TEI's Request for More Time Granted; IRS Releases Draft Schedule
On March 5, the Internal Revenue Service issued Announcement 2010-17, granting TEI’s request for additional time to submit comments on Annoucement 2010-09, relating to the disclosure of uncertain tax positions. Click here to access the announcement.
On April 19, the IRS issued Annuoncement 2010-30, releasing draft Schedule UTP and instructions. Click here to access the announcement, and scroll down to access the draft schedule and instructions.
On January 26, 2010, the IRS issued Announcement 2010-09, which creates a new tax return schedule on which taxpayers will be required to disclose information regarding their uncertain tax positions. There have been numerous hints over the past few months that the IRS was reconsidering its “policy of restraint” (in respect of tax accrual workpapers) and considering ways to increase “taxpayer transparency” – including IRS Chief Counsel Bill Wilkins’s remarks to the Institute’s Annual Conference in October. Nevertheless, the IRS’s announcement caught many practitioners, tax executives, and commentators by surprise, with many people responding with anger, frustration, and even trepidation at the prospect of having to provide more information to the IRS. There have also been concerns expressed about the scope of the Announcement, including the requirement that the taxpayer disclose the "maximum amount of potential federal tax liability attributable to each uncertain tax position."
Announcement 2010-09 will be atop the list of issues to be discussed with the IRS and LMSB at the Institute’s annual liaison meetings (which are slated for early March). In addition, we have planned for a session on the government’s new “transparency” thrust for this year’s Midyear Conference schedule. Click here for information about the conference.
We are also preparing formal comments on the Announcement. To facilitate this process, on February 15 TEI formally requested that the IRS extend the time period for submitting comments until May 31. Click here to view TEI's request. On March 5, the IRS extended the time period for comments until May 31. (See link below.)
Experience teaches that TEI’s comments are most effective when they focus on the practical implications of proposed rules or regulations and when they reflect the views of a broad cross-section of TEI members. For the Institute to be an effective advocate on behalf of the business community, we need your assistance. Your specific substantive comments on any and all aspects of the Announcement will be invaluable. Please send your comments by February 26 to advocacy@tei.org, ideally referencing specific provisions of Announcement 2010-09 (or the particular questions from the “Request for Comments” section of the Announcement).
Links to Related Materials
Text of Announcement 2010-30 releasing draft Schedule UTP
Draft Schedule UTP (released April 19, 2010)
Draft Instructions for Schedule UTP (released April 19, 2010)
Text of Announcement 2010-09
TEI's Request for an Extension to File Comments
Transcript of Commissioner’s Schulman’s Speech to the New York State Bar Association’s Taxation Section on January 26, 2010
Humorous Article on Announcement 2010-09 from the January 27, 2010 Edition of the New York Post.
TEI's Amicus Brief in Textron v. United States, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and find tax accrual workpapers protected under the work-product privilege.
Free KPMG Webcast: Disclosing Uncertain Tax Positions to the Internal Revenue Service: A Conversation with the Chief Counsel of the IRS (Archived Version Now Available)
IRS Announcement 2010-17 – Additional Time to Submit Comments
Free Ernst & Young Webcast: IRS Announcement 2010-9 Uncertain Tax Positions — Policy of Restraint: What You Need to Know (with Heather Maloy, IRS Commissioner, Large and Mid-Size Business Division) (Archived Version Now Available)