Washington D.C. – In a letter sent earlier today, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) joined sixteen leading industry associations expressing their disapproval for a proposal to declare Revenue Procedure 94-69 (“Rev. Proc. 94-69”) obsolete and instead urging the IRS to both retain and expand eligibility for its use.
Under current rules, a taxpayer has until the time the taxpayer is first contacted by the IRS and notified that a tax return is under examination to submit an amended tax return or make other adequate disclosures of errors on their originally filed tax return. Rev. Proc. 94-69 allows taxpayers who are under continuous audit to avoid the imposition of certain penalties by submitting a written statement within 15-days after receipt of an information request from the IRS, describing all items that would result in adjustments if the taxpayer were to file a properly completed amended return. Pursuant to Rev. Proc. 94-69, such written statements are treated as qualified amended returns.
The letter explains that “without Rev. Proc. 94-69, large taxpayers would be put in the position of either filing an amended return every time they discovered an error on a previously filed return or bearing the risk that penalties may be imposed, because they do not know whether the next day’s mail will include a notice of examination from the IRS.”
“Now is not an appropriate time to abandon the revenue procedure that has been in place and has been working well for over 35 years,” said Cathy Schultz, Vice President for Tax Policy at NFTC. “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) caused a sea change in many elements of the Internal Revenue Code and the IRS and Treasury continue to release guidance on these changes almost three years later. Taxpayers are still digesting those regulatory changes, which could have an effect on their original tax returns. Given these regulatory changes, Rev. Proc 94-69 is still working and should not be eliminated, it is definitely not obsolete.”
To read the full letter, click here.
About the NFTC
Serving America’s Global Businesses Since 1914– The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves its member companies through its office in Washington D.C.
