The IRS recently issued final and proposed IRC section 951A regulations relating to the treatment of “high-taxed” global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI), introduced in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This latest guidance is welcome news to many U.S. investors, who may now make annual elections to exclude high-taxed GILTI from their gross income — both going forward and retroactively to 2018.

On September 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) and the IRS released final regulations on the deduction of administration expenses of estates and non-grantor trusts under sections 67(e) and (g), and on the treatment of excess deductions in the final year of the estate or non-grantor trust under section 642(h) (the “final regulations”).

Tax planning can be complex. It must balance tax efficiency with all other elements of financial planning required to meet a company’s commercial objectives. Most importantly, tax planning and tax structuring strategies need to withstand the scrutiny of a taxing authority.

With potential reductions in the gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions looming, many practitioners are rightfully focused on planning with these exemptions. However, as part of this planning, it’s also important to not lose focus on income tax attributes.

These days, many of our clients are holding debt obligations they can’t collect. The IRC may provide some relief, in the form of a tax deduction or loss, for creditors holding a worthless (or in some cases even a partially worthless) bona fide debt, provided that conditions set forth within IRC section 166 and the related Treasury Regulations are satisfied.

Interest rates are at historic lows. This is good news for certain planning techniques and bad news for others.   

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly impacted individuals and their ability to travel. Many are under state quarantine orders, “sheltering in place,” or simply afraid or uncomfortable to leave their home. Other individuals have left their home in one state for the prospect of a safer, more socially distant location in another state or country. 

At the foot of the Statue of Liberty is an inscribed plaque with a poem about America being the land that welcomes the refugee. Film footage from the turn of the 20th century depicts ships overloaded with immigrants passing the statue and dreaming of a better tomorrow in the United States.