Legislative Activity

Wyden, Camp to Take Next Steps on Tax Extenders

On March 24, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) sent a memo to his Committee members regarding next steps on tax reform.  In the memo, Chairman Camp suggests that the Committee will: (1) continue its efforts to educate Members and stakeholders; (2) collect and analyze feedback from Members and taxpayers; and (3) hold meetings with the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).  Additionally, Chairman Camp announced that, beginning in April, the Committee will go “policy by policy to determine which extenders should be made permanent,” including through hearings and markups. It is anticipated that the Committee’s first hearing on these issues will be scheduled for April 8.  While no markup schedule is in place, markups could begin when Congress returns following Easter recess.

On the Senate side, the Senate Finance Committee continues to move forward in planning a markup of an extenders bill, likely to occur in the next two weeks. While there was hope that Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) would release bipartisan legislation on March 31, for markup on April 2, it is possible those dates could slip, based on the timing of final Member decisions.

This Week’s Hearings:

  • Tuesday, April 1:  The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing titled, “Caterpillar’s Offshore Tax Strategy.”

Regulatory Activity

IRS May Consider Transitional Relief for FATCA Harmonization Rules

On March 25, an IRS official reiterated that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would not delay the effective date of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) beyond July 1.  Nevertheless, he suggested that the IRS may consider providing transitional relief for certain cases related to the harmonization of Chapter 3 Rules, which have had an impact on rules for reducing U.S. taxation at source on U.S.-source income payments.

Additionally, the IRS is currently developing a list of FAQs to provide clarity in FATCA registration, as well as a technical corrections package related to February’s proposed and temporary regulations.