Articles

U.S. Tax Update: IRS Announces Increase in Number of Tax Examinations

On May 2, 2024, the IRS released its Strategic Operation Plan (“SOP”) for the future.  In this plan, it was revealed that the IRS aims to increase the number of tax examinations significantly.

As a background, in August 2022, the U.S. Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”), which aimed to invest in clean energy and reduce the budget deficit. With this law, a total of $80 Billion in additional funding was allocated to the IRS to increase tax revenues by strengthening tax enforcement. Specifically, the main focus was to increase revenue by modernizing the IRS to improve its services and strengthening tax examinations. Subsequently, in June 2023, the negotiations between Republicans and Democrats to reduce the budget deficit resulted in a reduction of $20 Billion from the additional budget for the IRS. Still, for the IRS, whose budget has been continuously cut, this additional budget represented a significant win. For the IRS facing a variety of challenges, this SOP is being viewed as a major step toward reform.

Taxation on Lottery Winnings in the U.S. (Japanese Text Only)

米国の宝くじですが、米国では日本と違い当選者が出なかった場合は当選金が次の抽選に繰り越されるため、当選金の金額が桁違いとなることが多く、2023年7月10日現在、CA州のMEGA MILLIONSと呼ばれる宝くじは１等賞金が$480million (672億円、$1=140円)、Powerballと呼ばれる宝くじは１等賞金が$650million (910億円、$1=140円)となっています。

About Tax Due Diligence in the U.S.A. (Japanese Text Only)

ドル高円安等の影響に関わらず、日本から米国企業への買収に関しての税務デューデリジェンスのお問い合わせは引き続き受けています。対象会社の税務リスクを把握することは重要です。今回はデューデリジェンスの一翼を担っている税務デューデリジェンスについてご説明します。対象会社が法人なのかパススルーの会社なのかにより、デューデリジェンスの内容が大きく異なります。また、株式や持分の買収なのか、それとも資産買収なのかによっても大きく異なってきます。以下は対象会社が法人で株式買収の場合の主な調査内容を例として挙げ、さらに買収方法や買収後の検討課題も例に挙げます。

About U.S. Export Regulations – Part I: Overview of U.S. Export Regulations (Japanese Text Only)

昨今、経済安全保障問題について活発に報道されるようになり、「輸出規制」という言葉が身近に聞かれるようになりました。輸出規則というと、日系企業にとっては、日本から海外に製品を輸出する際に、日本（自国）の輸出規則の対象となり、あくまでも自国だけの規制と思わている方も多いのではないかと思います。しかし、米国の輸出規則には、「再輸出規則」と呼ばれる制度があり、たとえ日本で製造した製品でも、米国産の製品・部品、ソフトウェア、技術が一定以上含まれている場合や、米国産の技術を使用して製造した製品である場合は、他国へ輸出する際に米国政府の許可が必要になることがあります。このような場合、無許可で製品を輸出してしまい、米国の輸出規則に違反してしまうと、禁固刑や米国製品、技術についての取引が禁止になるといった厳しい罰則があります。日本で製造活動を行っている企業でも、米国産の製品、技術、ソフトウェアを取扱っており、中国、ロシアを含む、米国が規制している国々と取引を行っている場合は、米国の輸出規制に注意する必要があります。

Key Takeaways from the 2022 Amendments to Japan’s Transfer Pricing Administrative Guidelines: Loans and Debt Guarantees (Part 1 of 2)

1. Introduction

In June 2022, the National Tax Administration Agency (NTA) announced amendments to the Transfer Pricing Administration Guidelines. The amendments are thought to reflect the January 2022 update to the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines on financial transactions, and they revise Japan’s legislation on the treatment of financial transactions and cost contribution agreements (CCA). It should be noted that this may affect Japanese companies operating outside of Japan, including those operating in the United States.

US Corporate Taxes: What to Look Out for When Entering the US Market

The United States is still one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment and remains an attractive location for foreign businesses. A large amount of this investment comes from places like Japan, Canada, Australia, and the European Union.

One of the main reasons attracting investment is that it is home to the world’s largest economy. Excellent infrastructure; legal protection for corporations; a productive and skilled workforce; and lucrative consumer markets across several sectors make it an attractive place to do business.

Having said that, the US is also known for its highly complex tax system. With extensive tax regulations, all businesses that operate in the US will be subject to its tax laws. As a Japanese outbound business or an entity growing your presence in the US, you will need to navigate your way through sometimes vague and confusing tax requirements on a national, state, and local level.

To help you avoid some common pitfalls when it comes to US corporate taxation, we’ve outlined some of the major considerations that all businesses operating in the US should make, whether you’re simply operating a representative office or establishing a fully owned subsidiary of the parent company.