Tax Law Insights

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), conducts seven (7) mandatory surveys to collect information on direct investment. These seven surveys consist of an initial survey for any new in-bound direct investment, and then applicable quarterly, annual, and 5-year benchmark surveys. The purpose of the new foreign direct investment survey is to capture new investment transactions when a foreign direct investment relationship is created. The purpose of the quarterly survey is to report positions and transactions between a U.S. affiliate and its foreign parents, and between the U.S. affiliate and the foreign affiliates of the foreign parents. The purpose of the annual survey is to report annual financial and operating data of U.S. affiliates. The benchmark survey is conducted every five years and provides the most comprehensive coverage of business entities, transactions, and data on foreign investment in the U.S.

Quarterly Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States

(Form BE-605)

Due date: 30 days after the close of each calendar or fiscal quarter end; 45 days if the report is for the final quarter of the financial reporting year.

1. Form BE-605

• Filed for a U.S. Affiliate that has total assets, annual sales or gross operating revenues, or annual net income of more than $60 million.

• Required from every U.S. business enterprise in which a foreign entity has a direct and/or indirect ownership interest of 10 percent or more of the voting stock at any time during the quarter. Reports are required even though the U.S. business enterprise may have been established, acquired, liquidated, sold, or inactivated during the reporting period.

1. BE-605 Claim for Exemption

Filed if a foreign affiliate meets the following criteria for exemption:

• > The U.S. affiliate's total assets, annual sales or gross operating revenues, and annual net income (not just the foreign parent's share) are each $60 million or less.
• > The U.S. affiliate is foreign-owned indirectly through another U.S. affiliate, and it has no direct transactions with the foreign parent or the foreign affiliates of the foreign parents.