CAFTA and conventions

What State are you in? We worked with our State (Ohio) Department of Comm and now the Feds have came in and have helped big time. Several programs are offered.

Kevin

I'm certainly not an expert on DR-CAFTA but I was an attorney back in NY, and I have been reading the agreement as part of my work with local lawyers in the DR, discussing its ramifications and implications. From a plain reading of the agreement I can't find anything that directly addresses your question. But, you do bring up an interesting point; Does the granting of a tax break for a domestic event constitute some kind of tariff against foreign providers of similar services? And are these types of services covered under the provisions of DR-CAFTA? My gut feeling (informed but not expert is No). You should of course ask your Tax Attorney or Accountant, but this is a very new area of law and I doubt if any decisions have been rendered concerning the interpretation of DR-CAFTA as conflicting with IRS regs. The link below gives you the text of DR-CAFTA, Good luck with your business.

USTR - CAFTA-DR Final Text


Disclaimer: The above information is provided for entertainment purposes only, any reliance on the opinion of the author is entirely at the risk of the user. Contact your Tax Attorney or Accountant before making any decisions concerning Tax Liability or compliance with IRS regulations.

According to this IRS tax bulletin Internal Revenue Bulletin - October 20, 2003 - Rev. Rul. 2003-109 , convention related expenses held in the DR are already deductible.

For purposes of claiming deductions for expenses incurred in connection with a convention, seminar, or similar meeting, the following areas are included in the ?North American area? as of the effective date of section 274(h) except as otherwise indicated:

1. The fifty states of the United States and the District of Columbia;
2. The possessions of the United States, which for this purpose are American Samoa, Baker Island, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Island, Kingman Reef, the Midway Islands, Palmyra, the United States Virgin Islands, Wake Island, and other United States islands, cays, and reefs not part of the fifty states or the District of Columbia;
3. Canada;
4. Mexico;
5. The Republic of the Marshall Islands;
6. The Federated States of Micronesia;
7. The Republic of Palau;
For expenses incurred in attending a convention that began after:
8. Antigua and Barbuda February 9, 2003
9. Barbados November 2, 1984
10. Bermuda December 1, 1988
11. Costa Rica February 11, 1991
12. Dominica May 7, 1988
13. Dominican Republic October 11, 1989

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