House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on 17 September promised a "Day One" focus on corporate tax policy if there is Republican control of the House, Senate and White House next year. The Speaker said the plan would be to extend and build upon the Trump tax cuts and ensure the US is the "preeminent location for the investment and innovation and technology by restoring immediate expensing for R&D costs, by ensuring a strong FDII [foreign derived intangible income] incentive to encourage U.S. ownership of intellectual property and restoring the 100% expensing provision." Complementing his tax policy agenda would be regulatory reform, Speaker Johnson said.

In regulatory news, an IRS official said the government hopes "pretty soon" to release final IRC Section 367(d) regulations covering intangible property repatriation. The IRS released proposed IRC Section 367(d) regulations in May 2023 that would turn off IRC Section 367(d) following certain repatriations of intellectual property (IP). The proposed rules include a taxpayer-favorable rule that would remove significant disincentives for repatriating previously "outbounded IP." According to the official, the final guidance is in the final clearance stage of review.

Echoing earlier comments, an IRS official said final IRC Section 987 foreign currency regulations are on track for release before the end of the year, but disclosed the package will reserve on issues involving partnerships. Earlier in the year, the government indicated it was considering changes to its approach to partnerships in the foreign currency context. The IRS released proposed regulations on foreign currency gains and losses in November 2023.

The IRS also expects to issue guidance on BEPS Pillar One Amount B to implement OECD rules before the end of the year.

Finally, a senior IRS official addressed the recently released proposed guidance on the interaction of dual consolidated loss (DCL) rules with the BEPS Pillar Two global anti-base erosion (GloBE) model rules and introduction of new "disregarded payment losses" rules. The disregarded payment loss rules are intended to address potential deduction/non-inclusion outcomes arising from certain disregarded payments that are deductible in a foreign country but not included in US taxable income by reason of being disregarded.

The official was quoted as saying that the IRS wants to clarify that a check-the-box election or formation or acquisition of a specified eligible entity by one disregarded entity will not ensure the rules are immediately applicable to other disregarded entities — that is, apply in 2024 instead of 2025. According to the official, there will not be a technical correction on this, but rather a clarification in the final rules when they are released.

In transfer pricing news, an IRS official said the IRS will soon publish updates on revenue procedures governing mutual agreements and the advance pricing agreement program. The official was quoted as saying the IRS plans to reduce documentation requirements for filing requests and steps for certain taxpayers. The IRS hopes to receive public comments on the new procedures when they are released.

The IRS is also assembling a compliance assurance process (CAP) team that will address transfer pricing issues. An official said the change is meant to streamline and expedite the resolution of issues. She made clear that "transfer pricing issues should not keep a taxpayer out of CAP," adding that the IRS has "special procedures to account for the complexities that transfer pricing issues impose."

The OECD on 16 September released the seventh annual Peer Review Report on the implementation of BEPS Action 13 on Country-by-Country Reporting and the latest BEPS Action 14 Mutual Agreement Procedure peer review results.