How STARS Cases Apply Economic Substance Doctrine

Law360, New York (November 26, 2013, 1:42 PM EST) -- Three recent cases applied the economic substance doctrine, with quite different results, to the structured trust advantaged repackaged securities ("STARS") transaction, one of several "foreign tax credit generators" that the IRS is aggressively challenging. Most practitioners are very familiar with the "conjunctive vs. disjunctive vs. multifactor test" conflict over economic substance. These STARS cases illustrate that often what really drives the decisions are some of the nitty-gritty details of applying the applicable standard, which often allow courts a great amount of discretion. Some of the analysis in these cases was highly questionable. When the cases are appealed, we may get further clarification of how the economic substance doctrine should really work....

Law360 is on it, so you are, too.

A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions.


A Law360 subscription includes features such as

  • Daily newsletters
  • Expert analysis
  • Mobile app
  • Advanced search
  • Judge information
  • Real-time alerts
  • 450K+ searchable archived articles

And more!

Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial.

Start Free Trial

Already a subscriber? Click here to login

Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!