Archer Announces Hearing on
Miscellaneous Tax Reforms

Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a series of hearings on miscellaneous tax reforms. The hearings will take place on Tuesday, July 11, Wednesday, July 12, and Thursday, July 13, 1995, in the main Committee Hearing Room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

BACKGROUND:

This hearing will cover various revenue issues which have been brought to the attention of the Committee as well as tax simplification legislation which was most recently before the Committee on Ways and Means as part of H.R 3419 in the 103rd Congress.

Because of the large number of items described below which are within the scope of the hearing it will not be possible for the Committee to hear oral testimony on all of the issues. Written submissions are strongly encouraged in lieu of appearances before the Committee. Requests to appear are strongly discouraged with respect to issues that have previously been the subject of a hearing before the Committee (including simplification items from H.R. 3419 which are not proposed below to be modified).

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "The purpose of the hearing is to allow the Committee on Ways and Means to consider various relatively minor ways to simplify and improve the current tax laws while the Committee continues its longer range project of fundamental reform of our nation's tax system. Because of the large number of proposals, it will obviously not be possible for the Committee to take action on all of them. As the Committee moves forward, I intend to oppose any proposals which are targeted tax relief or which have significant cost. In addition, any proposals which are adopted will be accompanied by a sufficient offset to avoid increasing the deficit."

The proposals below, which are the subjects of the hearings, will be more fully described in a pamphlet to be issued by the Joint Committee on Taxation prior to the hearing.

MISCELLANEOUS TAX PROPOSALS

ACCOUNTING

1. Expense certain costs associated with natural disasters

2. Allow installment method of reporting income from sale of certain residential real property to first-time homebuyers

3. Eliminate "look-back method" for nonresidential construction contractors

4. Repeal 1986 provision requiring contributions in aid of construction to he included in gross income

5. Allow trading partnerships and corporations to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for securities

6. Allow partnerships and S corporations to use fiscal year by paying estimated tax on behalf of their owners

7. Allow deduction for intrastate operating rights of motor carriers

8. Permit taxpayers to estimate shrinkage for inventory accounting

9. Provide exclusion for certain amounts received by a utility with respect to nuclear decommissioning costs

10. Repeal Treasury ruling requirement for nuclear decommissioning costs

11. Treatment of certain compensation payable by certain personal service corporations using an accrual method of accounting

12. Treatment of livestock sold on account of weather-related conditions

13. Treatment of certain crop insurance proceeds and disaster assistance payments

14. Clarify availability of cash accounting method for construction contractors

BUSINESS EXPENSES

1. Any period during which a Federal employee is certified by the Attorney General to be participating in a Federal criminal investigation not included in computation of one year limitation with respect to deductibility of travel expenses while temporarily away from home

2. Deduction for regularly scheduled air transportation limited to normal tourist class fare

3. Increase deductibility of business meal expenses for individuals subject to Federal hours of service limitations

BUSINESS TAX CREDITS

1. Credit for rehabilitation of certain historic homes

2. Tax credit for electric vehicles

3. Tax credit and tax-exempt financing for environmental remediation expenses

CAPITAL GAINS

1. 10-percent alternative tax on gains from assets held 5 years or more

2. One-time exclusion of the sale of a principal residence by an individual who has attained age 55 a) Allow multiple exclusions where two otherwise eligible taxpayers marry b) Allow multiple exclusions in certain cases c) Allow multiple exclusions in the case of certain unemployed persons d) Treat certain disabled persons as satisfying the age 55 requirement

3. Revise targeted capital gains exclusion for small business

4. Restore exception to market discount rules for tax-exempt bonds

CHARITABLE DEDUCTION

1. Deduction for commemorative coins purchased from U.S. Mint

2. Charitable deduction for non-itemizers

3. Remove charitable deductions from overall limitation on itemized deductions

4. Repeal charitable substantiation rule for contributions of $250 or more

5. Allocation of basis to sale portion of bargain sales of real estate interests to charities or governments

6. Enhanced deduction for corporate contributions of scientific equipment for design research

CHILD CARE CREDIT

Extend dependent care credit and dependent assistance programs to certain overnight camp expenses

COMPLIANCE

1. Allow offset of State tax liability with overpayments of Federal tax

2. Repeal reporting requirement for real estate brokers

3. Extend IRS offset authority for undercover operations

4. Modify tip income reporting rules

CORPORATE

1. Provide that Alaska Native Corporation distributions of the proceeds from sale of ANCSA resources not be treated as taxable dividends until shareholders have received a return of capital on the resources sold

2. Lengthen corporate capital loss carryover from 5 to 15 years

3. Eliminate rule that accumulated earnings tax applies without regard to number of shareholders

4. Provide exception to large corporate interest underpayment rules

DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION

1. Normalization of consolidated tax adjustments of a non-regulated subsidiary of a regulated public utility

2. Establish 15-year recovery period for small retail motor fuel outlet stores

3. Establish 3-year recovery period for semiconductor manufacturing equipment

4. Establish 3-year recovery period for property subject to certain rental purchase agreements

5. Establish 10-year recovery period for "qualified commercial improvement property"

6. Establish 10-year recovery period for leasehold improvements

7. Treatment of inter-modal cargo containers : 7

8. Exempt acquisition of software and software services businesses from 15-year intangibles amortization

EITC

Allow State agencies to administer an advanced EITC payment

EDUCATION

1. Exclusion for income earned on State prepaid tuition plans

2. Adopt education savings accounts

3. Expand section 108(f) to provide that cancellation of certain private college student loans not taxable income

EMPLOYMENT TAXES

1. Tax status of certain fishermen

2. FICA exemption for certain seasonal children camp employees

3. Extend FICA tip credit with respect to tips received by all persons who receive tips in connection with the provisions of food or beverages

4. Effective date of FICA tip credit

5. Repeal presumption that bakery distributors are employees for employment tax purposes

6. FUTA exemption for certain religious schools

7. FICA tax on health professionals' corporation paid by two or more entities under single employment contract

8. Repeal section 1706 of the 1986 Tax Reform Act

EMPOWERMENT ZONES

1. Expand number of community development corporations (from 20 to 40) eligible for tax credit and increase aggregate amount of contributions eligible for the credit

2. Tax incentives for economic recovery in designated areas with employment loss in financial and real estate businesses

3. Allow 20-percent tax credit for commercial revitalization costs in empowerment zones and other specially designated areas

ENERGY

1. Amend the section 29 credit for fuels derived from nonconventional sources

a. Allow the credit to be claimed against the alternative minimum tax

b. Repeal the requirement that fuel be sold to an unrelated party in certain cases

c. Expand the definition of a qualifying facility in the case of fuel derived from an underground coal gasification process

d. Redefine "tar sands" as a qualifying source and extend the period during which recovery of fuel from tar sands may commence (and credit-eligible fuel may be produced)

2. Increase the permitted refining activity in which an independent producer may engage while still qualifying for tax benefits not available to integrated producers

3. Allow independent producers to engage in retail sales through regulated utility affiliates while still qualifying for tax benefits not available to integrated producers

4. Allow a tax credit for lubricating oil produced for discarded motor oil

5. Allow oil and gas producers to expense geological and geophysical expenses in the year incurred

6. Extend the tax credit for electricity derived by wind and closed-loop bio-mass processes to electricity from certain gas-powered fuel cells

ESTATE AND GIFT TAX

1. Exemption for historic properties

2. Exempt certain land subject to permanent land conservation easement from estate tax

3. Estate tax marital credit for certain employees of international organizations

4. Relief from retroactive gift tax regulation on disclaimers

5. Extend the "predeceased parent exception" to collateral heirs and to taxable terminations and distributions

6. Increase special use valuation limit to $1.5 million

7. Credit for fair market value of inherited conservation property donated to Federal Government against estate tax

8. Package of proposals to simplify and improve estate and gift taxation

9. Require notification to charitable beneficiaries of charitable remainder trusts

EXCISE TAXES

1. Modify the diesel motor fuel excise tax collection rules, including refund procedures, collection of tax on recreational boat diesel fuel, penalty for use of dyed fuel for taxable purposes, and exemption for a State exempt from Clean Air Act dyeing requirements

2. Treat kerosene as diesel motor fuel for excise tax purposes

3. Equalize the rail diesel motor fuel excise tax rate to that imposed on competing transportation modes

4. Exempt AMTRAK from the excise tax on rail diesel motor fuel

5. Exempt from excise tax motor fuels used in highway engines to power non-highway equipment mounted on trucks

6. Modify the gasoline excise tax refund procedure for gasoline sold to States and local governments

7. Reduce the excise tax rates on propane, CNG, LNG, and methanol to reflect their BTU equivalence to gasoline

8. Move the point of collection of the heavy truck excise tax from retail sale to manufacture, and clarify activities which constitute taxable remanufacture of existing trucks

9. Consolidate the current two-tier aviation gasoline excise tax at the terminal rack

10. Exempt fixed-wing air ambulances from the aviation excise taxes

11. Reduce the harbor maintenance excise tax if the unobligated balance of the accompanying Trust Fund program exceeds $100 million at the end of any year

12. Reduce current ethanol fuels tax subsidies if carbon dioxide produced as a by-product is marketed by the producer

13. Reduce the excise tax rate on hard apple cider to the rate of tax imposed on beer

14. Expand the tax credit for alcohol derived from fruit that is blended into distilled spirits to include alcohol from other agricultural products (e.g. whey)

15. Modify or phaseout the excise tax on luxury automobiles

16. Modify the excise tax on ozone-depleting chemicals to (a) exempt certain imported, recycled chemicals and (b) chemicals used in metered-dose inhalers (for S years)

17. Exempt stretch limousines from the gas-guzzler excise tax

18. Allow in-bond transfers of bottled distilled spirits among commonly owned distilled spirits plants

19. Drawback of distilled spirits tax on spirits used in nonbeverage products

EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS

1. Treatment of certain costs of private foundation in removing hazardous substances

2. Prevent reclassification as UBIT of certain dues paid to agricultural or horticultural organizations

3. Private foundations a modify rules for private foundation grants to foreign organizations b. extend due date for first quarter estimated tax by private foundations

4. Common investment fund for private foundations

5. Exclusion from UBIT for corporate sponsorship payments received by tax-exempt organizations in connection with public events

6. Repeal 1986 extension of UBIT to games of chance

7. Clarify UBIT treatment of licensing of Olympic trademarks

8. Exception from debt-financed rules (sec. 514(c)(9)) for private foundation debt to improve real property

9. Permit tax-free liquidation of certain closely held corporations whose stock is given to charity and exempt certain assets from section 514(c)(2) debt financed rules

10. Allow conversion of scholarship funding corporation to taxable corporation

11. Treatment of certain amounts received by telephone cooperatives

12. Clarify that parent holding companies for hospitals may qualify as public charities rather than private foundations

13. Income of a rural electric cooperative for allocable shares of maintenance, etc. expenses to power a nonmember's electric co. takes from a separately owned and jointly operated electric generating facility is not included in 85-percent member income test

14. Codify IRS directive governing calculation of UBIT liability from charitable gaming

15. Extend private inurement rule to section 501(c)(4) organizations

16. Permit certain corporate conversions to tax-exempt title holding company without asset appreciation tax where corporation is wholly owned by tax-exempt entity that received stock as a gift or bequest

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

1. Delete 1993 Act retroactive denial of losses reimbursed by FSLIC assistance for failed thrifts

2. Treat small commercial finance companies as small banks for bad debt reserve deduction

FOREIGN

1. Increase in section 911 exclusion from $70,000 to $100,000 with indexing

2. Repeal of limitation on foreign sales corporation exemption for military property

3. Inclusion of computer software as foreign sales corporation export property

4. Recharacterization of overall domestic loss for foreign tax credit purposes

5. Election to use earnings and profits basis for allocation of interest expense for foreign tax credit limitation purposes

6. Extension and modification of special allocation of research and experimental expenditures to U.S. source income for foreign tax credit limitation purposes

7. Repeal foreign tax credit basket for "10/50" noncontrolled corporations

8. Extension of period to which excess foreign tax credit may be carried

9. Extend deemed paid foreign tax credit to dividends from, or Subpart F income of, CFCs below third tier

10. Translation of foreign taxes into U.S. dollar amounts using average exchange rate during taxable year

11. Expansion of de minimis exception to Subpart F income treatment

12. Treatment of foreign base company sales and services income of controlled foreign corporations in the European Community

13. Exclusion of foreign base company shipping income from Subpart F income for certain controlled foreign corporations

14. Exempt controlled foreign corporations from uniform capitalization rules

15. Reporting of foreign corporation earnings and profits on a U.S. GAAP basis

16. Permit shareholder of a "10/50" corporation to elect to treat it as a for foreign tax credit and Subpart F purposes

17. Increase in: reporting threshold for stock ownership of a foreign corporation

18. Modification of excess passive assets provision for corporations with active financing income

19. Exception from foreign personal holding company income and foreign base company services income for active financing income

20. Repeal of excess passive asset provision and modification of passive foreign investment company provisions

21. Exemption of U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations from passive foreign investment company provisions

22. Valuation of assets of a controlled foreign corporation under the passive foreign investment company and excess passive assets provisions

23. Exempt certain income derived by insurance brokers or agents from PFIC rules

24. Prizes and awards received from a foreign payor by a nonresident alien relating to competitions held in the United States are not treated as U.S. source income

25. Exempt service income of a nonresident alien earned on international ships or aircraft from U.S. tax

26. Repeal portfolio interest exemption

27. Exempt certain short-term OID obligations held by a non-resident alien from U.S. estate tax

28. Carryover of excess possession tax credit

29. Pass-through treatment for investments in U.S. mutual funds by foreigners

30. Consolidate income and loss of same country foreign corporations that elect to be taxed as domestic insurance companies

HOUSING COOPERATIVES

1. Tax relief for housing coops on interest on reasonable reserves and income from laundries and parking; for limited equity coops, tax relief for commercial rentals

2. Treatment of coops owning only land

INSURANCE

1. Treatment of salvage and subrogation of property and casualty insurance companies

2. Health insurance organizations eligible for benefits of section 833

3. Treatment of certain gains and losses of life insurance companies under section 818(b)

4. Treatment of certain charitable risk pools

5. Small property and casualty insurance company deduction

6. Treatment of deposits under certain perpetual insurance policies

7. Extend section 130 exclusion to structured settlements for workmen's compensation payments

8. Treatment of certain small property and casualty insurance companies under AMT

9. Tax treatment of consolidations of life insurance departments of mutual savings banks

10. Extend section 832(e) to financial guarantee insurance

11. Increase dollar limits for burial insurance

12. Foreign companies carrying on insurance business

LOW-INCOME HOUSING

1. Provide 1 5-year depreciation and other tax incentives to encourage the preservation of low-income housing

2. Allow HOME funds to be used with 91-percent credit

3. Expand community service area costs eligible for credit

4. Change state credit authority limitation stacking rule

5. Expand credit to lead paint removal

6. Expand credit to certain cooperative housing

MINIMUM TAX

1. Allow deduction of partnership investment expenses under AMT

2. Allow energy tax credits against AMT

PARTNERSHIPS

Permanent extension of publicly traded partnership grandfather rule

PASSIVE LOSSES

1. Modify the application of passive loss rules to timber activities

2. Modify the application of the passive loss rules to farming activities

PASS-THROUGH ENTITIES

1. Subchapter S reform proposals to expand availability of Subchapter S and improve its operation

2. Subchapter S corporations eligible for rules applicable to real property subdivided for sale by noncorporate taxpayers

3. Establish financial asset securitization investment trusts (FASITS)

4. Establish tax-exempt municipal investment trusts (TEMICs)

5. Package of proposals to simplify and improve REIT provisions

6. Allow bank common trust funds to be transferred to more than one mutual fund without taxing trust beneficiaries

PEACE TAX FUND

U.S. Peace Tax Fund to receive conscientious objectors' income, estate or gift tax payments to be used only for WIC, Head Start, U.S. Institute of Peace, and Peace Corps

PENSIONS AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

A. Pensions

1. Nondiscrimination rules

a. Repeal special nondiscrimination tests for qualified cash or deferred arrangements

b. Modify definition of highly compensated employee to eliminate l-officer rule

c. Repeal top-heavy rules (sec. 416)

d. Modify separate line of business rules

e. Modify safe harbor rule for leased employees

f. Exempt state judicial plans from nondiscrimination requirements

g. Repeal OBRA '93 provision limiting compensation taken into account to $150,000

h. Repeal for pilots OBRA '93 provision limiting compensation taken into account to $150,000

i. Repeal minimum participation rule (sec. 401(a)(26))

2. Distribution rules

a. Repeal 15-percent excise tax on excess distributions

b. Provide that pension distributions are taxed as capital gains

c. Reinstate 10-year forward averaging

d. Permit penalty-free withdrawals for unemployed individuals

3. Limits on contributions and benefits (sec. 415)

a. Modification of interest rate provisions enacted in General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

b. Eliminate combined limitation for participants in both a defined contribution plan and a defined benefit plan (sec. 415(e))

4. Employee stock ownership plan

a. Modify rules relating to deferral of gain on certain sales of stock to an ESOP (sec. 1042)

b. Permit ESOP to be beneficiary of charitable remainder trust

c. Treatment of certain securities transferred to ESOP from terminated defined benefit plan

d. Permit closely-held corporation to pay estate tax if stock transferred to an ESOP

5. Permit permanently disabled persons to contribute to section 401(k) plans

6. Modify sanctions for failure to comply with qualification requirements

7. Allow prenuptial waiver of spousal annuity benefits

8. Deny Federal tax information to States imposing a pension source tax

9. Unfunded deferred compensation plans of tax-exempt and governmental organizations (sec. 457)

a. Exempt deferred plans plans for volunteer firefighters

b. Increase deferred compensation limit for group medical practices

c. Require individual ownership of plan assets

10. Provisions relating to individual retirement arrangements (IRAs)

a. Permit tax-free rollover of certain severance payments

b. H.R 682 ("Savings and Investment Incentive Act of 1995")

11. Treatment of Indian tribal governments under section 403(b)

12. Special rules for church pension plans

B. Employee Benefits

1. Tax treatment of certain disability benefits for police and firefighters

2. Exclude from income retirement benefits that an employee elects to use to purchase employer-provided accident or health care

3. Modify restrictions on golden parachute payments

4. Provide that academic health center employee housing may be excludable from income

TAX-EXEMPT BONDS

1. Expansion of arbitrage rebate exception for certain bonds

2. Bonds for certain governmental output facilities

3. Bonds for emergency response vehicles of certain volunteer fire departments

4. Space port exempt-facility bonds

5. Bonds for solar energy facility

6. Bonds for the sale of the Alaska Power Administration facility

7. Bonds for the United Nations

8. Bonds for certain pre-1990 issues in the State of Connecticut

9. Bonds related to the transfer of Port Everglades, Florida

10. Qualified mortgage bonds - home improvement loans

11. Qualified veterans' mortgage bonds

12. Modification of exception to bank interest deduction disallowance for qualified 501(c)(3) bonds

13. Expansion and indexing of the $10 million capital expenditure limitation for qualified small-issue bonds

14. Repeal special exception for Student Loan Marketing Association allowing deduction for interest expense attributable to investment in tax-exempt bonds

TAX RETURN CHECKOFF

1. Permit individual tax return checkoff for U.S. Olympic Trust Fund

2. Permit individual tax return checkoff for deficit reduction

TRUSTS AND ESTATES

1. Reduce tax rate increase for trusts for disabled individuals

2. Apply same income tax rates to trusts and estates as for married individuals filing separate returns

OTHER

1. Allow nonprofit educational foundations to sell U.S. savings bonds

POSSIBLE MODIFICATIONS TO SIMPLIFICATION PROVISIONS
CONTAINED IN H.R 3419 (103rd Congress)

PROVISIONS RELATING TO INDIVIDUALS

1. Permit payment of taxes by credit card (section 112 of the bill)

Consideration is being given to clarifying that the fees that may be imposed for using a credit card to pay Federal taxes could not be borne by the Federal government.

2. Election by parent to claim unearned income of certain children on parent's return (section 113 of the bill)

Consideration is being given to deleting the provision contained in H.R 3419, because it is included in the technical corrections provisions contained in H.R 1215, as passed by the House of Representatives on April 5, 1995.

3. Expanded access to simplified income tax returns (section 116 of the bill)

Consideration is being given to deleting the provision in H.R 3419 directing the Internal Revenue Service to study whether the ability of taxpayers to file simplified Federal income tax returns should be expanded because the Committee understands that such a study is ongoing.

PENSION SIMPLIFICATION

1. Tax-exempt organizations eligible under section 401(k) (section 212 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would permit nongovernmental tax-exempt organizations to maintain qualified cash or deferred arrangements (i.e., 401(k) plans) for their employees. Consideration is being given to providing that a tax-exempt employer that elects to establish a 401(k) plan for its employees would not also be permitted to provide for the deferral of compensation pursuant to section 457.

2. Nondiscrimination rules for qualified cash or deferred arrangements and matching contributions (sec. 223 of the bill)

H.R 3419 provides a design-based safe harbor that employers can utilize to satisfy the nondiscrimination requirements for qualified cash or deferred arrangements. Consideration is being given to extending this design-based safe harbor to simplified employee pensions ("SEPs").

3. Full-funding limitation of multi employer plans (section 235 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would repeal the 150-percent of current liability full-funding limit for multi-employer pension plans. Consideration is being given to deleting this provision of the bill.

4. Alternative full-funding limitation (section 236 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would provide that the 150 percent of current liability full-funding limit would be increased for certain employers and that the Treasury Department would adjust the full-funding limit for all other employers so as to ensure that the provision is approximately revenue neutral. Consideration is being given to deleting this provision of the bill.

5. Special rules for plans covering pilots (section 242 of the bill)

Under present law, a special provision permits plans covering airline pilots covered under a collective bargaining agreement to be tested separately for nondiscrimination purposes. H.R 3419 would extend this special provision to ail airline pilots without regard to whether they are covered under a collective bargaining agreement. Consideration is being given to deleting this provision of the bill.

6. Treatment of employer reversions required by contract to be paid to the United States (section 244 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would provide an exception to the excise tax on reversions in the case of a reversion of excess pension plan assets that is required, by Federal law or regulation, to be paid to the Federal government. Consideration is being given to deleting this provision of the bill.

7. Continuation health coverage for employees of failed financial institutions (section 245 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would provide that the Resolution Trust Corporation would be required to provide continuation health coverage to certain employees of failed financial institutions. Consideration is being given to deleting this provision of the bill.

8. Clarify relationship between community property rights and retirement benefits

Consideration is being given to including a provision that would clarify the relationship between community property rights and retirement benefits (e.g., the interaction of qualified plan requirements with state community property laws).

TREATMENT OF LARGE PARTNERSHIPS

1. Simplified flow through for large partnerships (section 301 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would modify the tax treatment of a large partnership (generally, a partnership with at least 250 partners, or an electing partnership with at least 100 partners) and its partners. The bill reduces the number of possible items that must be separately reported to partners. Consideration is being given to deleting this provision.

2. Simplified audit procedures for large partnerships (section 302 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would create a new audit system for large partnerships (in addition to the present-law system of partnership audit rules enacted in TEFRA). The bill would define "large partnership" the same way for audit and reporting purposes (generally partnerships with at least 250 partners). Under the bill, partnership adjustments generally would flow through to the partners for the year in which the adjustment takes effect. Thus, the current-year partners' share of current-year partnership items of income, gains, losses, deductions, or credits would be adjusted to reflect partnership-level adjustments that take effect in that year. The adjustments generally would not affect prior-year returns of any partners. Consideration is being given to deleting this provision.

3. Partnership returns on magnetic media (section 304 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would authorize the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") to require large partnerships and other partnerships with 250 or more partners to provide the tax return of the partnership (Form 1065), as well as copies of the schedules sent to each partner (Form K-1), to the IRS on magnetic media. Consideration is being given to requiring that magnetic media filing of partnership tax returns (Form 1065) and copies of schedules sent to each partner (Form K-1) be made mandatory, effective for partnership taxable years beginning after December 31, 1995 (in lieu of authorizing the IRS to require magnetic media filing).

FOREIGN PROVISIONS

1. Deferral of tax on income earned through foreign corporations and exceptions to deferral (sections 401 - 404 of the bill)

H.R 3419 would provide some coordination among the various anti-deferral regimes applicable to U.S. persons who hold stock in foreign corporations. Consideration is being given to the possibility of applying subpart F to U.S. persons who hold stock in foreign corporations without regard to the level of U.S. ownership in such corporations.

PROVISIONS RELATING TO REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANIES

1. Require brokers and mutual funds to report basis to customers (section 522 of the bill)

Consideration is being given to deleting the mandatory information reporting requirement in H.R 3419 because it is understood that much of the industry is voluntarily reporting basis to shareholders.

TAX-EXEMPT BOND PROVISIONS

1. Clarification of definition of "investment-type property" (section 535 of the bill)

The provision contained in H.R 3419 would be deleted because it was clarified by a recent Treasury regulation (Treas. reg. section 1.148-l(b)).

ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

1. Administrative practice and procedural simplification (sections 831-839 of the bill)

H.R. 3419 would make nine modifications related to administrative practice and procedure. Because these provisions have generally been included in bills relating to taxpayer bill of rights, which are likely to be considered separately by the Committee, consideration is being given -to dropping these provisions from H.R 3419.

ESTATE AND GIFT TAXES

1. Statute of limitations applicable to valuation of gifts

Consideration is being given to adding a new provision providing that a gift for which the limitations period has passed cannot be revalued for estate tax purposes, e.g., for purposes of determining the applicable estate tax bracket and available unified credit. The provision would apply to decedents dying after the date of enactment.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:

Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to the Committee's tax staff at (202) 225-2743 no later than the close of business, Friday, July 7, 1995. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to Phillip D. Morley, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Committee will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Committee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.

Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record.

In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Committee are required to submit 300 copies of their prepared statements for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Committee's tax staff, room 1135 Longworth House Office Building, no later than 12:00 noon on Monday, July 10, 1995. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.

WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business on Thursday, July 27, 1995, to Phillip D. Moseley, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee's tax staff, room 1135 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.

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