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Claiming a Foreign Tax Credit—How Exhausted Do You Really Have to Be?
Missteps by taxpayers in this area can be costly and result in avoidable double taxation

The Internal Revenue Service recognizes that “foreign government audits of U.S. taxpayers have become more frequent and, at times, more aggressive.”1 Consequently, the number of foreign tax contests and payments made by taxpayers to resolve those contests are on the rise. The IRS has signaled through its training materials and… Read more »

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The Proper Role of the Tax Department in an MNE’s Intercompany Transaction Framework
The tax department typically houses a company’s expertise in transfer pricing and is a major consumer of intercompany transaction details, but its responsibility for nonnative intercompany transaction functions can lead to significant risk and incremental income tax exposure

This article presents the challenges of collecting tax-related intercompany transaction information as well as common functional misalignments of intercompany-transaction-related responsibilities inside the multinational enterprise (MNE). It also identifies key intercompany transaction function subject matter expertise (SME) and aligns these SME units or individuals with specific intercompany transaction operations. This article… Read more »

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True, Correct, and Complete: On-time Filing of State and Local Tax Returns Without Clear, Consistent, or Practical Guidance
In a GILTI world, taxpayers need to make their way without a compass

While state and local tax is rife with uncertainty, the signature block of a state or local corporate income tax return is often deceptively simple and definitive. Typically, the signature certifies that the return is “true, correct, and complete.”1 From a practical standpoint, however, state and local corporate tax returns… Read more »

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Part V: Section 965 Transition Tax
Yes, some issues are likely to persist for years after you’ve paid the tax

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) added Section 965 to the Internal Revenue Code to tax earnings held offshore by controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) going back to 1987. In general, this transition tax is the price that U.S. persons who have accumulated earnings in CFCs must pay for the… Read more »

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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Introduction
It’s complex, sometimes unclear, but undeniably important

In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law—the most extensive tax reform legislation enacted in more than three decades. The measure is having a dramatic impact on both individuals and corporations. The statute’s laundry list of provisions significantly affect corporate taxpayers, according to the Tax Foundation,… Read more »

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Part IV: Night at the Roxbury—TCJA Changes to Section 168(k)
Open the door to the full expensing club for some, leaving others out in the cold

Since 2001, Section 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code has offered companies accelerated recovery for the costs of capital assets through “bonus depreciation.” Over the years, bonus depreciation has been regularly modified, changing both the amount of bonus depreciation as well as its application. Once again, as part of P.L.… Read more »

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Part III: Moving to the BEAT
Don’t look now, but there’s a new minimum tax for U.S. corporations

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 brought about the most sweeping U.S. international tax reforms in the past 30 years.1 One of those reforms was the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, which is also known as the BEAT.2 The BEAT is intended to prevent large U.S. corporations from… Read more »

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Part II: GILTI, FDII, and FTC Guidance and International Tax Planning
How to decipher this complex stew, replete with interesting ingredients

Prior to tax reform, multinational businesses often had similar strategies with respect to outbound international tax planning. Given the high U.S. corporate tax rates and worldwide system of taxation, many businesses sought to earn and keep profits offshore to defer U.S. tax. When it was important to repatriate profits, foreign… Read more »

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Part I: The Graphic Guide to Section 163(j)
A visual breakdown of this important aspect of the TCJA

As children, we learned new and difficult concepts, such as our first words, by associating them with pictures. Who could forget the Dr. Seuss classic Hop on Pop? In this article, we take you back to your childhood by offering a series of pictures to simplify the most significant aspects… Read more »

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Administrative Guidance, Ethical Standards, and Tax Return Positions
In-house tax professionals must traverse a difficult course

Many corporations currently face tremendous high-value tax uncertainty as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), not to mention other longstanding tax risks such as transfer pricing. For some tax executives, these risks constitute familiar waters. For other tax executives, however, navigating these risks is less… Read more »

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