Ic-disc And Ownership Planning

IC-DISC – THE LAST REMAINING EXPORT INCENTIVE FOR US ...

For U.S. exporters operating their business via a sole proprietorship or pass-through entity (e.g., limited liability company (LLC), S corporation, limited partnership (LP)), the IC-DISC benefit is essentially tied to the differential between the qualified dividend rates and the ordinary income tax rates. This differential was originally set to expire on December 31, 2010 but Congress extended it in late December of 2010 to December 31, 2012.

Many practitioners strongly believe that this differential will be extended past 2012 even if tax rates on ordinary income increase. In addition to benefiting sole proprietorships and pass-through entities, exporters operating their business via a C corporation can benefit by using the IC-DISC to eliminate double taxation on a majority of their export income, as well as to reduce the need to incur additional payroll taxes on income paid to their shareholders/officers. The IC-DISC is not a tax shelter.

To qualify as an IC-DISC, a domestic corporation must pass two main tests known as the qualified export receipts test and the qualified export assets test. The qualified export receipts test requires that 95% of the gross receipts of the IC-DISC constitute qualified export receipts. The qualified export assets test requires that 95% of the assets of the IC-DISC be qualified export assets. Qualified export assets include accounts receivable, temporary investments, export property, and loans to producers.

Because most of the qualified export receipts categories focus on export property, it is critical that the exporter substantiate that its exports satisfy the definition of export property. Three requirements must be met in order for the IC-DISC to receive income from an export sale. The export property must:

(1) Be manufactured, produced, grown, or extracted in the U.S. by a person other than the IC-DISC.

(2) Be held primarily for sale, lease, or rental for use, consumption, or disposition outside the United States

(3) Have a maximum of 50% foreign content.

Although exporters often think of newly produced property as export property, used equipment and even scrap also qualify.

In its most recent form, the IC-DISC can provide a permanent 20% tax savings (or even more) for qualifying U.S. exporters. In certain cases, it eliminates U.S. tax entirely on the majority of export income. The IC-DISC is a “paper” entity used as a tax-savings vehicle. It does not require corporate substance or form, office space, employees, or tangible assets. It simply serves as a conduit for export tax savings. An important feature of the IC-DISC is that shareholders can be corporations, individuals, or a combination of these.

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