A World Turned Upside Down: Reflections on the 'New Wave' Inversions and Notice 2014-52

Abstract

On September 22, 2014, the Treasury issued Notice 2014-52 (the “Notice”). The Notice was intended to fulfill President Obama’s pledge to use executive actions to the extent possible to block the new wave of corporate inversions. To what extent can the Notice succeed?This article will argue that while the Notice is a useful first step, it is unlikely to stem the tide of inversion transactions. To do that, legislative action is needed in the short term. In the longer term, the only solution to inversions is coordination with other OECD countries in the context of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) endeavor to limit double non-taxation.