Albemarle Corp. v. United States

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In 1996, a Belgian subsidiary of Albemarle issued 20-year debentures to Albemarle. Interest payments were made on the debentures from 1997-2001. The Belgian subsidiary did not pay Belgian withholding taxes on the interest payments, believing the payments to be tax-exempt. In 2001, Belgian tax authorities issued a notice of adjustment to Albemarle for the tax years 1996-1998, stating that the interest payments made between 1997 and 2001 were subject to Belgian withholding tax at the statutory rate of 25%. Albemarle submitted a protest. In 2002, Albemarle agreed to pay withholding tax at the rate of 15% on all interest paid from 1997 through 2001 and satisfied the total amount of the taxes due. In 2009, Albemarle filed an amended consolidated U.S. income tax return for the 2002 tax year, in which it claimed refunds of $1,416,740 in foreign tax credits attributable to the withholding taxes it had paid under the agreement with the Belgian tax authorities. The IRS allowed Albemarle’s refund claims for the years 1999, 2000, and 2001, but disallowed claims for 1997 and 1998 as not filed within the 10-year limitations period provided in 26 U.S.C. 6511(d)(3)(A). The Claims Court agreed with the government. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "Albemarle Corp. v. United States" on Justia Law

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