Gillette filed suit in federal court recently to fight the IRS over a claim that the company unwittingly triggered US “toll charges” twice on the same appreciation in value of its Mexican operations when the company restructured in Mexico. The US collects a 35% tax, or toll charge, when it sees appreciated assets leaving the US tax net . . . . A new coal audit guide the IRS distributed to its field agents last month lists 12 issues to be on the lookout for in audits of coal producers, including audits of power companies that recover coal from riverbeds or from culm or gob piles . . . . Congress will have to reopen the issue next year how to make up a shortfall in a benefits fund for retired coal miners and their families after the Supreme Court struck down a “reachback” tax that Congress imposed in 1992 to force companies that had any involvement with the industry going as far back as the 1950’s to contribute to the fund . . . . The IRS said in two “field service advice” memos recently that income from contracts or options that a company enters into as a hedge have the same

Keith Martin