US adds many new international tax projects to priority guidance list

The US Treasury and IRS today released its 2018–2019 Priority Guidance Plan, detailing tax guidance the government intends to focus its effort on in the coming months. The plan identifies several new projects needed to implement the sweeping international tax changes made by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The new items added to the priority list are as follows:

• Regulations under new §59A concerning the base-erosion and anti-abuse tax.
• Regulations concerning the participation exemption system for the taxation of
  foreign source income under §§245A, 1248(j) and (k), and 91.
•  Regulations under new §250 regarding the deduction for foreign derived
  intangible income and global intangible low-taxed income.
• Regulations under new §267A addressing certain related-party amounts paid or accrued in hybrid transactions or by or to hybrid entities.
• Regulations addressing the changes to §§367(d) and 482 under the TCJA.
• Regulations on certain foreign tax credit issues arising under the TCJA under §§901, 960, 78, and related provisions.
• Regulations under new §951A regarding the inclusion of global intangible lowtaxedincome by United States shareholders.
  •PUBLISHED 10/10/18 in FR as REG-104390-18 (NPRM).
• Regulations addressing modifications to subpart F, including the repeal of
  §958(b)(4) and the modification of § 951(b).
• Guidance under §§959 and 961 concerning the definition of previously taxed
  earnings and profits under subpart F.
• Regulations under §§6011 and 6071 on filing requirements for various chapter
  42 excise taxes added by sections 13602 and 13701 of the TCJA and other
  legislation.
• Regulations addressing when foreign insurance income is excluded from
  passive income under §1297(f).
• Regulations addressing the application of §956 to certain United States
  shareholders.
  • TO BE PUBLISHED in FR as REG-114540-18 (NPRM) (RELEASED
  10/31/18).

Several international tax projects that were included in the fourth quarter update to the last priority guidance list carried over to the new list.

Also, a new project to draft final regulations under §704 relating to the allocation by a partnership of creditable foreign taxes was added. The government said that temporary and proposed regulations were published on February 4, 2016, on this topic.

The government periodically updates its priority guidance plan and considers comments from practitioner concerning what additional projects should be added to the list.