Advice for Governments

The flexibility of U.S. tax rules, such as the “check-the-box” rules and the U.S. approach to “repos”, creates opportunities to devise innovative international transactions for both foreign and U.S. persons. Some arrangements involve a foreign person splitting the tax savings in their own country with a U.S. party who is not taxed in that country. Effectively, the foreign government subsidizes the U.S. party’s participation in the scheme. In other cases, a U.S. investor in a foreign country may have structured its investment to “arbitrage” the U.S. and foreign tax rules and minimize taxes in both jurisdictions.

We help foreign governments understand how U.S. tax law works, so that they can more effectively enforce their own tax laws in those situations where there is no possibility of conflict or adverse consequences to our other clients. We explain the goals and risks of the U.S. participants and identify what information to obtain. We also can provide expert testimony and support services in foreign tax litigation.