IFA USA Leadership

Peter A. Glicklich, President

Dirk Suringa, Vice President

Peter Connors, Past President

Planning Committee Members

Peter Blessing, Associate Chief Counsel (International), IRS

Martin Collins, Regional Vice-President, Washington

Jamin Koo, Covington (YIN rep)

Neelu Mehrotra, EY (WIN rep)

Joshua Odintz, Regional Vice-President, Washington

Colleen O’Neill, EY

Danielle Rolfes, KPMG

Kimberly Spivey, Regional Vice-President, New York

Christopher Trump, Deloitte

Many parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire at the end of 2025 or get worse in 2026. Will a unified government use reconciliation to extend and modify the TCJA, and what are the benefits and detriments of the process? The panel will discuss international tax changes that are under consideration, including whether and how the US will respond to OECD Pillar Two.

Three learning objectives:

• Attendees will learn about the history of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
• Attendees will gain an understanding of the budget rules regarding reconciliation
• Attendees will learn about the key international tax legislation proposals under consideration in the House and Senate

Speakers:

Jennifer Acuna, KPMG

Aharon Friedman, The Federal Policy Group

Mark Prater, PwC

What does a tax-efficient capital strategy look like? The TCJA, IRA, regulatory developments, and passage of time have impacted the landscape tremendously. This panel will explore the complexity that tax and treasury professionals alike must navigate to deliver efficient access to capital. Topics will include US tax aspects of sourcing and servicing external capital, financing acquisitions, and cross-border cash pools.

Learning objectives:

• Understanding key tax issues relevant to raising and deploying capital
• Contrasting US tax considerations for foreign- and US-based multinationals' capital structures
• Identification of uncertain or developing areas of US tax law that may affect capital structure

Speakers:

John Barlow, Baker McKenzie

Jameson Lloyd, Sullivan & Cromwell

Robert Scarborough, Special Counsel (International) in Office of Chief Counsel, IRS (invited)

Jonathan Silverstein, PwC - YIN Reporter

This panel will discuss the recently finalized regulations relating to “digital content” and “cloud transactions,” including the expanded scope of the -18 regulations to cover “digital content,” the new predominant character rule for classifying mixed transactions, the new source rule for digital content downloaded through an electronic medium, and the examples involving licensed website operators, platform operators providing agency and other services to app developers, and resellers of copyrighted articles and SaaS. We will also discuss the newly proposed regulations for sourcing income from cloud transactions, including the “taxpayer-by-taxpayer” approach adopted in the regulations, as well as several of the issues specifically identified by Treasury and the IRS for comments. Finally, we will discuss Notice 2025-6 regarding whether the -18 and -19 regulations should apply for all purposes of the Code.

Speakers:

Michelle Ng, Senior Technical Reviewer, IRS Office of Chief Counsel, International (Branch 6) (invited)

Michael Plowgian, KPMG

Jeremy Sina, Deloitte

James Wang, Deputy International Tax Counsel in the Office of the International Tax Counsel (invited)

Sylvie Paul - YIN Reporter

The panel will consider a variety of issues encountered in cross-border M&A and private equity transactions, including issues related to inversions, anti-abuse rules and tax issues related to add-ons of US businesses by non-US portfolio companies.

Learning objectives:

• Raise awareness of common Non-Ordinary Course Distribution (NOCD) issues in connection with applying the anti-inversion rules.
• Recounting of recent discussions over the application of section 269 in a transactional context.
• Review of key considerations in U.S. target add-ons by a non-US portfolio company of a private investment fund.

Speakers:

Devon Bodoh, Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Rachel Kleinberg, Sidley Austin

Jennifer Lee, Davies

Teisha Ruggiero, Branch Chief at IRS, Office of Chief Counsel (International), IRS (invited)

Sydnei Jones, Weil, Gotshal & Manges - YIN Reporter

Speakers:

Kevin Nichols, Uber

Tom Roesser, Microsoft

Randi Rosenberg, Siemens

This panel will discuss the recently proposed and long-awaited PTEP regulations, which provide detailed guidance under IRC Sections 959 and 961, as well as related provisions. The proposed regulations address both longstanding issues and new complexities introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). The panel's discussion will unpack key provisions of the proposed regulations and their impact on common business transactions and will reflect on the policy choices made by Treasury and the IRS in the proposed regulations versus the policy decisions made in earlier time-periods, including the 2006 proposed regulations.

Speakers:

Amie Colwell Breslow, Jones Day

Martin Collins, PwC

Ronald Dabrowski, KPMG

Karen Li, Senior Counsel, IRS Office of Chief Counsel (International), IRS (invited)

Aaron Ma, PwC - YIN Reporter

This panel will provide an overview of key issues under the section 987 final and proposed regulations issued in December 2024, with special attention to elections that taxpayers must make in the first year of applicability.

Learning objectives:

• Understand how section 987 gain or loss is calculated and recognized
• Become familiar with the important elections regarding calculation and recognition of section 987 gain or loss
• Understand the transition rules, including what constitutes and eligible pre-transition method

Speakers:

Raphael (Rafi) Cohen, Special Counsel with the IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (invited)

Laura Valestin, PwC

Colleen Zeller, EY

This panel will investigate several topical issues relating to the structure, coverage, and application of tax treaties.

Specific topics that will be discussed include:

• Discuss the tax implications of IRC Sec. 891
• Discuss the treatment of software revenue under the U.S.- Australian Income Tax Treaty
• Explain the dispute resolution mechanism embedded in U.S. double income tax treaties and purpose of same
• Understand tax consequences of “work from home” policies

Speakers:

Arlene Fitzpatrick, EY

Gary Sprague, Baker McKenzie

Emily Lawson, Baker McKenzie - YIN Reporter

In December 2024, the Treasury Department published the long-awaited proposed amendments to 31 CFR Part 10, better known as Circular 230. Since then, tax practitioners have been digesting and commenting on the proposed amendments and the IRS convened a public hearing on March 6, 2025. While the final amendments are pending, practitioners are addressing client questions and concerns here and abroad in reaction to the substantial cuts to IRS funding and reductions in the federal workforce. How do we best advise clients in these challenging times while maintaining our ethical obligations and standards of practice? Using a frequently encountered fact pattern, the panelists will identify thorny issues presented, discuss the relevant current provisions of Circular 230 and the proposed amendments, and share their views and best practices for tax professionals.

Learning objectives:

• Understand the proposed amendments to Circular 230
• Understand the concerns and ethical dilemmas presented with respect to the proposed amendments to Circular 230
• Understand your obligations as a tax professional with respect to technology under the proposed amendments to Circular 230
• Learn best practices in navigating thorny ethical issues in representing clients before the IRS

Speakers:

Don Crawford, Baker McKenzie

Carina Federico, Crowell

Scott Michel, Caplin & Drysdale

Jamihlia Johnson, Saul - YIN Reporter

The session will cover a survey of a wide array of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques.

First, we will address several general ADR tools, including fast track settlements (FTS), early referral, and post-appeals mediation (PAM) and the recent changes being piloted for FTS and PAM.

Second, we will address transfer pricing ADR programs. Transfer pricing disputes raise the specter of double taxation. While there is the opportunity for a taxpayer to establish transfer pricing unilaterally and then await whether there will be a tax examination and, if so, to go through exam, appeals and/or litigation, there is unpredictability in that approach. ADR mechanisms, such as advance pricing agreements (APAs), mutual agreement procedures, including arbitration, where applicable (MAP), and the International Compliance Assurance Programme, may offer a better, more efficient course to deal with contentious transfer pricing issues.

Our program will review these ADR methods. We are fortunate to have as a panelist the Assistant Director of APMA, as well as experienced transfer pricing practitioners, to inform our discussion.

There will be time for questions.

Three Learning Objectives:

• Provide detail about the ADR techniques.
• Learn about the pros and cons of available ADR techniques and when to consider using them.
• Provide suggested practical advice about these ADR techniques.

Speakers:

Cesare Silvano, Maisto e Associati

David Rosenbloom, Caplin & Drysdale

Dylan Neves-Cox, Greenberg Traurig - YIN Reporter