Transfer Pricing Practices and Regulatory Actions in the U.S. and U.K.: A Cross-Country Comparison and Analysis

With the continued globalization of world markets, transfer pricing has become one of the dominant sources of controversy in international taxation. Cross-country differences in transfer pricing practices and regulations present challenges to taxing authorities and multinational enterprises (MEs). In the last two decades, tax authorities in the United States (U.S.) and other countries have brought major court cases against MEs accused of underpayment of taxes through transfer pricing practices. This paper discusses transfer pricing practices, regulatory agencies, penalties related to violations, and proper documentation required in the U.S. and one of its major trading partners, the United Kingdom (U.K.). The paper also examines the acceptable valuation methods allowed as a surrogate for arm's-length transactions as established by the country's regulatory agency. Finally, the paper discusses the similarities and differences between the major court cases related to transfer pricing in the two countries.     

我国推行跨国公司预约定价问题研究

作为一种新兴的转移定价事前调整方法,预约定价的优势得到征纳税双方的普遍认可,不但较好地解决了转移定价的滥用问题,避免事后调整带来的处罚,还能维护纳税人国内法定权限的确定性,降低由于征纳纷争给企业带来的干扰。本文针对我国目前在预约定价立法与实践存在的问题,分析了在我国的推行预约定价制度的必要性,提出我国加快推行预约定价制度的相应对策。     

Determinants of tax haven utilization: evidence from Australian firms

This paper examines the major determinants of tax haven utilization based on a sample of 200 publicly listed Australian firms, over the 2006–2010 period (1,000 firm‐years). Our regression results show that variables relating to transfer pricing, intangible assets, an interaction term between transfer pricing and intangible assets, withholding taxes, performance‐based management remuneration and multinationality are positively associated with tax haven utilization. We also find that corporate governance structures are negatively associated with tax haven utilization. The magnitude and significance of the regression coefficients indicate that transfer pricing, withholding taxes, intangible assets, an interaction term between transfer pricing and intangible assets, corporate governance and multinationality are the most important drivers of tax haven utilization.     

Challenging the reliability of comparables under profit-based transfer pricing methods

Under profit-based transfer pricing methods, the selection of comparable companies is essential if detection of transfer price manipulation is to be reliable. Comparative advantage as embedded in internalisation theory argues that foreign-controlled companies (FCCs) should, in the long run, display greater profitability than domestic-controlled companies. In high-tax host countries, transfer pricing manipulation theory predicts an opposite effect on profitability. Applying a refined set of tests to a large sample of firms operating in a high-tax country such as Italy offers strong support for the internalisation prediction. Furthermore, the analysis of the interquartile range of our measure of profitability indicates that only a low percentage of FCCs would be subject to fiscal enquires, as implied by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines, under the suspicious of transfer pricing manipulation. These results suggest that current comparability tests are likely to fail the identification of transfer pricing practices in countries where the comparative advantage of FCCs is particularly pronounced and question the reliability of these tests.     

Indirect taxation and tax incidence under nonlinear pricing

This paper study how a change in specific and ad valorem taxes under nonlinear pricing affects tax incidence. We show that an increase in either tax rate leads to a higher usage fee for all consumers, whereas the fixed fee under reasonable assumptions will fall. Finally, the model shows that the presumption in favor of ad valorem taxes over specific taxes also holds under nonlinear pricing and incomplete market coverage.     

International Corporate Tax Avoidance Practices: Evidence from Australian Firms

This paper examines the international corporate tax avoidance practices of publicly listed Australian firms. Based on a hand-collected sample of 203 publicly listed Australian firms over the 2006–2009 period (812 firm-years), our regression results indicate that there are several practices Australian firms use to aggressively reduce their tax liabilities. Specifically, we find that thin capitalization, transfer pricing, income shifting, multinationality, and tax haven utilization are significantly associated with tax avoidance. In fact, based on the magnitude and significance levels of the regression coefficients in our study, thin capitalization and transfer pricing represent the primary drivers of tax avoidance, whereas income shifting and tax haven utilization are less important. Finally, our additional regression results show that tax havens are likely to be used together with thin capitalization and transfer pricing to maximize international tax avoidance opportunities via the increased complexity of transactions carried out through tax havens.     

关于转让定价税务管理的国际协调问题

为避免各国在转让定价税务管理中引发新的矛盾,必须加强国家间的协调与合作。因此,需要对转让定价税务管理中涉及的国际协调问题进行分析,包括:各国转让定价税务管理依据的指导原则和具体方法;转让定价的初次调整和相应调整的配合;转让定价税务管理国际争议的协调机制等。     

Road Taxes,Road User Charges and Earmarking

The UK Road Fund was set up in 1921 and financed by earmarked taxes, but was unsuccessful as a form of road finance and abandoned in 1937. The paper examines why earmarking failed and what problems arise for replacing road taxes by hypothecated road charges. These charges would need to be regulated and could evolve into a more efficient system of road pricing. The paper claims that recent experiences with regulating capital-intensive network industries make road user charging and the commercialisation of the public highway both feasible and desirable, but that recent government proposals for local earmarked taxes are inadequate.     

A New Method for Estimating the Effects of Fuel Taxes: An Application to Thailand

This article proposes a new methodology for estimating the impactof fuel price and tax changes on the general price level andthe distribution of income and applies a model to Thailand usingdata for 1975–76 and 1981–82. Because the modelallows for pricing under international competition where taxincreases must be partially absorbed in reduced factor incomerather than always being passed on in higher consumer prices,the results are significantly different from those generatedby the more conventional cost-plus pricing rule. The inflationaryimpact of fuel tax changes is slight because of both the opennessof the economy and the low energy intensity of manufacturingand other production in Thailand. In contrast, taxes on importsengender price increases not only for imports but also for goodswhich substitute for imports. The model also indicates thatthe net effects of taxes on petroleum products (other than kerosene)are progressive in their distributional impact, relative toa tax on imports or consumption. A main policy conclusion ofthe study is that fuel taxes could be used to increase bothequity and allocative efficiency without inducing significantinflationary responses. It follows that in the current circumstancesof falling world oil prices, developing countries could generaterevenues needed for structural adjustment by increasing fueltaxes to maintain domestic petroleum price levels.     

MEETING THE INDIRECT COSTS OF SUPPORT SERVICES IN UNIVERSITIES: TOP-SLICING, CHARGING-OUT, TAXES, TRADING, AND DEVOLUTION

A university earns its reputation by its research and teaching. The services which support the core academic activities are vital, but inevitably costly. Most have been funded in the past through political negotiations which are opaque to major sectors of the institution, and implemented by top-slicing. Development from such opacity requires a scheme of incentives and disincentives, designed to facilitate accountability and interactive control, and to enhance the quality and responsiveness of the service providers. A progression from top-slicing to charge-out arrangement, to taxes, to trading and transfer pricing, to evolved forms of devolution is offered as a speculation about a likely pattern of development to achieve these aims.     

Transfer pricing as a tax compliance risk

This paper studies the role of transfer pricing as a critical compliance issue. Specifically, we analyse whether and to what extent the perceived risk associated with transfer pricing responds to country-, industry- and firm-specific characteristics. Empirically, transfer pricing risk awareness is measured as a professional assessment reported by the person with ultimate responsibility for transfer pricing in their company. Based on a unique global survey conducted by a Big 4 accounting firm in 2007 and 2008, we estimate the number of firms reporting transfer pricing being the largest risk issue with regard to subsequent tax payments. We find that transfer pricing risk awareness depends on variables accounting for general tax and transfer pricing specific strategies, the types and characteristics of intercompany transactions the multinational firms are involved in, their individual transfer pricing compliance efforts and resources dedicated to transfer pricing matters.     

Corporate environments and international transfer pricing: an empirical study of China in a developing economy framework

This paper investigates the international transfer pricing methods adopted by multinational corporations (MNCs) in China and how their choices are affected by their specific corporate attributes in the context of the business environment in China. Empirical test results based on structured interviews indicate that MNCs having a local (Chinese) partner in management tend to adopt market-based transfer pricing methods. The influence of local partners on the choice of transfer pricing methods is modified by the impact of the source of foreign investment, as the analysis reveals that US-sourced MNCs are more likely to use cost-based pricing methods for international transfers. The influences of these two variables on the choice of transfer pricing methods are significant both directly and interactively. There is also some evidence that export-oriented enterprises are more likely to adopt cost-based transfer pricing than those aiming at China's domestic market. By providing empirical evidence on the impact of key corporate attributes on transfer pricing which have not been studied by prior research in the context of a developing economy, this research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of transfer pricing in developing countries.     

Earnings,institutional investors,tax avoidance,and firm value: Evidence from Taiwan

This study examines the valuation of earnings from China and Taiwan by foreign and domestic institutional investors across a sample of Taiwanese electronics firms. We further compare the valuation of firm earnings reported in tax havens and non-tax havens, and whether these firms have changed tax avoidance activities since 2004 when the Taiwanese government enacted stricter auditing of transfer pricing regulation.Our findings show that both operating income from the home country and investment income are positively associated with firm value. Operating income from China, however, is not significantly related to firm value when institutional ownership of the firm exceeds fifty percent. This result indicates that operating income is valued differently, depending on the location from which the income was generated. Non-operating income enhances firm value regardless of the revenue source. We also report that foreign institutional investors favor operating income from domestic and investment sources over earnings generated from non-domestic sources and other non-operating income. Furthermore, our results suggest that firms rearrange reported profits from subsidiaries located in tax havens to affiliates in other countries following the transfer pricing audit guide Taiwan implemented in 2004. Results also indicate firms may have been shifting profits to other low-tax-rate countries, or to countries which do not require firms to pay taxes, even if they are not doing business in that country.     

Negotiated versus Cost-Based Transfer Pricing

This paper studies an incomplete contracting model to compare the effectiveness of alternative transfer pricing mechanisms. Transfer pricing serves the dual purpose of guiding intracompany transfers and providing incentives for upfront investments at the divisional level. When transfer prices are determined through negotiation, divisional managers will have insufficient investment incentives due to hold-up problems. While cost-based transfer pricing can avoid such hold-ups, it does suffer from distortions in intracompany transfers. Our analysis shows that negotiation frequently performs better than a cost-based pricing system, though we identify circumstances under which cost-based transfer pricing emerges as the superior alternative.     

How much of the corporate bond spread is due to personal taxes?

Existing term structure models of defaultable bonds have often underestimated corporate bond spreads. A potential problem is that investors’ taxes are ignored in these models. We propose a pricing model that accounts for stochastic default probability and differential tax treatments for discount and premium bonds. By estimating parameters directly from bond data, we obtain significantly positive estimates for the income tax rate of a marginal corporate bond investor after 1986. This contrasts sharply with the previous finding that the implied tax rates for Treasury bonds are close to zero. Results show that taxes explain a substantial portion of corporate bond spreads.     

Statement of the Financial Economists Roundtable: Corporate Tax Reform

Corporate tax reform has been a controversial issue in the U.S. for several years, particularly as U.S. companies have accumulated cash in lower‐tax overseas subsidiaries, while some have used “inversions” to establish overseas corporate domiciles. Two features of U.S. corporate taxation stand out: 1. U.S. corporate income tax rates are the highest in the industrialized world. The federal rate is 35%; and, when combined with state taxes, it averages 39%, as compared to an OECD average of 24%. 2. U.S. corporations pay U.S. tax on their worldwide income, but can choose to avoid indefinitely corporate tax on foreign profits by not repatriating them. Neither feature is present in most other Western countries, where the norm is a “territorial” system that taxes companies only on their domestic profits. The Trump administration has proposed to cut U.S. corporate tax rates to 20%, thereby bringing them down to the OECD average, and to adopt a territorial tax regime like those found in most other Western nations. In this statement signed by 31 senior financial economists, the authors recommend cutting U.S. corporate tax rates, but retaining the current system of taxing the worldwide profits of U.S. companies (while giving them credit for taxes paid in overseas jurisdictions). Once U.S. rates drop to the international average, the economists point out, U.S. companies would have much less incentive under the worldwide system to use transfer pricing schemes to shift their profits to low‐tax jurisdictions than under the proposed territorial alternative. Indeed, under the current system, if the lower rates under consideration are enacted, the location of a company's business activity (including the firm's underlying intellectual property) would not affect its taxation. Along with lower corporate tax rates, the economists also recommend that Congress limit or remove the corporate option to defer the taxation of offshore profits and provide a schedule for repatriating off‐shore funds, using the inducement of the now lower rates as well as the possibility of a “tax holiday.”     

Is transfer pricing strictness deterring profit shifting within multinationals? Empirical evidence from Europe

This paper examines the extent to which the introduction and tightening of transfer pricing frameworks deter income shifting strategies by European multinational companies. To do so, we have built an index that measures the transfer pricing framework strictness by host country and year. Then, tax rate differentials are used to capture profit-shifting incentives and are interacted with the strictness index to assess whether the host country's transfer pricing framework impacts profit-shifting behaviour. The index is shown to increase significantly over the sample period, indicating that the scrutiny of related party transactions by European governments has increased over the period 2001–2009. Using a sample of European foreign subsidiaries, the results suggest that the stricter the transfer pricing framework the lower the tax rate difference sensitivity of reported earnings. This indicates that tightening the transfer pricing framework is capable of dissuading multinational companies from shifting profits from higher- to lower-tax countries.     

Options on Leveraged Equity: Theory and Empirical Tests

We develop an option pricing model for calls and puts written on leveraged equity in an economy with corporate taxes and bankruptcy costs. The model explains implied Black-Scholes volatility biases by relating them to the firm's structural characteristics such as leverage and debt covenants. We test the model by comparing predicted pricing biases with biases observed in a large cross-section of firms with liquid exchange traded option contracts. Our empirical study detects leverage related pricing biases. The magnitudes of these biases correspond to those predicted by our model. We also find significant pricing biases for firms financed primarily by short-term debt. This supports our model because short-term debt introduces net-worth hurdles similar to net-worth covenants.     

Estimating liquidity premia in the Spanish government securities market

This paper investigates the presence of liquidity premia in the relative pricing of assets traded on the Spanish government securities market. First, a classification of bonds into four different categories based on their degree of liquidity is proposed. Second, liquidity premia are estimated introducing liquidity parameters in the estimation of the zero-coupon yield curve. Results suggest the existence of a liquidity premium for post-benchmark bonds (both strippable and non-strippable). The size of this premium is relatively small. In the case of pre-benchmark bonds, the lack of liquidity does not seem to be priced. It is also shown that these pricing discrepancies are robust to the impact of taxes on bonds.     

适当下放地方税立法权完善税收立法体制

当前中央和地方税收立法权划分中存在一些问题和矛盾。要化解这些矛盾、解决这些问题,需要在借鉴历史和国外经验的基础上,区别不同的地方税税种,分层次、有限度、可控制地下放部分税收立法权,完善税收立法体制,健全分税制财政管理体制以至整个财税体制。