KPMG Webcast To Examine Senator Baucus's International Tax Reform 'Discussion Draft'

NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, Nov. 26, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (ET), KPMG will host a TaxWatch webcast that will examine an international tax reform proposal, unveiled by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), that calls for substantially changing the tax treatment of domestic corporations doing business overseas through foreign subsidiaries.  

Sen. Baucus's "International Tax Reform Discussion Draft" presents two options -- "Option Y" and "Option Z" – for overhauling the U.S. tax code. Each option is expected to have a significant impact on multinational companies.

The audio webcast panel discussion will compare and contrast the Baucus proposal's options with separate international tax reform proposals already put forward by the Obama Administration and Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Click here to register for the upcoming webcast.

The discussion will be moderated by Manal Corwin, national leader of KPMG's International Tax practice and principal in charge of international tax policy in the firm's Washington National Tax (WNT) practice. She will be joined by KPMG colleagues Seth Green, principal in charge of International Tax in the WNT practice, and Bob Wilkerson, an International Tax principal, also part of the WNT practice.

"As with President Obama's framework for tax reform and Congressman Dave Camp's option for tax reform, Senator Baucus's discussion draft on international tax reform contributes to the growing consensus that our international tax rules need to change," said Corwin, the former deputy assistant secretary for tax policy for international tax affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department.  "While there are design differences in the various approaches offered by the Administration, Congressman Camp and Senator Baucus, all three approaches reflect concerns about and incorporate mechanisms to help address tax base erosion."

Topics to be covered on the November 26 webcast, among others, include:

• Overview of the Baucus plan and a comparison with the Camp and Obama proposals for international tax reform.
• Changes to the definition of subpart F income – including "United States related income," low-taxed income, and the active financing exception.
• Impact on the "lock-out" effect under current law that can discourage U.S. corporations from distributing their foreign earnings back to the United States.
• Effect on competitiveness.
• Base erosion and interplay with Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
• Treatment of foreign tax credits.

Designed broadly to improve the international competitiveness of U.S. companies while reducing their ability to avoid taxes offshore, Sen. Baucus's two revenue-neutral options would impose a one-time tax of up to 20 percent on the profits currently held offshore by U.S. multinationals that under current law are not subject to U.S. tax until brought back home. The "Discussion Draft" envisions a revenue-neutral reshaping of the U.S. tax code.

KPMG's TaxWatch webcasts are part of the KPMG Institute Network. The network's Tax Governance Institute is planning a follow-up video webcast on Sen. Baucus's "Discussion Draft" on Dec. 16.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.kpmg.com/us), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International's member firms have 152,000 professionals, including more than 8,600 partners, in 156 countries.

SOURCE KPMG LLP