Pardon Our Dust
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NUMBER OF THE WEEK: 61. The number of countries that have signed on toimplement the OECD’s multilateral agreement for the automatic exchange of taxinformation, in conjunction with the ongoing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)project. Although the U.S. has committed to implement the standard, it has notyet signed onto the formal agreement (the “multilateralcompetent authority agreement”), which lays out in detail whatinformation will be exchanged, the timing and method of exchange, and howsignatories will work together to ensure compliance. Signatories to theagreement will begin exchanging information as early as 2017. Additionally, theOECD released on June 8 its “Country-by-CountryReporting Implementation Package” developed under the BEPS ActionPlan. Under the plan, which the Treasury Department has said it will implementfor the 2016 fiscal year, multinational companies are required to aggregate andreport information annually regarding where they do business, the globalallocation of income, and amount of taxes paid, along with other informationthat will allow taxing authorities to more closely examine multinationals’ taxpractices. The release of the package coincides with the 2015OECD International Tax Conference in Washington, D.C., this weekwhere OECD representatives are expected to review and discuss key initiativesunder BEPS.
- House to Vote on Permanent Internet Tax Ban
- SPOILER ALERT: Comprehensive Tax Reform Unlikely in 2015
- Interest Reporting Provision Sneaks into Trade Bill
LEGISLATIVE LANDSCAPE
House to Vote on Permanent Internet Tax Ban. A bill to permanently prohibit state and local governments from taxing access to the internet is up for consideration in the House today, where it isexpected to easily pass. But the bipartisan support for the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (H.R. 235), introduced byCongressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), will soon turn to bipartisan bickering over a related internet tax bill simmering on the backburner that would allowstates to require remote internet retailers to collect state sales taxes for online purchases. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), is expected to soon introducelegislation to that effect, despite opposition from his party’s leader in the House, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). In the Senate, a similar bill, the Marketplace Fairness Act, was attached to the ban on internet access taxes last year and passed, but was never taken up by the House. We expect tosee efforts again this year to link the two internet tax bills in the Senate before the current ban on internet access taxes expires Oct. 1.
SPOILER ALERT: Comprehensive Tax Reform Unlikely in 2015. In an interview last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) outlined a busy legislative agenda between June and August recess: passing ahighway bill, cybersecurity legislation, No Child Left Behind, and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Tax reform, however, is conspicuouslymissing from the list. “We’re certainly not going to be able to be doing big, comprehensive tax reform with this president,” McConnell said. Tax reformoptimists have been eyeing the highway reauthorization bill as a potential vehicle to move a limited set of tax reform measures, but according toMcConnell, the bill might instead be better suited to pick up a different legislative passenger—the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. McConnellbelieves the highway bill would provide the best opportunity to reauthorize the bank, which is set to expire June 30.
The inability of the Senate Finance Committee Tax Reform Working Groups to meet their original May 31 deadline to report recommendations to Chairman OrrinHatch (R-UT) and ranking member Ron Wyden (D-OR) only adds to the general pessimism. The international tax working group may offer the only glimmer ofhope, with reports that it has made the most progress in hammering out detailed recommendations. The working groups are now aiming to deliver their reportsbefore Congress departs for the July 4th recess.
Interest Reporting Provision Sneaks into Trade Bill. A provision that would require financial firms to report interest earned on all accounts has caught the banking industry by surprise after it was includedas an offset in the Senate’s version of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. The provision would remove the $10 reporting threshold under Section6049 of the tax code and would raise a scant $90 million over 10 years. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) estimates that it would cost the financial sector $700 million inadministration expenses to comply with the additional reporting requirement. The House has not yet taken up the Senate’s version of the trade bill.
REGULATORY WORLD
EU Plows Ahead With Tax Probes. The European Union is continuing to ramp up its investigations into tax agreements its member nations have made with multinational corporations, lookingfor possible violations of its prohibition against “state aid.” The Wall Street Journal reported June 8 that the investigations “could lead to sizable demandsfor back-tax payments.” In addition to specific tax rulings issued by EU member nations, the European Commission recently announced it is seeking publiccomments on its investigation of Belgium’s “excess profits” tax system, which the EC has indicated could amount to illegal state aid.
IRS Expands Preapproved Retirement Plan Program. The Internal Revenue Service announced June 8 it is opening up opinion and advisory letters for preapproved plans to include hybrid defined benefit plansand employee stock ownership plans. Revenue Procedure 2015-36 also delineatesadditional requirements hybrid and ESOP plans.
LOOKING AHEAD
Tuesday, 6/9
Retirement Security Summit: The Evolving Social Contract
The Center for State and Local Government Excellence hosts the Retirement Security Summit – topics include retirement income trends, pension reforms,retirement savings, and the new social contract with employees. Read morehere.
Wednesday, 6/10
House Ways and Means Committee
The full committee holds ahearing on the implementation ofObamacare and the FY 2016 budget request from the Department of Health and Human Services.2015 OECD International Tax Conference – Washington, DC
This conference provides a unique opportunity for the U.S. business community to interact with key representatives from the OECD Centre for Tax Policy andAdministration and senior tax officials from the U.S. and other key countries involved in the OECD/G-20 BEPS project. Read morehere.Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute holds a discussion on “The Health Care Excise Tax.” Read morehere.American Enterprise Institute
AEI holds a discussion on “To Tax or Not to Tax,” focusing on the American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act – with special guest Senator Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI). Read morehere.
For more information, please contact:
Russell W. Sullivan
Danielle R. Dellerson
Lai K. Lam