Overview
OMB, Treasury Agree to Increased White House Review of New Tax Regulations: The Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reached an agreement such that new tax regulations will be subject to increased White House review. On April 11, the Treasury Department and OMB signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to allow OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) 45 days to review proposed tax regulations that conflict with another agency’s actions, raise new policy or legal questions, or “have a non-revenue effect” of $100 million or more on the U.S. economy. The MOU provides that the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of Treasury may, with the concurrence of the OIRA Administrator, designate certain tax regulatory actions for expedited release, and such actions will be reviewed by OIRA for no more than 10 business days, subject to extensions mutually agreed upon by Treasury and OMB. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin stated that “[t]his updated review framework will increase scrutiny of regulations most likely to impose new costs, while preserving Treasury’s ability to ensure taxpayers receive timely, clear rules and guidance on how to comply with our tax code.” In his prepared statement before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, Brent J. McIntosh, General Counsel for the Secretary of Treasury, said that “implementing the new law in a timely fashion is one of the Department’s highest priorities.”
IRS Issues Transitional Guidance Relating to Advance Payments: Today, the IRS issued Notice 2018-35 , providing transitional guidance relating to the tax treatment of payments made in advance under the new tax law. The 2017 tax act amended tax code Section 451, codifying Rev. Proc. 2004-34, which permitted taxpayers using the deferral method of accounting to push off the inclusion of advance payments in income to the end of the next year if deferred for financial statement purposes. The notice states that taxpayers receiving advance payments may continue to rely on Rev. Proc. 2004-34 until future guidance is issued and effective.
OECD Issues Two New Reports Regarding Taxation of Personal Savings and Wealth: Today, the OECD issued two new reports. The first report, Taxation of Household Savings, provides a detailed review of the way savings are taxed in the 35 OECD countries and five key partner countries. The second report, The Role and Design of Net Wealth Taxes, examines the use of net wealth taxes, both currently and historically, across the OECD.
Steptoe 2017 FCPA Year in Review: 2017 saw a significant increase in global anti-corruption. For our readers who have some responsibility for dealing with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters, Steptoe’s 2017 Year in Review may be of interest.