TEI welcomes spring with blizzard of advocacy activity: FSC/ETI repeal, international reform, simplification, and host of other congressional proposals headline TEI efforts; testimony before oversight board, submissions to treasury, IRS, and European union; and first-ever filing with Canadian court round out activity.

• Position: Recent Activities

It happens ever year. Just as surely a spring follows winter, the level of Tax Executives Institute's liaison and advocacy activity picks up as the first quarter turns into the second, clocks spring ahead an hour, and legislative and administrative initiatives of significance to the tax community advance. 2004 has been no exception, and so far has witnessed the Institute's liaison meetings with government officials in Washington, participation in congressional hearings, submissions on pending legislation, an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of Canada, and filings with the European Community, as well as a series of meetings or submissions on the IRS's new Schedule M-3, Form 8858, and section 987. (Note: TEI's liaison meetings are discussed in a separate story in this issue.)

FSC/ETI Commands Attention

On March 10, TEI sent two letters to the tax-writing committees of Congress on pending international tax legislation. One letter presented the Institute's views on the proposed legislation to repeal of the FSC/ETI regime (as mandated by the World Trade Organization) and associated international reform and simplification proposals. The second submission addressed a number of other provisions, including the proposed codification of the economic substance doctrine and related tax-shelter penalty provisions, the requirement that CEO sign corporate tax returns, the extension of the net operation loss carryforward period, the research tax credit, and the employment tax treatment of stock options. The proposals are contained in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2003 in the House, and the JOBS Act of 2003 in the Senate.

In setting forth the Institute's position on pending international legislation, TEI's letter noted the diverse nature of its membership and observed that FSC/ETI repeal would affect different companies differently, exacting a potentially heavy tax cost from sectors benefitting from the current regime. TEI also reviewed the overall competitiveness of the Internal Revenue Code in respect of income from international operations, from compliance and policy perspectives, and stated that significant reform and simplification of the foreign provisions were desirable and should be effected as part of FSC/ETI reform.

TEI submissions are reprinted in this issue, respectively, on pages 148 and 153.

Embracing Tax Simplification ... One Step at a Time

In February, TEI teamed up with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the...