International

Expert Analysis

• Distressed Debt Tax Opportunities For Foreign Investors

  

  Foreign investors can earn tax-free interest income on distressed debt issued by U.S. companies, as long as they steer clear of income classification pitfalls, says Seth Entin at Holland & Knight.

• Pandemic Complicates OECD Digital Tax Overhaul

  

  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's decision last week to extend the deadline for a digital economy tax rewrite highlights novel pandemic-prompted issues that will need to be resolved, including the treatment of losses and an ideological debate between pro-growth and revenue-focused policies, says Joyce Beebe at Rice University.

• Tips For Non-US Entities Facing Tax ID Processing Delays

  

  Non-U.S. entities applying for taxpayer identification numbers during the pandemic, while IRS phone and fax lines are inoperative and mail processing is on hold, may need to employ alternative strategies to open bank accounts and meet tax filing requirements, say David Shapiro and Shane Hoffmann at Fried Frank.

• Adapting 2020 Tax Expectations To COVID-19 Developments

  

  Attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson consider unexpected international, federal and state tax developments that have occurred in response to the global pandemic, how they may impact individuals and corporations, and what measures may follow.

• Key Tax Considerations For Secondary Sales Of Private Funds

  

  Investors considering selling fund interests in the secondary market to create liquidity during the pandemic-related economic crisis should consider several tax and structuring issues that can impact the buyer, seller and the underlying fund, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• Safeguarding Foreign Investments During A Pandemic

  

  Investment agreements can protect foreign holdings when governmental measures in response to COVID-19 are overly restrictive, unnecessarily protracted or discriminatory, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Calculating Credit Spreads During A Pandemic

  

  Given the coronavirus-induced spike in credit spreads and the heightened regulatory scrutiny of intercompany financing, multinationals with significant debt should carefully review the arm's-length interest rates in their loan agreements to avoid double taxation, says economist Harold McClure.

• 10 Insights Into IRS Audits And Appeals Amid COVID-19

  

  Crowell & Moring attorneys David Fischer and Teresa Abney consider the top 10 things taxpayers and practitioners need to know about a series of recently issued Internal Revenue Service notices and employee memos addressing audit and appeals procedure during the pandemic.

• Allocating Loss When COVID-19 Disrupts Your Supply Chain

  

  Multinational enterprises experiencing coronavirus-related supply chain disruptions should take a few immediate steps to determine which entities should bear the losses of these disruptions for tax purposes, say Richard Slowinski and Stefanie Kavanagh at Alston & Bird.

• Employers Should Consider Tax Impact Of Virus Relief Checks

  

  The relief checks provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act will introduce additional tax complications for companies with U.S. employees stationed abroad and foreign employees working in the U.S., says Richard Tonge at Grant Thornton.

• How OECD Reconciles Int'l Tax Laws And Work During COVID

  

  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s guidance this month clarifying international tax law principles, such as permanent establishment, in light of coronavirus-related work disruptions was an unusual — but welcome — first step toward preventing potential tax disputes, say attorneys at Bonelli Erede.

• Proactive Tax Planning And The Next Stimulus Package

  

  Attorneys at Skadden discuss outstanding tax issues that should be addressed if Congress enacts a fourth coronavirus relief package and provide strategies for modeling the tax impact of future losses under current law, including the recently enacted CARES Act.

• Leveling Tax Playing Field For Non-UK Resident Landlords

  

  Starting Monday, non-U.K. resident landlords are subject to broadly the same U.K. tax treatment as residents with respect to income derived from U.K. property, and landlords and lenders should be considering the impact on transaction cashflows and covenant compliance, say James Spencer and Sherry Scrivens at Alston & Bird.