Overview
EU Orders Recovery of €700 Million, Concludes Belgian 'Excess Profit' Tax Scheme Illegal: Today the European Union (EU) concluded that selective tax advantages granted by Belgium under “excess profit” tax rulings are illegal under EU state aid rules, and ordered Belgium to recover approximately €700 million ($763 million) from at least 35 multinational companies. On the basis of binding tax rulings, the companies were able to reduce their recorded profits by between 50% and 90% to discount for “excess profits” that allegedly resulted from being part of a multinational group.
IRS Announces Hearing on Obergefell Rules: Today the IRS announced that a public hearing will be held on January 27 regarding proposed regulations relating to the holdings of Obergefell v. Hodges and a revenue ruling that defines terms in the Internal Revenue Code describing the marital status of taxpayers. People who wish to speak at the hearing, and who submit written comments by the comment deadline (January 14), must submit an outline of the topics to be addressed and the amount of time to be devoted to each topic by January 15.