Legislative Activity

House to Vote on Legislation to Permanently Extend R&D Tax Credit

During the week of May 5, the House of Representatives is set to vote on H.R. 4438, the “American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014,” which is one of six bills considered during the House Ways and Means Committee’s markup of certain corporate tax provisions. The bill, which was favorably reported out of the House Ways and Means Committee in a 22-12 vote on April 29, would make permanent a simplified version of the research and development credit. Currently, it is unclear when the House will take up any of the other five bills or when the Committee will hold another markup on extenders provisions.

This Week’s Hearings:

  • Tuesday, May 6: The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing titled, “New Routes for Funding and Financing Highways and Transit.”
  • Wednesday, May 7: The House Ways & Means Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Internal Revenue Service Operations and the 2014 Tax Return Filing Season.”

Regulatory Activity

IRS Issues Guidance on Transition Period for FATCA Implementation

On May 2, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2014-33, which announces that 2014 and 2015 will be considered a transition period for purposes of enforcement and administration of the due diligence, reporting, and withholding provisions under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). According to the notice, during the transition period, the IRS will consider the extent to which a participating or deemed-compliant foreign financial institution (FFI), direct reporting nonfinancial foreign entity, sponsoring entity, sponsored FFI, sponsored direct reporting nonfinancial foreign entity, or withholding agent has made good-faith efforts to comply with FATCA requirements. Those entities that have not made good-faith efforts to comply will not be eligible for relief during the transition period. The notice also provides that Treasury and the IRS intend to further amend the regulations under sections 1441, 1442, 1471, and 1472.

Additionally, on May 1, the IRS released an updated list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) relating to FATCA, including questions and answers on responsible officers, branches and disregarded entities, and the registration process.