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IRS Announces That CAP Will Continue

by and | Aug 28, 2018 | , , , , , , ,

On August 27, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) program will continue, with some modifications.  As we previously discussed, the IRS began an assessment of the CAP program in August 2016 to determine if any recalibration was needed.

CAP is an IRS program that seeks to identify and resolve tax issues through open, cooperative, and transparent interaction between the IRS and Large Business and International (LB&I) taxpayers prior to the filing of a return.  The goal of CAP is greater certainty of the treatment of tax positions sooner and with less administrative burden than conventional post-file audits.  The program began in 2005, and became permanent in 2011.  Several notable taxpayers publically disclose their involvement in the CAP program. (more…)



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LB&I Announces Five New Campaigns

by and | Jul 10, 2018 | ,

On July 2, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International (LB&I) Division announced the identification and selection of five new campaigns. These new campaigns follow the initial 13 campaigns announced on January 31, 2017, followed by 11 campaigns announced on November 3, 2017, 5 campaigns announced on March 13, 2018, and six campaigns announced on May 21, 2018.

The following are the five new LB&I campaigns by title and description:

  • Restoration of Sequestered AMT Credit Carryforward

LB&I is initiating a campaign for taxpayers improperly restoring the sequestered Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) credit to the subsequent tax year. Refunds issued or applied to a subsequent year’s tax, pursuant to IRC Section 168(k)(4), are subject to sequestration and are a permanent loss of refundable credits. Taxpayers may not restore the sequestered amounts to their AMT credit carryforward. Soft letters will be mailed to taxpayers who are identified as making improper restorations of sequestered amounts. Taxpayers will be monitored for subsequent compliance. The goal of this campaign is to educate taxpayers on the proper treatment of sequestered AMT credits and request that taxpayers self-correct.

  • S Corporation Distributions

S Corporations and their shareholders are required to properly report the tax consequences of distributions. We have identified three issues that are part of this campaign. The first issue occurs when an S Corporation fails to report gain upon the distribution of appreciated property to a shareholder. The second issue occurs when an S Corporation fails to determine that a distribution, whether in cash or property, is properly taxable as a dividend. The third issue occurs when a shareholder fails to report non-dividend distributions in excess of their stock basis that are subject to taxation. The treatment streams for this campaign include issue-based examinations, tax form change suggestions, and stakeholder outreach.

  • Virtual Currency

US persons are subject to tax on worldwide income from all sources including transactions involving virtual currency. IRS Notice 2014-21 states that virtual currency is property for federal tax purposes and provides information on the US federal tax implications of convertible virtual currency transactions. The Virtual Currency Compliance campaign will address noncompliance related to the use of virtual currency through multiple treatment streams including outreach and examinations. The compliance activities will follow the general tax principles applicable to all transactions in property, as outlined in Notice 2014-21. The IRS will continue to consider and solicit taxpayer and practitioner feedback in education efforts, future guidance, and development of Practice Units. Taxpayers with unreported virtual currency transactions are urged to correct their returns as soon as practical. The IRS is not contemplating a voluntary disclosure program specifically to address tax non-compliance involving virtual currency.

  • Repatriation via Foreign Triangular Reorganizations

In December 2016, the IRS issued Notice 2016-73 which curtails the claimed “tax-free” repatriation of basis and untaxed CFC earnings [...]

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IRS Releases Several Transfer Pricing Directives

by and | Jan 17, 2018 | , , ,

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International (LB&I) Division recently released several directives (LB&I Directives) geared toward transfer pricing. LB&I acknowledges that significant LB&I resources are devoted to transfer pricing issues, and such issues make up a substantial portion of the LB&I inventory. It appears that these directives are aimed at ensuring that LB&I resources are utilized in the most efficient and effective manner on transfer pricing issues. A link to each LB&I Directive and a short summary is provided below.

Interim Instructions on Issuance of Mandatory Transfer Pricing Information Document Request (IDR) in LB&I Examinations

This LB&I Directive advises LB&I examiners that it is no longer necessary to issue the mandatory transfer pricing information document request (IDR) to taxpayers that have filed Form 5471, Information Return of U.S. Person with Respect To Certain Foreign Corporations, or Form 5472, Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business, or engaged in cross-border transactions. An update to Part 4.60.8 of the Internal Revenue Manual will be made in the future to further explain this change. (more…)



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IRS Continues to Barrage Taxpayers with New Campaigns

by | Nov 3, 2017 | , ,

On November 3, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International (LB&I) division identified 11 new examination compliance “campaigns.” We have extensively discussed LB&I’s “campaign” examination process, including posts on Understanding LB&I “Campaigns” and Run for Cover – IRS Unveils Initial “Campaigns” for LB&I Audits.

The IRS identified the 11 new campaigns “through LB&I data analysis and suggestions from IRS compliance employees.” The new campaigns are:

  • Form 1120-F Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 Withholding Campaign
  • Swiss Bank Program Campaign
  • Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Campaign
  • Verification of Form 1042-S Credit Claimed on Form 1040NR
  • Agricultural Chemicals Security Credit Campaign
  • Deferral of Cancellation of Indebtedness Income Campaign
  • Energy Efficient Commercial Building Property Campaign
  • Corporate Direct (Section 901) Foreign Tax Credit
  • Section 956 Avoidance
  • Economic Development Incentives Campaign
  • Individual Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116)

Practice Point:  The IRS’s salvo represents the “second wave” of LB&I’s issue-focused compliance work.  Indeed, the IRS noted that “[m]ore campaigns will continue to be identified, approved and launched in the coming months.” It is clear that the IRS is focusing its resources on these campaigns, and has developed significant internal expertise on these issues. If you have one of the identified issues, consider being proactive and preparing an audit ready-file as the issue will likely be examined.



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International Practice Units – Competent Authority

by | Oct 10, 2017 | ,

In recent months, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International Division (LB&I) has issued a variety of international tax practice “units” as part of its process to improve tax compliance from identified groups of business taxpayers. The overall process also includes short descriptions of respective “campaigns” and briefly describes the agency’s designated, tailored treatment or treatments for each campaign.

Most recently, it issued a unit on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP), commonly referred to as the Competent Authority Process under bilateral tax treaties (Doc Control No. ISO/P/01_07_03-01). The purpose of the unit is to provide IRS examiners (for the most part, the unit does not address foreign-initiated adjustments) with clear guidance on their responsibility in situations where proposed adjustments will be made in a context in which the taxpayer could potentially face double taxation, consistent with the most recent revenue procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2015-40. The unit also provides a helpful checklist for taxpayers in such situations.

The unit amplifies the guidance in Rev. Proc. 2015-40 with respect to both issues arising in Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement (APMA) and Treaty Assistance and Interpretation Team (TAIT) (for non-transfer pricing issues). The discussion is consistent with current practice. Critical issues addressed include the following. (more…)



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LB&I’s Final Campaigns Webinar: Section 48C Energy Credits and Completed Contract Method for Land Developers

by and | Jun 27, 2017 | , , ,

On June 20, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International Division (LB&I) hosted its final webinar regarding LB&I Campaigns. Our previous coverage of LB&I Campaigns can be found here. The webinar focused on two campaigns:  (1) Section 48C Energy Credits and (2) Land Developers – Completed Contract Method.

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The View from Here: LB&I’s Cross-Border Activities Campaigns Webinar

by and | May 25, 2017 | , , ,

On Tuesday, May 23, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Large Business and International Division (LB&I) hosted its sixth in a series of eight webinars regarding LB&I Campaigns. Our previous coverage of LB&I Campaigns can be found here. The webinar focused on two cross-border activities campaigns: (1) the Repatriation Campaign and (2) the Form 1120-F Non-Filer Campaign. Below, we summarize LB&I’s comments on the new campaigns.

Repatriation Campaign

In general, the active earnings of foreign subsidiaries are not subject to tax until repatriated to the United States. Typically, those repatriations would be treated as dividends and would be subject to tax. LB&I stated that, through examination experience, it has observed that some taxpayers have engaged in techniques to permit repatriation from such entities while inappropriately avoiding US taxation.

LB&I developed the Repatriation Campaign with three goals in mind. First, LB&I was concerned with developing better objective techniques to identify risks across the broad taxpayer population. Second, LB&I is trying to improve sightlines into a broader segment of the LB&I population beyond the largest taxpayers under continuous audit. Third, LB&I intends to address any compliance risks related to repatriation in a way that increases voluntary compliance.

Unlike other campaigns, LB&I is not focused on a specific structure or techniques. LB&I is instead trying to identify objective indicators of opportunities to implement questionable planning (in the IRS’s view). Per LB&I, returns with those indicators are more likely to present compliance risks and are more likely to be selected. LB&I stated that it does not believe publicly identifying those indicators will increase voluntary compliance. Historically, when LB&I selected a return for examination, it did not necessarily start with any particular issue; any issue could be examined. If a return is selected under this campaign, LB&I’s initial focus will be narrower, but other compliance issues, if discovered, can still be added to the audit. Repatriation issues can also be raised outside of the Repatriation Campaign—possibly in a continuous audit or in an audit relating to another LB&I campaign. (more…)



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Understanding LB&I “Campaigns” – The Second Webinar

by | Apr 13, 2017 | , ,

On March 28, 2017, EY and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) held a joint webcast presenting the Large Business & International’s (LB&I) new “Campaign” examination process. This was the IRS’s second in a planned eight-part series about Campaigns. The IRS speakers for the presentation were Tina Meaux (Assistant Deputy Commissioner Compliance Integration) and Kathy Robbins (Enterprise Activity Practice Area). We previously blogged about Campaigns on February 1, 2017 (link), and the first Campaigns webinar on March 8, 2017 (link).

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Acting IRS Chief Counsel appoints new Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations)

by | Mar 30, 2017 | , , , ,

The Acting Chief Counsel announced that effective April 1, 2017, Drita Tonuzi will serve as the Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations), in Washington DC.  In this position, Ms. Tonuzi will provide legal guidance and litigation support to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Departments of Treasury and Justice in all matters pertaining to the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws.  This includes responsibility for all litigation in the United States Tax Court as well as the management of personnel in fifty field offices nationwide and in headquarters operations in Washington, DC. She will directly supervises nine Divisions including Large Business and International (LB&I), Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE), Tax Exempt and Governmental Entities (TEGEDC), Wage and Investment (W&I), General Legal Services (GLS), Criminal Tax (CT), Procedure and Administration (P&A), Finance and Management (F&M) and Counsel to the National Taxpayer Advocate (CNTA).

Ms. Tonuzi began her career with the Office of Chief Counsel in 1987 in the Manhattan Office, where she litigated cases before the United States Tax Court. She served as the Securities & Financial Services Firms Industry Counsel and managed a group of attorneys, Deputy Division Counsel for the Large Business & International Division (formerly LMSB), where she was responsible for the operation and litigation of the organization and most recently she served as Associate Chief Counsel Practice and Administration.

With Ms. Tonuzi’s promotion, Kathryn Zuba has been appointed as the Acting Associate Chief Counsel, Procedure and Administration. Ms. Zuba will head an office of more than 150 professionals, who provide legal services to the IRS, other components of the Chief Counsel’s Office, other government agencies, and the public in the areas of federal tax procedure and administration. The responsibilities of this office include matters relating to the reporting and payment of taxes; assessment and collection of taxes; the abatement, credit or refund of over-assessments or overpayments of taxes; the filing of information returns; bankruptcy; disclosure; FOIA; privacy law; litigation sanctions; judicial doctrines; ethics; and liaison with the courts.



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