The US Supreme Court has denied Altera’s petition for writ of certiorari in Altera Corp. v. Commissioner (#19-1009). The decision means that the Supreme Court will not review the Ninth Circuit’s June 7, 2019 decision upholding the validity of Treas. Reg. sec. 1.482-7A(d)(2), which required stock-based compensation (SBC) costs to be included in the pool of intangible development costs (IDCs) under a cost sharing arrangement (CSA).
The Supreme Court's denial of Altera's petition could have significant tax and financial reporting consequences for companies that have excluded SBC costs from CSA IDC pools. While the Ninth Circuit's decision regarding the validity of Treas. Reg. sec. 1.482-7A(d)(2) is controlling precedent in the Ninth Circuit, the regulation's validity remains open to challenge in other circuits.
