In
a letter to the Internal Revenue Service, the hedge fund industry asked that
proposed regulation 130507-11 on net investment income be implemented in a manner that avoids unintended
consequences, such as limiting the ability of taxpayers to net against relevant
income applicable expenses, losses, and deductions. The industry cautioned that
limiting the ability of taxpayers to include these appropriate items when they
calculate their net investment income will lead to taxpayers incurring tax
liability on investment income beyond the taxpayer’s real net gains or losses on
relevant categories of income.
Thus,
and more specifically, the Managed Fund Association urged the IRS to amend the proposed
regulation to better ensure that gains and losses derived from the trade or
business of trading in securities or commodities can be netted against each
other and ensure that capital gains and losses can be fully netted against each
other. The proposed regulation should also permit net operating loss
carryforwards with respect to eligible items, subject to appropriate tracking,
permit taxpayers to deduct foreign taxes in calculating their net investment
income and permit up to $3,000 in capital losses to be deducted from gross
income from interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, and rents.
Moreover,
the proposed regulation should permit the election with respect to the
treatment of controlled foreign corporations and passive foreign investment
corporations that are qualified electing funds to be made at the partnership
level, or allow the election to be made on individual corporate level.
The
proposed regulation currently requires that a taxpayer make an irrevocable
election to treat earnings from foreign companies as current net investment
income for purposes of the tax. This requirement presents a significant problem
for investment funds as the election would be made at the individual investor
level. As such, an investment fund would have to maintain two sets of records
with respect to all of its investments in foreign corporations unless the
investment fund can confirm that all of its direct and indirect investors have
made the necessary election. In order to make the election more feasible for
investment funds and other partnerships, the MFA urged the IRS to allow the
election regarding the net investment income tax treatment of controlled
foreign corporations and passive foreign investment corporations to be made at
the partnership level on behalf of underlying investors.
Alternatively,
the IRS was encouraged to permit taxpayers to make the election on an
entity-by-entity basis. The MFA reasoned that this alternative approach would
make it more likely that an investment fund or other partnership could require
all of its investors to make the election as the election would only pertain to
the investor’s indirect investments in controlled foreign corporations and
passive foreign investment corporations through its investment in the fund.