Who's Afraid of Global Netting?, Portland Chapter Asks.

Martin Feinberg of Arthur Andersen was on hand at the September meeting of the Portland Chapter to present a talk entitled, "Who's Afraid of Global Netting?" Mr. Feinberg provided an overview and brief history of IRS interest rates including "hot interest" implemented by the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990. The road to global netting was described as a 12-year saga beginning with section 1511(c) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 mandating "global netting" and ending with the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.

Because December 31 is just around the corner, Mr. Feinberg focused on the transition rules allowing retroactive global netting. He pointed out that Rev. Proc. 99-19 provides little or no guidance for preserving pre-enactment global netting for unsettled years. As with many changes to the tax laws, the global netting area is rife with unanswered questions.

Tax Accounting Methods

Robert Call and Scott Remington of Grant Thornton conducted a workshop on tax accounting methods at the Portland Chapter's October 12 meeting. Discussion centered around Rev. Proc. 98-60...