Mr. Willard W. Yates
Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (International)
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. . 20224
RE: AICPA Foreign Trust Task Force Comments Regarding Foreign Trust Reporting
Dear Mr. Yates:
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) submits the attached comments on foreign trust reporting that were developed by the Foreign Trust Task Force and approved by the Trust, Estate, and Gift, Tax Technical Resource Panel and the International Taxation Technical Resource Panel and Tax Executive Committee. As you are aware, we previously commented on Forms 3520 and 3520-A on June 17, 2003.
The AICPA is the national, professional organization of certified public accountants comprised of approximately 350,000 members. Our members advise clients on federal, state, and international tax matters, and prepare income and other tax returns for millions of Americans. Our members provide services to individuals, not-for-profit organizations, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as America's largest businesses.
In particular, we are writing in response to your request for comments regarding foreign trust issues. Specifically, our attached comments address issues related to Notice 97-34 and various foreign trust regulations, as well as recommendations regarding:
· Revising the Form 8891, U.S. Information Return for Beneficiaries of Certain Canadian Registered Retirement Plans, to allow it to also apply to Canadian Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs).
· Modifying, Extending, and Filing the Form 3520, Annual Return to Report Transactions with Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts, and Form 3520-A, Annual Information Return of Foreign Trust with a U.S. Owner.
· Creating a Form 1041NR for foreign grantor trusts with U.S. owners, or modifying the Form 1040NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return, to address various foreign trust issues.
We thank you for the opportunity to comment on these matters and welcome the opportunity to discuss our comments further with you or others at the IRS. Please feel free to contact me at jeffrey.hoops@ey.com, or Steven A. Thorne, Chair of the AICPA Trust, Estate, and Gift Tax Committee, at stethorne@deloitte.com, Karen A. Brodsky, Chair of the AICPA Foreign Trust Task Force, at kbrodsky@deloitte.com, or Eileen R. Sherr, AICPA Technical Manager, at esherr@aicpa.org, to discuss any of the above items or if you require any additional information.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey R. Hoops
Chair, AICPA Tax Executive Committee
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