The Use of Derivatives in Tax Planning


Book Description

The Use of Derivatives in Tax Planning provides insightful and in-depth coverage of timely issues including: tax treatments of notional principal contracts, taxation of credit derivatives, derivative tax planning applications for fixed-income instruments, using derivatives to shift income, enhancing after-tax returns, working with the straddle rules of tax code sections 1092 and 263(g), derivatives in the charitable world, using OTC equity derivatives for high-net-worth individuals, corporate applications of derivatives, synthetic exchangeables and convertibles, and structures and selected tax issues.




Balance in the Taxation of Derivative Securities


Book Description

By now, it is well understood that aggressive tax planning among high-income individuals and corporations represents a grave threat to the U.S. tax system, and that derivatives are staples of this planning. In response, the usual recommendation is consistency, which means that the same tax treatment should apply to economically comparable bets, regardless of what form is used. Yet because consistency is unattainable, this Article develops an alternative theory: Policymakers should strive instead for balance. This means that for each risky position, the treatment of gains should match the treatment of losses. For example, if the government bears 15% of losses, it has to share in 15% of gains. On a different derivative, if the government bears 35% of losses, it should share in 35% of gains. As long as this matching is achieved across the board for all risky bets, the admittedly counterintuitive reality is that taxpayers need not prefer, or engage in planning to attain, a low effective rate. A low rate obviously is appealing for gains, but it is correspondingly unappealing for losses (i.e., since deducting the loss is less valuable). Moreover, even if a low rate is desired, taxpayers can get the same aftertax return by increasing the size of their bet. The main advantage of this reform agenda is flexibility. To prove this point, this Article outlines three ways to match gains and losses on derivatives: mark-to-market accounting; a novel reform called the stated-term approach, in which gains and losses are deferred until the scheduled maturity date of the derivative, even if the contract is terminated earlier; and a zero tax rate. The provocative conclusion is that these thoroughly inconsistent approaches can coexist for economically comparable derivatives, without prompting planning. Yet this flexibility is not free, so the limitations of this reform agenda are considered as well, along with implications for cutting edge problems in the taxation of derivatives, including the timing and character rules for swaps, Section 1032, and the wash sale rules.




Accounting and Tax Rules for Derivatives


Book Description

Derivatives and credit derivatives have emerged as significant areas of interest in portfolio planning and risk management. In this book, Mark Anson examines the accounting and taxation implications of these instruments, including the new accounting rules for derivative instruments promulgated by the financial Accounting Standards in the United States, the Accounting Standards Board in Great Britain, and the International Accounting Standards Committee. Regulatory requirements for disclosing derivatives and tax considerations for derivative instruments are discussed (including TRA-97.) Additionally, the book reviews the regulatory accounting deadlines introduced by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.







Taxation of Corporate Debt and Derivatives


Book Description

Offering invaluable tax planning help for the tax specialist, Taxation of Corporate Debt and Derivatives is a highly practical publication, ideal for the busy tax practitioner and lawyer. Debt and Treasury management occupies an increasing proportion of the work of tax practitioners. With considerable legislation to get to grips with, this publication, updated twice per annum, offers a concise and comprehensive version of the law in this area. This publication examines, in detail, each of the regimes involving: * Foreign exchange transactions * Financial instruments (such as options, debt contracts, currency swaps) * Corporate debt, i.e. the loan relationship provisions * Anti-avoidance provisions including thin capitalisation, funding bonds etc




Taxation of Investment Derivatives


Book Description

This dissertation aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the taxation of investment derivatives and the relationship between the derivatives and the accrual and realization methods. Investment derivatives, such as convertible bonds, include an initial investment and a derivative (an option) to buy or sell or to participate in the value movements of some underlying property. The principal focus of this study is on three universal tax issues, namely valuation, timing and the taxation of unrealized gains. As a common principle, interest income and capital gains are treated more similarly in corporate taxation than in individual taxation. Moreover, the taxation of financial instruments is currently in a turn-around phase in several countries, not least because of the implementation of the IFRS rules in accounting and the related fair value principle. The obligation to use fair values in accounting apparently motivates tax legislators to strive to use the same principles in taxation as well. The comparative method plays a major role in this study by examining the tax legislations and the tax practices of different countries. An in-depth analysis of the similarities and differences of tax laws and practices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and Sweden is provided. This is of particular interest as the underlying components, single and often specified financial derivatives, are basically identical. While this study does not deal with individual tax treaties or bilateral transactions, the OECD Model is scrutinized in order to highlight the underlying principles of the given recommendations, especially with respect to interest income and capital gains. Due to the increasing importance of IFRS rules in accounting, the study is not limited to tax law, but also looks at issues from the perspective of finance, accounting and economics.




Budget options


Book Description




General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in ...


Book Description

JCS-5-05. Joint Committee Print. Provides an explanation of tax legislation enacted in the 108th Congress. Arranged in chronological order by the date each piece of legislation was signed into law. This document, prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation in consultation with the staffs of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, provides an explanation of tax legislation enacted in the 108th Congress. The explanation follows the chronological order of the tax legislation as signed into law. For each provision, the document includes a description of present law, explanation of the provision, and effective date. Present law describes the law in effect immediately prior to enactment. It does not reflect changes to the law made by the provision or subsequent to the enactment of the provision. For many provisions, the reasons for change are also included. In some instances, provisions included in legislation enacted in the 108th Congress were not reported out of committee before enactment. For example, in some cases, the provisions enacted were included in bills that went directly to the House and Senate floors. As a result, the legislative history of such provisions does not include the reasons for change normally included in a committee report. In the case of such provisions, no reasons for change are included with the explanation of the provision in this document. In some cases, there is no legislative history for enacted provisions. For such provisions, this document includes a description of present law, explanation of the provision, and effective date, as prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. In some cases, contemporaneous technical explanations of certain bills were prepared and published by the staff of the Joint Committee. In those cases, this document follows the technical explanations. Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise indicated.




Financial Derivatives in Corporate Tax Avoidance


Book Description

Financial derivatives play an increasingly common role in corporate tax avoidance. This paper takes a descriptive approach to answer the fundamental, yet under explored, questions of why derivatives are useful for corporate tax avoidance and how they fulfill this objective. To evaluate why, I develop and discuss a simple framework of research, practical issues, and anecdotes about derivatives-based tax avoidance. I then provide unique insight into how derivatives reduce taxes by discussing the complex transaction-level detail of two derivatives-based tax planning strategies. Finally, I identify potential issues that might be addressed in future research. Overall, by discussing the concepts and mechanics of derivatives-based tax avoidance, this study serves as a prologue to extant and future research on the topic.




Accounting for Derivatives


Book Description

The derivative practitioner’s expert guide to IFRS 9 application Accounting for Derivatives explains the likely accounting implications of a proposed transaction on derivatives strategy, in alignment with the IFRS 9 standards. Written by a Big Four advisor, this book shares the author’s insights from working with companies to minimise the earnings volatility impact of hedging with derivatives. This second edition includes new chapters on hedging inflation risk and stock options, with new cases on special hedging situations including hedging components of commodity risk. This new edition also covers the accounting treatment of special derivatives situations, such as raising financing through commodity-linked loans, derivatives on own shares and convertible bonds. Cases are used extensively throughout the book, simulating a specific hedging strategy from its inception to maturity following a common pattern. Coverage includes instruments such as forwards, swaps, cross-currency swaps, and combinations of standard options, plus more complex derivatives like knock-in forwards, KIKO forwards, range accruals, and swaps in arrears. Under IFRS, derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting may significantly increase earnings volatility. Compliant application of hedge accounting requires expertise across both the standards and markets, with an appropriate balance between derivatives expertise and accounting knowledge. This book helps bridge the divide, providing comprehensive IFRS coverage from a practical perspective. Become familiar with the most common hedging instruments from an IFRS 9 perspective Examine FX risk and hedging of dividends, earnings, and net assets of foreign subsidies Learn new standards surrounding the hedge of commodities, equity, inflation, and foreign and domestic liabilities Challenge the qualification for hedge accounting as the ultimate objective IFRS 9 is set to replace IAS 39, and many practitioners will need to adjust their accounting policies and hedging strategies to conform to the new standard. Accounting for Derivatives is the only book to cover IFRS 9 specifically for the derivatives practitioner, with expert guidance and practical advice.