Home      Login

Abstract: 

Blockchain and the related phenomenon of cryp¬tocurrencies are a significant focus of both financial law and tax practitioners. Our first article, by Kevin Kim and Jonathan Justl, examines the relatively underanalyzed topic of antitrust issues relating to blockchain. Distributed ledger technology not only is often used to share potentially sensitive data from a competitive point of view, but also is developed through consortia among competitors, particularly in the financial sector. Elizabeth Zanet and Stanley Ruchelman discuss how changes brought about by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act decrease the incentive for U.S. firms to shift corporate profits to low-tax jurisdictions. The applicable rules are of special significance to financial institutions, as the exceptions from the U.S. corporation’s gross income when computing foreign-derived intangible income include banking, insurance, financing, or similar business. Jeffrey Moss, in our third article, provides an overview of and update on the interaction between the Internal Revenue Service’s Foreign Bank Account Report program and its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. These rules are particularly important for taxpayers; as the author notes, the applicable legal standards have been shifting in favor of the IRS in recent years. Our fourth article, by Colin Lloyd and Christian Artmann, discusses Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulation of clearing and trading for cross-border swaps. The authors compare the U.S. regime to EU regulation and consider reform pro¬posals from trade associations such as the Futures Industry Association, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.This issue concludes with a U.S. International column by Kevin Diehl, who analyzes the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and accompanying regulation, which became effect on January 3, 2018. *The complete issue is available for download for journal subscribers only; no pay-per-article option.

Keywords: blockchain, authenticity verification, smart contracts, antitrust, distributed ledger, cross-border taxation, global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI), foreign-derived intangible income (FDII), controlled foreign corporations, “Subpart F,” deri

Affiliations:  1: New York Law School.