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2023 Compliance Trends: Staying Ahead in an Evolving Regulatory E...
2023 Tax Calendar
VIEWpoint Issue 2 | 2022
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by Rolando Garcia, CPA, JD, International Tax Director
By now, businesses involved in cross-border activities have dealt with the international tax provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in December 2017, and the latest Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) provision is no exception. It has been a frustrating year for both tax practitioners and clients due to the timing in which both the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department rolled out guidance and proposed regulations, creating an aura of haste.
The focus has now shifted from the Section 965 Transition Tax to the GILTI provision of TCJA.
The GILTI regime requires any U.S. person who is a shareholder (whether directly or indirectly as through a partnership, sub-S corporation or trust) of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) and owns stock in the CFC on the last day of the CFC’s tax year to be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the owner’s pro-rata share of the CFCs’ GILTI. GILTI is defined to include most business income of a CFC, reduced by 10 percent of the adjusted tax basis of the CFC’s depreciable tangible personal property.
Taxpayers who are U.S. C corporations are entitled to reduce their GILTI by 50 percent, plus are subject to a U.S. federal corporate tax rate of only 21 percent and are entitled to claim a credit for up to 80 percent of the foreign taxes paid or accrued by the CFC on the GILTI. These all act to mitigate the net U.S. federal tax liability arising from GILTI for corporate shareholders. So, in short, the GILTI rules generally impose a U.S. corporate minimum tax of 10.5 percent (50 percent x 21 percent) and, to the extent foreign tax credits are available to reduce the U.S. corporate tax, may result in no additional U.S. federal income tax being due.
U.S. shareholders who are not C corporations are not entitled to the 50 percent deduction or the deemed paid foreign tax credit. In addition, GILTI may very well be taxed at the highest U.S. marginal federal income tax rate of 37 percent. In total, non-corporate shareholders face taxation on GILTI at a 37 percent rate without the benefit of a credit for any foreign taxes imposed on the CFC’s GILTI.
Because of this unbalanced impact of the GILTI rules to non-C corporation U.S. shareholders, it is important that these taxpayers with investments in foreign corporations assess the U.S. federal income tax impact of the GILTI provisions on their foreign investments and consider whether it may be beneficial to take advantage of one of the following planning strategies:
In addition to quantifying this option, other issues to consider include whether or not GILTI is subject to the net investment 3.8 percent income tax as well as the recent Tax Court decision in Barry M. Smith v. Commissioner, which stands for the proposition that distributions from the CFC to the U.S. C corporation holding company and then on to the individual shareholder are not deemed dividends for purposes of potentially characterizing them as “qualified” dividends.
The new GILTI regime creates an entirely new category of taxable income affecting all taxpayers who are U.S. persons. As a result of GILTI, income of a U.S. shareholder’s CFCs is now part of the U.S. shareholder’s annual U.S. federal income tax analysis. The effect of GILTI on non-corporate taxpayers who are U.S. shareholders of CFCs is particularly harsh. Such taxpayers would be prudent to evaluate their exposure under GILTI and investigate planning and restructuring alternatives.
Clearly, no single approach applies to every existing or planned foreign investment, and taxpayers will want to structure their operations only after evaluating all the relevant factors that will influence their foreign investments.
For assistance navigating GILTI or to learn more about the tax reform impact on your international business, contact our international tax experts today.
This publication is distributed for informational purposes only, with the understanding that Doeren Mayhew is not rendering legal, accounting, or other professional opinions on specific facts for matters, and, accordingly, assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. Should the reader have any questions regarding any of the news articles, it is recommended that a Doeren Mayhew representative be contacted.
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