IN THIS ISSUE

The Day The Piña Coladas Melted - Resolved| Norton Rose Fulbright

The turmoil this year in the California power market has led some states to put their plans for deregulation of electricity supply on hold...

US Government Moves To Cap Electricity Prices

The US government moved on June 19 to cap electricity prices in an 11-state area, including California...

The Impact Of Electricity Price Caps | Norton Rose Fulbright

The following are excerpts from a discussion about the electricity price caps and ongoing developments in California that took place at a Chadbourne conference in late June. The speakers are Dr...

House Votes Tax Incentives For Power Projects

The lower house of the US Congress voted for $33.5 billion in new energy tax incentives shortly before leaving Washington for the August recess...

New Trends In The Market

Project lenders report they are so busy this year that they can afford to be more selective about what deals they finance...

Rules Change For Registering Corporate Tax Shelters

The Bush administration made changes in early August to rules that require corporations to attach forms to their tax returns disclosing details about transactions that the US authorities will prob...

More Turkish Power Industry Reforms

Turkey has taken three more important steps to reform its power industry.  The Turkish parliament passed a new “Natural Gas Market Law...

Growing Market Expected In Carbon Trades

Carbon trades are on the increase.  By some accounts, publicly-disclosed deals in recent years have already totaled as many as 150 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, or CO2, equivalents...

Environmental Update

One hundred seventy eight countries meeting in Bonn at the end of July reached agreement on several open issues that were preventing implementation of the Kyoto accord on global warming...

IN OTHER NEWS

Electric interties receive attention from the IRS | Norton Rose Fulbright

ELECTRIC INTERTIES receive attention from the IRS...

California moving to increase property taxes on power plants | Norton Rose Fulbright

CALIFORNIA is moving to increase property taxes on power plants...

US and Great Britain signed a new tax treaty | Norton Rose Fulbright

THE US AND GREAT BRITAIN signed a new tax treaty on July 24.  The treaty will help British companies with investments in the United States...

Spain making a push to persuade US power companies to run investments into LatAm through Spanish holding companies | Norton Rose Fulbright

SPAIN is making a push to persuade US power companies to run investments into Latin America through Spanish holding companies...

Mauritius revamped its companies law | Norton Rose Fulbright

MAURITIUS revamped its companies law at the end of May. The new rules are expected to take effect in October...

Holland

Holland suggested a way to pull dividends out of a Dutch holding company without paying withholding taxes.

Mexico

Mexico suggested a way to pull dividends out of a Dutch holding company without paying withholding taxes.

Chile

Chile is considering increasing its corporate tax rate from 15% to 17% over three years

World Trade Organization said legislation the US enacted last year to replace the “foreign sales corporation” regime is an illegal export subsidy | Norton Rose Fulbright

THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION said legislation the United States enacted late last year to replace the “foreign sales corporation” regime is an illegal export subsidy...

Some Mexican companies can no longer be included in US consolidated tax returns | Norton Rose Fulbright

SOME MEXICAN COMPANIES can no longer be included in US consolidated tax returns...

Syncoal plant owners may have won a major battle but the war is not over | Norton Rose Fulbright

OWNERS OF SYNCOAL PLANTS may have won a major battle but the war is not over.  The IRS is finding ways to undermine a political settlement. The US government allows a tax credit of $1...

IRS said in service advice that a US power company had to pay tax on the distribution even though the money was returned | Norton Rose Fulbright

UNWINDS do not always work. A US power company bought a regional electric company, or REC, in the United Kingdom in the early 1990’s when Britain privatized its utilities...

Tax indemnities in lease transactions aren't always enforced by the courts as written | Norton Rose Fulbright

TAX INDEMNITIES in lease transactions are not always enforced by the courts as written...

Courts denied ITCS to two more companies trying to claim them under a “world headquarters” exception | Norton Rose Fulbright

COURTS DENIED INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS to two more companies trying to claim them under a “world headquarters” exception in the Tax Reform Act of 1986...

The Wisconsin Gas Company appealing decision by a federal district court | Norton Rose Fulbright

BRIEFLY NOTED: The Wisconsin Gas Company is appealing a decision by a federal district court that it cannot claim research and development tax credits on the cost of developing a computer informat...