In Jeopardy: Sovereign wealth funds and Section 892

Cross-border Tax Talks

Cross-border Tax Talks
In Jeopardy: Sovereign wealth funds and Section 892
Feb 12, 2026
PwC

Doug McHoney (PwC’s International Tax Services Global Leader) is joined by Nils Cousin, an international tax partner in PwC’s Washington National Tax Services Practice, for his fourth appearance on the show. Doug and Nils discuss Nils’s April 2024 Jeopardy experience before pivoting to the 1916-era Section 892 exemption: how foreign governments, sovereign wealth funds, and public pension funds use it, and how ‘commercial activity’ and ‘controlled commercial entity’ rules can taint the benefit. They unpack the December 2025 regulation package, highlighting what was finalized (including an inadvertent-activity cure period, the qualified partnership exception, and FIRPTA taint relief) and what remains proposed, especially a framework that presumptively treats many debt acquisitions and workouts as commercial activity. The episode closes with the regulation process, effective-date mechanics, and a January 18 Treasury Secretary tweet, leaving us wondering whether market feedback might drive revisions. 

Episode Artwork In Jeopardy: Sovereign wealth funds and Section 892 40:06 Episode Artwork Geopolitical reset: Stability and Agility in 2026 40:29 Episode Artwork The Global Tax Journey: 2025 to 2026 51:29 Episode Artwork Pillar Two: The Side-by-Side Package 50:59 Episode Artwork Pillar Two: Middle East Roundup 39:46 Episode Artwork The Pillar Two Origin Story (Part 3) | Beth Bell 48:17 Episode Artwork After-Tax KPIs: A SVP of Tax’s perspective 44:33 Episode Artwork Pillar Two: UK realities 30:28 Episode Artwork OB3 Curveballs: Federal Tax interplay and State Tax conformity 33:15 Episode Artwork Beyond Pillar Two: Global tax policy update 37:52 Episode Artwork Tariff Tug-of-War: Coordinating your trade strategy 39:30 Episode Artwork Pillar Two in Belgium: QDMTT filing now! 38:47 Episode Artwork Australia Tax Update: Developments down under 42:51 Episode Artwork Careers in Tax: Tell me a story 33:02 Episode Artwork Pillar Two: Decoding the G7 statement 45:09 Episode Artwork One Big Beautiful Podcast, Part 5: Outbound Edition 35:47 Episode Artwork One Big Beautiful Podcast, Part 4: Inbound Edition 41:40 Episode Artwork Pillar Two Hybrid Arbitrage: stormy waters ahead? 43:05 Episode Artwork Geopolitics, Protectionism, and the Future of Global Commerce 45:27 Episode Artwork Careers in tax: Two international tax titans 36:22 Episode Artwork One Big Beautiful Podcast, Part 3: Return of the G7 50:38 Episode Artwork Pillar Two in Asia-Pac: Still happening 38:55 Episode Artwork One big beautiful podcast: Part 2 47:05 Episode Artwork One big beautiful podcast: Part 1 1:01:02 Episode Artwork China Tax Update: Tariff turmoil and treaty tensions 40:26