Tax Policy

Legislative Projects

• Energy Tax Credits. Worked on legislative modifications to the carbon sequestration credit on behalf of a large manufacturing facility to be constructed.
• Deferral of Cancellation of Indebtedness Income. Led efforts to allow the deferral of tax on cancellation of indebtedness income.
• Energy Tax Credits. Worked on legislative modifications to the tax credit for production from advanced nuclear facilities on behalf of a large engineering and construction firm.
• Corporate Capital Losses. Represented a large financial institution before Congress and Treasury in connection with the equalization of tax treatment of corporate capital losses and net operating losses.
• International Tax Proposals. Represented numerous companies in connection with international tax legislative proposals.
• Removing Tax Barrier to Federal Assistance. Represented a large financial institution before Congress, Treasury, and the IRS in connection with removing tax barrier to government-assisted acquisitions.
• Thin Capitalization Rules. Represented a large non-US based multinational before Congress, Treasury, and the IRS in connection with thin capitalization rules.
• Tax Treaty Approval. Advised several companies in connection with the Senate treaty approval process.
  Section 355 “Cash-Rich Split-offs.” Worked on behalf of clients to achieve significant modifications to proposed amendments to section 355 involving “cash-rich split-offs.”
• Section 355(e). Worked on behalf of clients to mitigate the impact of section 355(e) on spin-off transactions.
• Section 470. Worked on behalf of clients to modify section 470.
• Economic Substance. Worked on behalf of a number of clients on the then proposed codification of economic substance.
• Section 269. Worked on behalf of a client to oppose a proposed amendment to section 269 that was designed to correct a perceived loophole. The proposed amendment was not included in the conference version of the American Jobs Creation Act (the bill that became law).
• Corporate Capital Gains. Worked on behalf of a client to reduce or eliminate the corporate capital gains tax.
• Shelter Legislation. Worked on behalf of clients to mitigate the impact of proposed changes to the tax shelter reporting rules, which were eventually enacted as part of the American Jobs Creation Act.
• International Tax Reform. Testified before the Senate Finance Committee on international tax reform proposals.
• Homeland Investment (Repatriation of Foreign Dividends). Advised congressional staffs regarding the development and enactment of section 965, the tax rate reduction on earnings distributed from controlled foreign corporations.
• Foreign Tax Credits. Worked with a client to draft a legislative proposal to neutralize the adverse effects of foreign tax credit basket consolidation on overall foreign loss accounts.

Regulatory Projects and Competent Authority

• Deferral of Cancellation of Indebtedness Income. Worked to shape regulatory guidance on deferral of cancellation of indebtedness income.
• Tax Shelter Regulations. Worked on behalf of clients to mitigate the impact of the statutory changes to the shelter reporting rules.
• Repatriation Legislation. Worked on behalf of a number of clients to shape guidance under the Homeland Investment repatriation provision regarding the impact of acquisitions on the base period calculation and the “APB 23” limitation.
• US-Japan Income Tax Treaty. Obtained the issuance of bilateral interpretive guidance under the US-Japan income tax treaty regarding the withholding tax rate on interest paid to financial services businesses.
• Section 355(e) Plan Regulations. Worked on behalf of clients to modify the scope of the plan regulations.
• Proposed No Net Value Regulations. Worked on behalf of client to modify the scope of the proposed regulations.
• Consolidated Return Regulations Relating to Intra-Group Debt. Advised IRS and Treasury on revisions to regulations.
• S Corporation Regulations. Worked on behalf of client to revise section 1374 regulations.
• Loss Disallowance Regulations. Worked on behalf of clients to clarify loss disallowance regulations.
• Foreign Tax Credit Arbitrage Transactions. Worked with clients to limit the scope of guidance on leveraged investments involving foreign tax credit arbitrage.
• Foreign Tax Credits. Successfully argued on behalf of Puerto Rico before the US Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service in connection with the release of Notice 2011-29 regarding the creditability of Puerto Rico's new excise tax.
• Competent Authority. Reached an agreement with the US competent authority pursuant to which a dual resident corporation would be treated as a foreign corporation for purposes of the relevant bilateral income tax treaty. This agreement was the first of its kind and resolved several issues over many years with the Treasury Department and the IRS.
• Competent Authority. Achieved unprecedented resolution of royalty withholding case with an Asian government known to be aggressive on such cases.