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F238.SBE
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@053 CHAP 8
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FOREIGN SALES CORPORATIONS (FSC'S) │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) entity that has been permitted as a
result of the Tax Reform Act of 1984 is somewhat similar to a DISC, but
may be too great of an administrative burden for it to be worthwhile
for a small business to set up. Unlike a DISC, an FSC cannot be a mere
dummy or paper corporation set up in the U.S. Instead, it must meet
all of the following requirements:
. It must be a foreign corporation, incorporated in a foreign
country that, in general, has arrangements to swap tax infor-
mation with the IRS, or in a U.S. possession;
. There can be no more than 25 shareholders in an FSC;
. An FSC cannot issue preferred stock;
. It must maintain a foreign office, at which there is a per-
manent set of tax records, including invoices of sales;
. The FSC's board of directors must include at least one person
who is not a resident of the United States (although the non-
resident can be a U.S. citizen); and
. An FSC cannot be part of a controlled group of corporations
that also includes a DISC. That is, you can set up either an
FSC or a DISC, but you can't have both.
Large FSCs are also subject to additional stringent requirements such
as being managed outside the U.S. and satisfying various tests with
respect to carrying on economic activities outside the United States.
Fortunately, these foreign management and "foreign economic process"
requirements do not apply to small FSCs, which are FSCs with $5 million
or less in foreign trade gross receipts per year.
The amount of export income that can be shifted to an FSC is usually
limited to 1.83% of gross foreign trading receipts (versus 4% for a
DISC) or 23% of the combined profit of the U.S. parent company and the
FSC on an export sale (versus 50% for a DISC), whichever is greater.
However, the profit under the gross receipts method is limited to twice
the amount of the combined profit on the sale.
Once the FSC's tentative taxable income for the year has been deter-
mined under the above rule, 15/23 of such income is treated as exempt,
and is not taxable even if distributed to the parent U.S. corporation.
Tax must be paid by the FSC on the remaining 8/23 of its income. Thus,
to the extent export profits can be shifted to an FSC, the tax rate on
on such income will only be about 1/3 (8/23) of the normal effective
corporate tax rate, a major saving.