How to navigate economic substance guidance

December 10 2011

On July 15 the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Large Business & International (LB&I) division issued guidance to IRS examiners and examination case managers in the form of a directive concerning the application of the economic substance doctrine (ESD) that was recently codified in section 7701(o) of the Internal Revenue Code. Andrew Kim and William Skinner of Fenwick & West explain how taxpayers can navigate through the ESD, and also discuss recent US tax developments.

Unlock this content.

The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers.

To unlock this content:

Take a Free Trial or Login

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Exclusive: Dutch TP software provider Reptune names new CEO

Rolf van de Velde, dubbed ‘an expert chosen by experts’, is tasked with scaling Reptune’s self-service compliance offering

Sam Sholli, June 30 2026

Direct Tax

Perkins Coie and Ashurst merger closes to form $2.8bn firm

The newly combined firm brings together more than 3,500 practitioners across 52 offices, with flagship hubs in Seattle, London, Sydney and New York.

Noemi Distefano, June 29 2026

Direct Tax

‘Large, complex, difficult’: A&M Tax leaders reveal India expansion challenges

Building a transparent culture, prioritising internal promotions and being different from the big four are all key features of A&M Tax’s ambitious plans for India

Sam Sholli, June 29 2026

Indirect Tax

A taxing week: Advisers are struggling to keep pace with indirect tax complexity

ITR’s Indirect Tax Forum 2026 showed why harmonisation remains elusive, advisers must raise their game, and ‘everyone’s data is rubbish’

Tom Baker, June 26 2026

Direct Tax

Oslo, Norway - 24 September 2022: PricewaterhouseCoopers or PWC

PwC Australia to keep Kevin Burrowes as CEO beyond 2026: report

The firm’s board has reportedly asked Kevin Burrowes to continue until 2028 as the KPMG Australia scandal raises expectations of regulatory reform

Sam Sholli, June 26 2026

Direct Tax

This week in tax: A&M Tax launches Italy practice

A former Deloitte partner will lead the firm’s latest geographic expansion; in other news, Baker McKenzie added six tax lawyers to its partnership

Tom Baker, June 26 2026

Direct Tax

Exclusive: Fair Tax Foundation launches new accreditation for single-country businesses

The Fair Tax Mark now extends to domestic-only companies with turnover above €1m, with Thai travel operator Tripseed the first to be certified

Tom Baker, June 25 2026

Indirect Tax

External advisers didn’t know North American e-invoicing requirements: in-house leader

A technology provider had to be educated on technical requirements by Joseph Ribkoff’s IT team, a tax manager at the company said

Sam Sholli, June 24 2026

Indirect Tax

External providers offer accountability ‘if things go wrong’: in-house leader on ViDA

But businesses should remain flexible when choosing between internal and external resources to handle added ViDA complexity, ITR’s Indirect Tax forum also heard

Tom Baker, June 23 2026

Direct Tax

UK tax gap increases to £59.2bn

Non-compliance from small businesses continues to account for most of the gap, HM Revenue and Customs revealed

Tom Baker, June 23 2026