In his article for Tax Notes entitled “Renewable Energy Credit Transfers and the Passive Activity Rules,” Schulte special counsel Chaim Stern provides a critical analysis of the recently released proposed regulations under section 6418 and argues that they contravene the policy objective of expanding access to renewable energy credits through reduced risk for credit investors.

Section 6418, which was added to the code as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, P.L. 117-169), makes certain renewable energy credits transferable for the first time. Proposed Treasury regulations issued on June 14 (REG-101610-23) would apply the “passive activity” rules to credit purchasers, significantly restricting the potential customer base for renewable energy credits. The article provides relevant background, describes various alternative approaches to the issue, and lays out a series of critiques to the approach adopted by the proposed regulations.

Read the article here. (subscription required)

Schulte Roth & Zabel partner Doug Mintz spoke with reporter Ann Logue for her Alternatives Watch article, “Bankruptcy is easier than ever, and on the rise.” 

This year marks the end of cheap money and pandemic benefits, leading corporate default rates to increase. Doug confirmed this market trend, but illustrated key changes in the industry, including the impact of increased involvement of private equity firms in corporate finance, which is changing the bankruptcy process. He also described the prevalence of restructuring deals developing outside of the court, with companies using prepackaged bankruptcy plans that result in more negotiations taking place ahead of filings. 

Read the article here. (subscription required)