International Tax Services Washington Dispatch, March 2020

This edition of the ITS Washington Dispatch for March 2020 summarizes key developments in the US for the month including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how both businesses and taxpayers are being supported. It also includes information on a potentially huge amount of financial discrepancies in foreign investment into real estate, and updates from the OECD on both the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 2.0 project, and the compliance of members in the BEPS framework.

This EY monthly update provides information on the impact of the Coronavirus on taxation in the US, including the three pieces of COVID-19 legislation enacted in March. The most prominent of these was the Coronavirus Aid Relief & Economic Security (CARES) Act, worth $2.2 trillion. It includes 8 business tax provisions aimed at providing liquidity.

Also, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the IRS (in notice 2020-18) extended the 15 April due date for filing Federal Tax Returns to the 15 July 2020. The notice also removed the previously imposed caps on the payment amount that could be postponed.

In addition, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report that identified more than US$680 million in discrepancies that were required by the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. The IRS agreed to the recommendations of the Inspector General but disagreed with the figures reported.

The IRS were quoted as saying they won’t issue regulations that align the transfer pricing rules to changes introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in relation to the definition of intangible property until 2021.

The OECD released an update on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 2.0 project, indicating its intentions to proceed at full speed despite the impact of Coronavirus.

Finally, the OECD released the second peer review report on compliance by members of the inclusive framework on BEPS, which covers 129 jurisdictions. It concludes that the majority have begun to translate their commitment to prevent treaty shopping into actions.

Learning outcomes

• Understanding of the response to the COVID-19 crisis and the impact on businesses and the taxpayer
• Learning about the report issued by the Treasury Inspector General into almost US$700 million in discrepancies with the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act
• Discovering the news on when the IRS will introduce legislation to align with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
• Updates on the latest from the OECD on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 2.0 project, and the progress made with members of the BEPS framework.