Tax-Free Spinoffs Could Be Much Tougher Under Proposed New Rules

business-tax-[Converted]

 

Many U.S. companies take advantage of lower foreign taxes by creating tax-free spinoffs of their parent companies. It’s a great and legal way to lower their corporate tax bills. However, some lawmakers have long pressed for changes to these rules and it appears that changes could be coming.

The U.S. Treasury Department recently proposed some new rules that would make it more difficult for companies to create certain kinds for spinoffs. In order to avoid capital gains taxes on the transaction 5 percent of the amount of a spin-off must be an active trade or business.

The new proposed rules also aim to clear up the factors that determine when a spinoff cannot be used for distributing profits and earnings to shareholders. If the new rules pass, the transaction would be deemed a device if there was a large enough gap between the amount of the company that is made up of nonbusiness assets while the other company had a lot less.

At this point the new rules have only been proposed and they will not take effect unless the Treasury Department makes them official. Even at that time they still wouldn’t affect any transactions that were already planned before approval even if the transaction was finalized after.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-treasury-rules-would-make-it-harder-to-complete-tax-free-spinoffs-1468500481

Posted in

Make Money Consistently Through Through a Small Investment

Make Money Consistently Through Through a Small Investment People often think that in order to become an investor you need a lot of capital to make it worth your while and believe me, nothing can be farther from the truth. Certainly, if you are planning to make a living exclusively out of your investment, you…

Investing with Style

Investing with Style How do you define your approach to investing? There may be many answers to that question. One answer goes to the style of investing that you choose: value or growth. Are you looking for value? The goal of a value investor is to seek out “bargains,” finding those companies whose stock may…

INTRODUCING THE “TOTAL RETURN” TRUST

Introducing the “Total Return” Trust

Introducing the “Total Return” Trust The fundamental purpose of most trusts is to create a plan of financial protection for more than one beneficiary, often beneficiaries in different generations. “All the trust income to my surviving spouse, with the balance to be divided among our children at her death” might be used in a marital…

Making Tax-wise Investments

Making Tax-wise Investments

Making Tax-wise Investments Tax considerations are not, and should never be, the be-all and end-all of investment decisions. The choice of assets in which to invest, and the way in which you apportion your portfolio among them, almost certainly will prove to be far more important to your ultimate results than the tax rate that…