GILTI Conscience

In this episode of "GILTI Conscience," Mike McDonald, one of the architects of Internal Revenue Code Section 482, joins Skadden’s Nate Carden, David Farhat, Eman Cuyler and Stefane Victor for an in-depth discussion of the "commensurate with income" (CWI) standard. The panel explores the legislative history and intent behind CWI, its complex relationship with the arm’s length principle and the evolution of regulatory approaches.
💡 Featured Guests 💡
Name: Mike McDonald
What he does: Mike spent 16 years at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the business and international tax division, followed by a career as managing director of international tax and transactions, transfer pricing at Ernst & Young. He was a drafter of the Section 482 transfer pricing regulations, including 482-7.
Words of Wisdom: "The fact that, to the extent that a ‘pure hindsight rule’ is going to be applied, then there is going to be wicked double taxation, because the other side doesn't have to respect it.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Connect with Skadden
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☑️ Subscribe to GILTI Conscience on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app.
☑️ Let us know what topics you would like to hear about on GILTI Conscience by emailing our executive producer at eman.cuyler@skadden.com.
GILTI Conscience is a podcast by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Affiliates. Skadden’s tax team is recognized globally for providing clients with creative and innovative solutions to their most pressing transactional, planning, and controversy challenges. The insights and views presented in GILTI Conscience are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information presented is not a substitute for consulting with an attorney, nor does tuning into this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind.

Dive into the complexities of international tax reform as Skadden’s David Farhat, Patrick O'Gara, Loren Ponds and Stefane Victor, along with Pascal Saint-Amans — former director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration — unpack the latest developments in Pillar Two and the Side-by-Side framework. This episode explores how new safe harbors, QDMTTs and evolving global agreements are reshaping the landscape for U.S. and multinational corporations and the practical challenges ahead. Whether you’re a tax professional or just curious about global policy shifts, this discussion offers a front-row seat to the debates shaping tomorrow’s tax world.
💡 Featured Guests 💡
Name: Pascal Saint-Amans
What he does: Pascal served as director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the OECD, where he played an instrumental role in promoting transparency. He is CEO of Saint-Amans Global Advisory, which supports governments, international organizations and business on economic and fiscal issues.
Organization: Saint-Amans Global Advisory (SAGA)
Words of wisdom: “What really matters in the long game – if you're in the long game – is trying to reduce the tax competition, keeping the infrastructure and surviving maybe for a few more months until November where there may be an election in the. U.S, or later on, where you may have changes and people are more sympathetic to the approach.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Connect with Skadden
☑️ Follow us on X and LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to GILTI Conscience on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app.
☑️ Let us know what topics you would like to hear about on GILTI Conscience by emailing our executive producer at eman.cuyler@skadden.com.
GILTI Conscience is a podcast by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Affiliates. Skadden’s tax team is recognized globally for providing clients with creative and innovative solutions to their most pressing transactional, planning, and controversy challenges. The insights and views presented in GILTI Conscience are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information presented is not a substitute for consulting with an attorney, nor does tuning into this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind.

This podcast’s title hasn’t changed, but on the international tax stage GILTI is converting to the new CFC-tested income (NCTI) regime.That’s just one shift brought about by the One Big Beautiful Bill that Congress passed on July 4. Skadden colleagues Loren Ponds, Eric Sensenbrenner and Paul Oosterhuis break down the bill’s implications in this conversation with David Farhat and Stefane Victor. The panel explores the legislative process, the impact of dropped provisions such as Section 899 and key planning considerations. Tune in for their insights about how corporate stakeholders can navigate the new landscape.
💡 Featured Guests 💡
Name: Eric Sensenbrenner
What he does: Eric represents clients on a broad range of U.S. and international tax matters, with a particular emphasis on transactional tax planning in the international context.
Organization: Skadden
Words of wisdom: “FDII is now becoming a much more interesting and much more robust tool for attracting investment, both for multinationals thinking about bringing assets back as well as perhaps for inbound investment as well.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Name: Loren Ponds
What she does: Loren leverages her extensive tax policy experience to provide strategic counsel to clients across industries on a variety of legislative and regulatory issues.
Organization: Skadden
Words of wisdom: “I can speak from experience working on the Hill: When you think you're gifting taxpayers something in a provision, and all you get is pushback, it becomes very easy for that provision to disappear from the final bill, particularly when we're talking about the cost, in addition to the poor reception.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Name: Paul Oosterhuis
What he does: Paul is an internationally recognized senior tax practitioner with extensive experience in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, post-acquisition integration, spin-offs, internal restructurings and joint ventures.
Organization: Skadden
Words of wisdom: “From my perspective, maybe the Trump administration should be talking to those countries about being more lenient in allowing U.S. companies to bring back their IP. Maybe they could get breaks on their tariffs, for example, if they decided to suspend their rules on U.S. companies bringing back their IP.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Connect with Skadden
☑️ Follow us on X and LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to GILTI Conscience on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app.
☑️ Let us know what topics you would like to hear about on GILTI Conscience by emailing our executive producer at eman.cuyler@skadden.com.
GILTI Conscience is a podcast by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Affiliates. Skadden’s tax team is recognized globally for providing clients with creative and innovative solutions to their most pressing transactional, planning, and controversy challenges. The insights and views presented in GILTI Conscience are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information presented is not a substitute for consulting with an attorney, nor does tuning into this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind.

The stakes are high. That’s how Skadden national security partner Brooks Allen sets the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court case surrounding President Trump’s tariff policy. And that case is just one dynamic in today’s “revolutionary” tariff environment. Brooks joins Skadden tax partner Jonathan Welbel and Ryan principal Rodrigo Fernandez to break down key issues affecting tariffs and transfer pricing. Hosts David Farhat and Stefane Victor moderate the discussion, which includes a look at scenario modeling and analysis, intercompany agreements and the need for coordinated tax and customs planning in today's trade landscape.
🗝️ Key Points 🗝️
Top takeaways from this episode
Revolutionary Change: Brooks explains that the tariff landscape has shifted in the last nine months, from a situation where the United States had an average tariff rate around 2.4% to well over 10% applied tariffs.
Valuing IP Rights: Tariffs can significantly impact IP valuations. Rodrigo emphasizes that fluctuations in IP valuation due to tariffs can create significant uncertainty and potential disputes.
Intercompany Agreements: These will become critical because they govern consequences on both the tax side and the customs side. “For whatever planning is being put in place from a customs perspective, one of the key components is getting the legal agreements in place,” Jonathan observes.

💡 Featured Guests 💡
Name: Rodrigo Fernandez
What he does: Rodrigo specializes in providing transfer pricing, business and intangible property valuation, and other valuation-related projects to clients in a variety of industries, including energy, aerospace, telecommunications and software.
Organization: Ryan
Words of wisdom: “The other thing is thinking about recovery options. So, there's a whole little cottage industry now being set up on customs duty recoveries… So, you applied this tariff, it got reversed, now we're going to go recover it. There's a whole industry around that.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Name: Jonathan Welbel
What he does: Jonathan has extensive experience counseling on tax controversy, transfer pricing and other international tax issues.
Organization: Skadden
Words of wisdom: “What we really need is a customs and tax competent authority proceeding. There's no system in place right now, and that is going to be a big problem down the line.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Name: Brooks Allen
What he does: Brooks is lead coordinator of Skadden’s international trade practice. He focuses his practice on reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and international trade issues, including trade policy, customs, trade remedy and export control issues.
Organization: Skadden
Words of wisdom: “Uncertainty has been the name of the game here for us over the past nine months. And constant change. Well, it's been fun for us who like trade; it keeps us on our toes. But, I think from a perspective of our clients and from the perspective of companies operating in this environment, it's made it incredibly challenging because things change so rapidly.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Connect with Skadden
☑️ Follow us on X and LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to GILTI Conscience on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app.
☑️ Let us know what topics you would like to hear about on GILTI Conscience by emailing our executive producer at eman.cuyler@skadden.com.
GILTI Conscience is a podcast by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Affiliates. Skadden’s tax team is recognized globally for providing clients with creative and innovative solutions to their most pressing transactional, planning, and controversy challenges. The insights and views presented in GILTI Conscience are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information presented is not a substitute for consulting with an attorney, nor does tuning into this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind.

For tax authorities and even taxpayers, AI promises to make lives easier. At the same time, it carries risks that “cannot be taken out of the system.” Dr. Stephen Daly, reader in tax law at King's College London, describes this dynamic in a conversation with Skadden partners David Farhat and Eric Sensenbrenner, associate Stefane Victor and senior advisor De Lon Harris. The panel explores the best and worst of the impact of AI in the tax world. Tune in for insights about what AI means for taxpayers and tax authorities alike.
💡 Featured Guest 💡
Name: Dr. Stephen Daly
What he does: Dr. Daly teaches tax law to undergraduate students (International and Corporate Taxation) and postgraduate students (Tax Administration, Procedure and Dispute Resolution and EU Tax Law). His research focuses on administrative law, technical tax law and EU law.
Organization: Kings College London
Words of wisdom: “To embrace the capabilities of AI, you need to accept that mistakes will be made. So in the case of a chatbot, if a chatbot gets the answer wrong and a taxpayer ends up underpaying their taxes, well then you just leave them off the hook.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Connect with Skadden
☑️ Follow us on X and LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to GILTI Conscience on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.
☑️ Let us know what topics you would like to hear about on GILTI Conscience by emailing our executive producer at eman.cuyler@skadden.com.
GILTI Conscience is a podcast by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Affiliates. Skadden’s tax team is recognized globally for providing clients with creative and innovative solutions to their most pressing transactional, planning, and controversy challenges. The insights and views presented in GILTI Conscience are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information presented is not a substitute for consulting with an attorney, nor does tuning into this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind.