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Enron Mail |
Michael Goldstein called this morning to discuss the way forward in light of
the Rev. Proc. and its recent amendment. After apologizing for being tardy in returning my calls, he explained that, in his opinion, the tax advice that we received evidences a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation. First, he stated that he has been advised that the Rev. Proc. does not apply retroactively and that although it requires a new PLR to make changes going forward, it will have no impact on activities which occurred prior to its issuance and, therefore, has no impact on whether synfuel created before the Rev. Proc. qualifies for the tax credit. He also noted that, to determine the capacity issue, one needs to look at what could have been produced by the facilities as of the "in- service" date. This level of capacity is the benchmark for what can be produced. According to Goldstein, the level of production at Somerset was well below the capacity on the "in-service" date and, therefore, their proposed modifications to the facilities would not have increased the capacity in any way inconsistent with the intent of the Rev. Proc. When asked what he believed to be the rated capacity of the facilities on their "in-service" date, Michael didn't know. He has agreed to find this number and get back to me. After I explained my understanding of the effect of the Rev. Proc., Michael kindly suggested that we consider talking to Price Monford (sp?) at VE who he considers to be one of the inner circle of tax experts familiar with Section 29 and the discussions with the Service and the Treasury Department about it. I told him that we had consulted with our own experts and I didn't know if this fellow was one of them. He said that he had not talked to Price and had no idea what he would advise. Goldstein stated on several occasions that he thought the Rev. Proc. would serve as a great facilitator to get the parties talking again in order to mitigate damages. He stated further that he was actually looking forward to teeing up the remaining machine at Pier IX and, even, moving the second machine back to Virginia. When asked what was happening with the machine at Pier IX, he indicated that it remains idle because they can't get a source of coal for it. I told Goldstein that I would visit with the "Coal Guys" about whether there was a way that we could continue to work together in light of everything that has happened. He said that he didn't think this was going to be a problem since once things were up and running, there wouldn't be much occasion for the parties to have sufficient contact to yield a problem. I suggested that if there was a way forward, we needed to make sure the parties were on the same page about the Production Test, coal size, etc. and even suggested a modified dispute resolution process should issues arise during the course of performance. I think that Sempra is amenable to an trying to reach an agreement going forward but I expect that absent a mediation or something extraordinary, we will end up fighting about November through the date of any deal going forward. Please note that I made clear that I had no idea whether Enron wanted to have anything to do with Sempra on this deal outside the courthouse but that I would inquire. I told him my personal view was that, no matter how strong we felt our case was, I would always listen to a settlement plan if they had one. Finally, I told him I'd get with you guys and call him later today or tomorrow so that he'd know whether it was worth having any additional discussions. Please give me call when you get a chance. It might be a good idea to set up a call later this afternoon if you are available.
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