U.S. Court Holds Denial of Discretionary Tax Treaty Benefits subject to Judicial Review

On 18 September 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a memorandum opinion that the denial of discretionary tax treaty benefits may be subject to judicial review.

The case involved Swiss-domiciled Starr International Company (Starr), once the largest shareholder of American International Group (AIG). In 2007, Starr petitioned the IRS for discretionary treaty benefits on dividends received from AIG for that year, which is provided for under the U.S.-Swiss treaty. …