...Harvard Business School 9-799-131 May 4, 2001 European Monetary Union In the spring of 1999, Romano Prodi, newly designated chairman of the European Commission, prepared to help create an economically integrated Europe. Since the introduction of the euro on January 1, Europe had been operating with a single currency—at least for business-tobusiness transactions. Despite some technical problems with the changeover and an 8% depreciation of the euro against the dollar, this extraordinary step toward integration had gone fantastically well. Western Europe continued to experience healthy growth—in excess of 2% annually—and the Commission was expanding its plans to further integrate Europe’s markets. But before real integration could be achieved, many more reforms would be needed. While the Commission recently concluded that “thanks to the Single Market Programme, today’s European 2 product markets work much better than they did in the 1970s,” they still exhibited wide price differentials, diverse regulations, and a lack of inter-European investment and competition. Capital markets had moved further, as members of the European Union had dropped regulations and encouraged competition across national borders. But even here, prices and margins remained high, and inter-European rationalization had only just begun. Finally, the markets for labor had barely begun to integrate. Here, high minimum wages, payroll taxes, unemployment benefits and diverse restrictions on flexibility...
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...GLOBAL TRANSFER PRICING SERVICES Global Transfer Pricing Review kpmg.com TAX © 2012 KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Member firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International. KPMG International provides no client services. All rights reserved. Contents Introduction Country Snapshots Country Overviews Glossary of Terms Find out more 2 4 10 255 256 © 2012 KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Member firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International. KPMG International provides no client services. All rights reserved. 2 | Global Transfer Pricing Review Introduction © 2012 KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Member firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International. KPMG International provides no client services. All rights reserved. Introduction | 3 As multinational companies continue to globalize their supply chains, transfer pricing is increasingly at the forefront of business transformation initiatives. Organizations recognize that transfer pricing strategies can add significant value to business projects and help fund future growth as they look to maximize efficiencies and minimize their global tax liabilities. The transfer pricing environment is constantly changing, in terms of both risks and opportunities. Multinational companies...
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