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In the Media

Absent IRS Superfund Tax Guide, Lawyers Look To Withdrawn 1983 Proposal

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As the first payments for the renewed Superfund tax fall due, many companies are still waiting for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide guidance on several key issues.

Member Douglas Charnas (Washington, DC) spoke with Inside EPA about whether it would be “reasonable” to look at a 1983 draft IRS rule in the absence of formal IRS guidance, even though the measure was eventually withdrawn.

“There are a lot of definitions in the proposed regulations, and in speaking with the IRS Chief Counsel, they made very clear that it’s not something they’ve issued recently under the new tax,” Charnas told Inside EPA. “But the reality of life is the industry has to make some decisions, and in the absence of any current guidance from the IRS, that old guidance is pretty good.”

“A company could make deposits based on 10 percent of appraised value. This would be costly. A company could apply the highest current published rate for a taxable substance, which is $23.65 per ton. This also would be costly,” Charnas told Inside EPA. “If the company knows the taxable chemicals used to produce the taxable substances, but not the amount of such chemicals used, it could use the tax rate for the taxable chemical with the highest tax rate to estimate the deposit. If it knows the taxable chemical with the most amount by weight in the taxable substance, it could use the rate for that taxable chemical.”

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Insights

Presentation

Proposed Regulations Are at the White House for Review: Will They Address the Many Open Questions?

March 14, 2023

Member Douglas Charnas (Washington, DC) will join a panel discussion, "Proposed Regulations Are at the White House for Review: Will They Address the Many Open Questions," at the National Association of Chemical Distributors Spring Regulatory Workshop on March 14, 2023. The panel will discuss the open questions, the meetings NACD has had with IRS, and how the IRS may answer the open questions.

Published Article

Reinstatement of the Hazardous Substance Superfund Financing Rate on Crude Oil and Petroleum Products: Should We Care?

October 20, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has reinstated the Hazardous Substance Superfund Financing Rate at 16.4 cents per barrel on crude oil and petroleum products. Should chemical distributors care? The general answer is yes. This article provides background on the reinstated rate and how chemical distributors will be affected by its reinstatement, effective January 1. 2023.

Presentation

Superfund Tax Update – Are You Ready for the July 1 Effective Date?

June 29, 2022

The Superfund tax takes effect on July 1, 2022, and the first deposits are due to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on July 29, 2022. With these impending deadlines, chemical distributors have numerous questions about this tax, including the information needed to figure out their obligations, what must be reported to the IRS, and whetherMore

Alert

The Superfund Tax Is Almost Here – Are You Ready?

June 6, 2022

Beginning July 1, 2022, a Federal excise tax, commonly referred to as the “Superfund Tax,” will be imposed on any taxable chemical sold by a manufacturer, producer, or importer. The Superfund Tax also will be imposed on the importer if taxable chemicals are consumed, used, or warehoused in the United States. The Superfund Tax funds the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund for use in the clean-up of hazardous waste sites.