US debt-equity special focus

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement


US debt-equity special focus

us-debt-equity-puff.gif

US taxpayers who seek to exploit the differences in the tax treatment of debt and equity will need to prepare for more aggressive enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The decisions in three recent court cases, all featured in this International Tax Review special focus, suggest how companies could deal with this approach from the tax authorities.

Download the special report as a PDF

The IRS's fight against hybrid financing instruments is an issue US tax directors cannot afford to ignore.

Tax-minimising opportunities arise for multinationals when financing cross-border transactions because treatment of hybrid debt-equity instruments across jurisdictions is not uniform. And the US Tax Court has shown in recent rulings that tax planning, to benefit from such opportunities, is perfectly acceptable.

But the IRS does not like it and is increasingly challenging multinationals on the issue. This report analyses the Hewlett Packard, Scottish Power and PepsiCo debt-equity cases, pulling out the practical lessons for taxpayers considering putting debt-equity structures in place.

It also examines how to defend a debt-equity position against an IRS challenge, with exclusive insight from the taxpayer and adviser team involved in guiding Scottish Power to its hard-fought Tax Court victory over the IRS.

Join your peers by engaging in the debate on LinkedIn and Twitter. The ITR Twitter handle is @Intltaxreview and you can share your views using #ITRdisputes

Tweet this         #ITRdisputes         LinkedIn group

Contents

us-debt-equity1-court.jpg

How to deal with debt-equity in the US

us-debt-equity2-pepsi.jpg

Has PepsiCo's US Tax Court win revealed "super factor" in deciding debt vs equity cases?

us-debt-equity3-scottishpower.jpg

How Scottish Power's US Tax Court victory could hamper IRS

us-debt-equity4-hp.jpg

Hewlett-Packard's court defeat is bad news for US banks

Download this special report as a PDF


Further reading on ITRPremium's Tax Disputes section

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The future chief tax officer will be judged not only on compliance, but on their ability to harness data, technology and AI to support strategic decision-making
More than 200 tier promotions reshaped this year's European rankings as several international firms strengthened their positions in key tax markets
Ryosuke Takemura, OECD policy adviser, argued that the organisation’s role is ‘not to solve these issues one by one’
Awards
ITR is delighted to reveal all the shortlisted nominees for the 2026 Asia-Pacific Tax Awards
Monica Erasmus-Koen and her Taxtimbre team will be responsible for building the firm’s TP capability in the competitive Netherlands market
Howden’s Rian Bahia explains how tax insurance can address known risks, unlock transactions and offer an alternative route through disputes and uncertainty
Haynes Boone’s new London partner, Alexandra Ueno-Park, argues that one-size-fits-all policies, billable-hour targets and outdated networking expectations can hold talent back
Death, taxes and Deloitte hoovering up trophies at an ITR awards night. Isn’t that the saying?
AI, pillar two and joint audits could define the next era of tax controversy, says Baker McKenzie tax partner Ariane Calloud
Gregor McMillan of Howden explains how insurance-backed financing can help businesses and funds unlock liquidity from tax receivables and other contingent claims
Gift this article