We recently released the May 2016 issue of “Focus on Tax Strategies and Developments,” which can be viewed in its entirety here or through the links below. The issue includes four articles of interest to taxpayers:
Proposed Debt-Equity Regulations Have Dramatic Implications for Corporate Tax Planning and Compliance
By Thomas W. Giegerich and Michael J. Wilder
On April 4, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and US Department of the Treasury (Treasury)—without advance warning—released proposed regulations under Section 385 (the Proposed Regulations) that will, if finalized in their current form, have dramatic implications for US corporate tax planning and compliance.
The 2016 UK Budget – BEPS Measures and Tax Cuts
By James Ross
The 2016 UK Budget has generally been seen as good news for corporates, but it is not without potential concern, particularly for multinationals and private equity groups, who may need to re-evaluate longstanding financing structures.
Prescriptions of the Blue Book on the New Partnership Audit Rules
By Thomas W. Giegerich, Gary C. Karch, Kevin Spencer and Madeline Chiampou Tully
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, signed into law in November, instituted a new regime for federal tax audits of entities treated as partnerships for US federal income tax purposes (the New Audit Rules) effective 2018. In March 2016, the Joint Committee on Taxation released its “General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in 2015” (the Blue Book), which provides some background and explanation with respect to the New Audit Rules—this article discusses certain of the highlights of the Blue Book explanation.
Changes to China’s High and New Technology Enterprise (HNTE) Regime Both Sharpen Its Focus and Make Its Advantages More Broadly Available
By Robbie Chen
With the promulgation of the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) law in 2008, many preferential tax regimes (e.g. lower tax rates for foreign invested companies) were revoked. Under the CIT, the HNTE treatment, which reduces a qualified taxpayer’s applicable CIT rate from the standard 25 percent to 15 percent, is one of the few remaining tax preferences. As a result, any change to the HNTE rule attracts a great deal of attention.
