Rocco Femia commented on proposed revisions to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) advance pricing agreement (APA) and competent authority revenue procedures in the context of an international tax conference sponsored by George Washington University and the IRS . He noted a number of taxpayer-friendly aspects of the draft, including the willingness of the IRS to consider taxpayer-initiated adjustments and allow consultations on the creditability of additional taxes paid as a result of foreign audit settlements. Failure to take advantage of the consultations however, could negatively impact the credibility of the additional foreign taxes, and may indicate a policy of "come talk to us, or else," Femia said.

The provision in the draft that allows the existence of an APA request to be a factor in determining whether a taxpayer has satisfied transfer pricing documentation requirements is "very welcome," he said. Femia also said that a portion of the proposed procedures describing the scope of "covered issue diagrams," required to be submitted with a request, is currently ambiguously written; this prompted IRS panelists to state that they plan to clarify the requirement in the final revenue procedure.