editor’s note. This article was written in early May. In Deans Knight Income Corporation v. The King, on May 26 the Supreme Court of Canada reached a seven-to-one decision in favor of the government. The past twelve months have seen two very significant developments in the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR)… Read more »

Oops! I Did It Again: Practical Implications of Revenue Procedure 2022-39
Regardless of how errors occur, they must be dealt with

A fact, well known in the tax community: every tax return contains at least one error. Except for the simplest Form 1040, this statement is invariably true, especially considering the increasing complexity of corporate returns.1 First, what is meant by an “error” on a tax return? No definition exists in… Read more »

TEI Roundtable No. 43: Separate, Combined, and Worldwide Unitary State Filings
Some practical advice for making these key decisions

One of the most talked-about education sessions at this year’s Midyear Conference in March was the session titled “Separate, Combined, and Worldwide Unitary State Filings—What’s New?” We thought this very important state and local tax topic deserved more discussion, so we convened a roundtable in May to take a deeper… Read more »

Buying and Selling CFCs Under New Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax Regime
Statute may prove expensive and cumbersome

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress enacted a new corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT) that may prove both expensive and cumbersome for large multinationals. Added to the insult of the minimum tax that must be paid is the injury of a rude awakening: that tax professionals can no… Read more »

Market Sourcing or Bust: The Kitchen Sink Approach of COP-Sourcing States
The binary nature of the determination makes COP sourcing controversial

The division of multistate business income among the states is accomplished through formulary apportionment. State formulary apportionment provisions increasingly rely on the receipts factor to divide income, sharpening the focus on the sourcing of receipts. Although many states have transitioned to a market-sourcing (also known as destination sourcing) approach, historically… Read more »

TEI Roundtable No. 42: A Deep Dive Into the Murky Waters of UTPs

Uncertain tax positions (UTPs) offer taxpayers both opportunities and challenges. We wanted to take a closer look at this important issue, so, of course, we assembled a roundtable of knowledgeable tax professionals, including George Clarke, partner at the Washington, D.C., office of Baker McKenzie; George Hani, member with Miller &… Read more »