Overview
GAO Releases Report on IRS Taxpayer Guidance: In a report released yesterday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged the IRS to adopt written procedures for how it issues taxpayer guidance. Currently, the IRS relies on a variety of forms of guidance to advise taxpayers, including announcement, notices, revenue rulings, and regulations. The GAO’s report said a written procedure would help the IRS evaluate the risks associated with issuing guidance. The report also found that IRS guidance is routinely exempt from the analysis and oversight required by Executive Order 12866 and the Congressional Review Act because few tax regulations are deemed “economically significant” or “major” rules (i.e., $100 million or greater annual economic effect) by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Such a designation would trigger additional review and analysis requirements before the rule or regulation could take effect.
G20 Leaders Ask OECD to Prepare International Tax Transparency Report: World leaders attending the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China asked the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to prepare a report on the progress made by jurisdictions on tax transparency by June 2017. The attendees also requested a list of those jurisdictions that have not yet sufficiently progressed toward a satisfactory level of implementation of the agreed international standards on tax transparency by July 2017.