Singapore, IRS Oversight Board, U.S. liaison meetings focus of TEI's winter activities: institute also comments on proposed Canadian changes.

• Position: Recent Activities

Tax Executives Institute's advocacy truly became global in scope in February when the Asia Chapter filed its first submission with the Singapore government. Submissions to the IRS Oversight Board and the Canadian Department of Finance, plus the agendas for TEI's U.S. liaison meetings, rounded out its technical activities this winter.

U.S. Liaison Meetings

TEI's liaison meetings with U.S. tax officials were held on February 8, providing the Institute an opportunity to raise important issues of tax policy and administration on behalf its members. TEI held separate meetings with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, officials of the Large and Mid-Size Business Division, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy. Among the issues discussed with the Treasury Department were the proper tax treatment of cross-licensing agreements, open issues under section 199 of the Internal Revenue Code (relating to the manufacturing deduction), the definition of "employer" for purposes of Circular 230 (relating to practitioner standards), the cost-sharing regulations, and the most recent version of a proposed statutory economic substance requirement. The meetings with IRS Commissioner Everson and LMSB Commissioner Nolan covered some of these issues, as well as the IRS's electronic filing program for corporations, the need to safeguard the independence of Appeals, Schedule M-3,and LMSB's Compliance Assurance Process program.

TEI's delegation to the liaison meetings was led by TEI President Michael Boyle of the Seattle Chapter and included both members of the Institute's Executive Committee and several committee chairs.

The full agendas for the liaison meetings are reprinted in this issue, beginning on page 130. As this issue goes to press, the minutes of the meetings are being reviewed by the government. They will be published in the May-June issue (and will be posted on TEI's website upon being completed).

Singapore: Treatment of Benefits-In-Kind

On February 3, TEI filed comments with Singapore's Ministry of Finance on recently issued guidelines on the taxation of benefits-in-kind provided to employees. The comments--which were filed under the auspices of TEI's Asia Chapter, its first advocacy project since being chartered in 2005--have already produced positive results, with the Singapore government's recently announcing that it was continuing to review the matter and that, in the meantime, employers may follow existing practice.

The Singaporean...