PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Kevin A. Diehl TI - How a Tax Rule Can Enable Greater Due Diligence Before Fully Consummating a Private Equity Deal AID - 10.3905/jpe.2017.21.1.045 DP - 2017 Nov 30 TA - The Journal of Private Equity PG - 45--47 VI - 21 IP - 1 4099 - https://pm-research.com/content/21/1/45.short 4100 - https://pm-research.com/content/21/1/45.full AB - Before engaging in a private equity deal, significant time and money are expended in due diligence. However, the most important and informative item to consider is generally overlooked: the corporation’s income tax returns. Yes, tax returns are usually confidential, but Internal Revenue Code § 6103(e)(1)(D)(iii) allows a corporate shareowner who has but 1% ownership to request a copy of the company’s tax return directly from the Internal Revenue Service. Thus, if all the other due diligence checks out, the final step should be to acquire a 1% interest to be able to view the corporation’s tax return. Tax returns are the windows to the souls of corporations. What accounting financial reporting can hide cannot be hidden in a tax return to the federal government. Private equity deals would be safer with this information under wraps. No insider-trading charge should accrue, but the possibility of this claim should be weighed as a cost against this benefit.TOPICS: Private equity, legal/regulatory/public policy, portfolio construction, accounting and ratio analysis