...Dutch and Caribbean tax systems facilitate MNC’s in minimising their global tax bills? In order to minimise their global tax bills, MNC’s engage in a tax avoidance technique known as the ‘Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich technique’. It is a technique employed by certain large corporations, involving the use of a combination of Irish and Dutch subsidiary companies to shift profits to low or no tax jurisdictions. In this essay I am going to explore this tax avoidance technique and give a step-by-step guide as to how large MNC’s such as Google use it. First I am going to give an overview of this tax avoidance technique and why it is advantageous for an MNC to use. This technique is just one of a class of similar international tax avoidance schemes that has allowed MNC’s to dramatically reduce their overall corporate tax rates. It in essence involves sending profits through one Irish company, to a Dutch company and finally to a second Irish company headquartered in a tax haven. These techniques are most prominently used by technology companies because these firms can easily shift large portions of profits to other countries by assigning intellectual property rights to subsidiaries abroad. Each step in the ‘double Irish with a Dutch sandwich’ technique involves arranging transactions between subsidiary companies to take advantage of the idiosyncrasies of varied national tax codes. For decades MNC’s have been taking advantage of the ‘quirk’ in the Irish tax law that allowed a...
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...Describe one legal tax avoidance scheme which a Canadian corporation can legally use through Luxemburg. One of legal tax avoidance scheme used by a Canadian corporation through Luxemburg is transfer of cash. According to information obtained by Radio-Canada newsmagazine Enquête, Bombardier has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to Luxembourg, a low-tax jurisdiction. Bombardier’s approach is legal and common among multinationals that want to remain competitive internationally. The tax tactics are also approved by the federal government. “Canada has given them permission to do this,” Lareau said. “Unhappily, these strategies are widely used and it's somewhat dismaying seeing the inequality of the tax game that is being played here”. Another interesting point to note is that “all payments made by the Luxembourg-based company are treated as interest payments and thus deductible and subject to low tax rates in the grand duchy. Bombardier in this case, can repatriate the money to Canada in the form of dividends which aren’t taxable because of a tax deal between both Canada and Luxembourg. Companies are able to reduce their taxes by transferring cash, often through a series of shell companies, into Luxembourg. Like most multinationals in Luxembourg, Bombardier has an official office residence, manned by a part-time employee, a few minutes from the capital. Its name is among 87 inscribed in small type on a post-office box. Bombardier responded that its world corporate structure...
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...APPLE TAX AVOIDANCE SCHEME DOUBLE NON-TAXATION April 2015 1 Apple International Structure Source: New York Times 2 Taxation Principles RESIDENCE: • Incorporation • Place of Management -> Case of Ireland SOURCE: • Source jurisdiction is generally expected to have priority, but the concept of source is generally poorly developed in domestic tax legislation • Notion of permanent establishment, head office and transfer pricing rules 3 Double Irish Arrangement • The Double Irish Arrangement is a tax avoidance strategy that some multinational corporations use to shift income from a higher-tax country to a lower-tax country. • It is called Double Irish because it requires two Irish companies to complete the structure. One of these companies is tax resident in a tax haven 4 Apple Operations International (AOI) • AOI, the company's primary offshore holding company, made up 30% of Apple's total world profits. • Residence: Irish and U.S. tax residency rules: • Ireland uses a management and control test to determine tax residency. • United States determines tax residency based upon the entity’s place of formation. • AOI is incorporated in Ireland, it is not tax resident in Ireland, because AOI is neither managed nor controlled in Ireland. Because AOI was not incorporated in the United States, AOI is not a U.S. tax resident under U.S. tax law either. 5 Apple Sales International (ASI) (1) • The second...
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...08, 2012 International Taxation Do you know that corporations pay taxes? Well they do. No matter if they are a mom and pop shop or a multinational corporation. The big question is how do companies that go international know what taxes they pay? Well your multinational companies do what we call treaty shopping to find out what taxes each country has that will affect the bottom line of the company. In this paper it will define international taxation, define treaty shopping, and define tax haven and what factors that a multinational company looks at that effect the placement of the company’s headquarters. In today’s society more and more corporations want to go international or become a multinational corporation, at the same time there is a growing concern on different tax laws of the different countries. To have a complete understanding of multinational taxation we must first define what international taxation. According to Wikipedia “International taxation is the study or determination of tax on a person or business subject to the tax laws of different countries or the international aspects of an individual country's tax laws. (Unknown, 2012)” The governments of the different countries make up the different tax laws base on if it is residential or commercial income. Some countries have a taxation system in place while other does not. The biggest is to know where to look for those taxations. In order for corporations that want to go international they must secondly do some...
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...corporate income taxes in the world, enticing corporations to outsource where more favorable tax rates lie. Will lowering this corporate tax rate help bring back those jobs to the U.S. and decrease the growing unemployment rate? Some argue yes, while other experts say no. While we argue both sides of this topic, the goal of this paper is to leave you, the reader, with enough facts to form your own opinions to the above question. How The Income Tax Came To Be In order to learn how the current corporate tax rates came to exist, we must first look at the history of the income tax. Although the Revenue Act of 1894 established the principle of taxing corporations separate from their owners, a federal tax on corporate income was never imposed until 1909. The Revenue Act levied a 2% income tax on any incomes totaling more than $4000 in order to make up the lost federal revenue (Dierdrich 2011). In the next year, the U.S. Supreme Court deemed the Act unconstitutional saying it was not allocated according to the population size of each state. How did Congress work around this? With the same principles in mind that lie within the Revenue Act of 1894, Congress passed the Corporation Excise Tax Act in 1909 (2013). Apart from its predecessor, this Act imposed a 1% tax on corporate income totaling more than $5000 (Tax Foundation 2013); however, it wasn’t until 1913 and the creation of the 16th amendment, which allows Congress to levy an income tax not apportioned to the population of each...
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...paper seeks to glean an understanding of corporate tax shelters, in respect to legal and ethical considerations. Tax shelters are often viewed with negative connotations, yet the general public holds different perceptions of the various classifications of tax shelters, tax avoidance, tax evasion, and tax flight (Kirchler, Maciejovsky, & Schneider, 2003). While this suggests a tolerance based on legal concerns, there exists a growing accountability for corporate social responsibility, “whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities, and others stakeholders, as well as their environment” (Guliani, 2014, p. 1117). Part of this includes, “companies paying their due taxes and obeying the law” (Guliani, 2014, p. 1120). In order to analyze the ethicality of tax shelters, this paper will introduce a variety of corporate tax shelters, discuss corporate tax shelters in relation to tax avoidance and tax evasion, explore the impact of corporate tax shelters on stakeholders, and examine the affect corporate social responsibility has on tax liability. A Legal and Ethical Examination of Corporate Tax Shelters As each business embarks on a pursuit for profit, companies often find opportunities to reduce tax liabilities in the form of corporate tax shelters. Corporations should be aware that when reducing tax liability, they must consider the legality and the...
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...orkMultinational Corporations 1. Multinational Corporations http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/mul.htm Definition of MNC | Multinational firms arise because capital is much more mobile than labor. Since cheap labor and raw material inputs are located in other countries, multinational firms establish subsidiaries there. They are often criticized as being runaway corporations.Economists are not in agreement as to how multinational or transnational corporations should be defined. Multinational corporations have many dimensions and can be viewed from several perspectives (ownership, management, strategy and structural, etc.) The following is an excerpt from Franklin Root, International Trade and Investment | Ownership criterion | Some argue that ownership is a key criterion. A firm becomes multinational only when the headquarter or parent company is effectively owned by nationals of two or more countries. For example, Shell and Unilever, controlled by British and Dutch interests, are good examples. However, by ownership test, very few multinationals are multinational. The ownership of most MNCs are uninational. (e.g., the Smith-Corona versus Brothers case) Depending on the case, each is considered an American multinational company in one case, and each is considered a foreign multinational in another case. Thus, ownership does not really matter. | Nationality mix of headquarter managers | An international company is multinational if the managers of the...
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...a. Tax avoidance in Germany (Siddhart Medhi) A number of schemes exist in the tax system, which enables corporations to avoid taxes and some of these loopholes are perfectly legal. In 2009 the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, reported a scheme referred to as the Malta Loophole. It is quite simple and has been used by multinational corporations such as Lufthansa and Puma. It works by setting up a subsidiary in Malta and thus paying taxes to the Maltese state. The tax rate in Malta is 35% and is thus higher than in Germany, however, the shareholders can apply for a refund for most of the amount. The reason for this is that if profits are being distributed as dividends then the tax rate is only 5%. The scheme works in the following way: if the profit of the subsidiary is 100 million then 35 million is paid to the Maltese state where after the shareholders can get a refund of 30 million and return it to the German parent company. Returning the money from the shareholders is due to the German tax system 95% tax exempt. The effective tax rate is thus cut to merely 6.42% Another example of tax avoidance is when Volkswagen took full control of Porsche in 2012. Volkswagen at the time already owned 49,9% of the shares in Porsche and was interested in buying the remaining 51.1% in order to have full control and gain synergy effects worth €700 million a year (Bryant, 2012). The price of this was €4,5 billion, which would have to be taxed by €1,5 billion. However, they found a way around...
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...to stash your cash? Tax Havens promise anonymity and no accountability. While some countries benefit from the existence of these tax havens, others experience losses. This speech supports the assertion that tax havens create more poverty around the world. Globalisation has resulted in countries becoming more interconnected -this interconnectivity has resulted in goods, services and people moving across borders. As a result individuals and company have access to tax havens – a place which has no taxes or low taxes placed on individuals and corporations. There are present in countries where there are weak government regulations, lack of transparency and no need for local presence. Tax havens enable many multinationals to shift profits out of poor countries where the business functions where their profits are untaxed robbing; developing countries are deprived of much needed revenues needed to fight poverty (ActionAid UK, 2013). McNair (2015) reports that between 2010 and 2012 the Democratic Republic of Congo lost over $1.3 billion which is almost twice its health and education budgets joined. As a result government are not able to provide proper healthcare and educational facilities to its people. Similarly Ridgwell (2013) reveals that African countries lose $38 billion a year through tax havens. This money is needed to feed and clothe millions daily. War on Want states that even though the UK loses billions of pounds every year to corporate tax avoiders, its government...
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... Role in International Tax Policy A Research and Policy Brief for the Use of the NGO Committee on Financing for Development Hamrawit Abebe, Ryan Dugan, Michael McShane, Julie Mellin, Tara Patel, and Linda Patentas Graduate Program in International Affairs, Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, The New School March 7, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND AND PERSPECTIVES BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS THE OECD, G77, G20, AND EU ON UPGRADING THE UN TAX COMMITTEE KEY INSTITUTIONAL PLAYERS ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST A UN TAX BODY 3 4 8 12 17 REFLECTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OECD AND UN TAX COMMITTEE GLOBAL TAX POLICIES POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 20 28 38 APPENDIX GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS REFERENCES 44 48 52 2 Executive Summary The report provides an analytical view on the role of the United Nations in tax policy, highlighting the interventions made by and challenges to key players in attempts to streamline global tax cooperation. The first section of the paper provides a background on the importance of tax related issues, emphasizing its importance within the Monterrey Consensus. Debates are introduced between two key institutional players regarding global tax cooperation, the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs and the UN Tax Committee. Views from key players the OECD, Group of 77, Group of 20, and European Union are addressed in the areas of international tax cooperation, the inclusion...
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...profitability and reduced risks. Also, these complex structures allow the company to reduce its overall tax burden. One such strategy is discussed in this paper. Transfer pricing allows the company to price the inter-company transactions. Transfer pricing simplifies the accounting of transactions that take place between affiliated or related entities. Companies have freedom in valuing inter-company transactions. But, if strategically implemented, this strategy allows the company to save taxes and retain large amount of profits. Keywords: Transfer mispricing, tax-havens, Double Irish Dutch Arrangement Transfer Pricing Transfer pricing is the methodology used to set the prices for goods sold or services provided between related entities within an enterprise. Related entities are those which are under control of a single corporation and include branches and companies that are wholly or majority owned ultimately by the parent company. Generally, such a transfer price should be equal to the price which the entity would charge to an independent customer, an arm’s length customer. Such a price is termed as an “arm’s length price” (Transfer Pricing, Wikipedia, 2015). Financial accounting does not differentiate between affiliates and treats the corporate group as a single entity. But the federal income tax law treats affiliates as separate economic actors. This allows multinational companies a free rein to determine where their profits should be taxed, or more likely, not taxed...
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...Name Course Professor Date The E.U. Tax Clampdown The European Union has come up with a plan in order to curb deals between the multinational companies and government which are known as sweetheart tax accords. The proposed package that is tailored on tax transparency entails the involvement of European governments in exchanging details concerning tax rulings in order to try and trap “aggressive tax planning”. This plan was in order to have a members’ fiscal policy that will enable the system to a multinational companies and government equilibrium price. Each of the member country which number to 28, have to affirm all of their tax rulings in a consecutive regular period span of three months each. This idea rose due to the investigations that are ongoing in a number of E.U. member states ‘administrative tax systems. The countries whose tax deals are under scrutiny and are on spotlight include Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium. The multinational companies that are involved in the scrutiny on the basis of sweetheart deals are Amazon, Pepsi, Ikea, Skype, Disney, Fiat and Microsoft. Tax evasion has been an immoral business practice that was adopted by the member states in order to selfishly benefit through allowing multinational companies to avoid fair payment of taxes as per the commission requirements. The tolerance on tax evasion on the multinationals has resulted to lose of billions in Euros by the members states and is known to be the main cause of the historic LuxLeaks...
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...IoD Big Picture Summer 2013 Tax avoidance: remedies and collateral damage SNAPSHOT • The term ‘tax avoidance’ needs to be carefully defined and is not the same as ‘tax abuse’ or ‘tax evasion’. This article considers where avoidance becomes abuse and, in particular, the advantages and disadvantages of some measures to control it. Tax avoidance: remedies and collateral damage Richard Baron, former Head of Taxation at the IoD, and Stephen Herring, his successor, consider the proper use of the term ‘tax avoidance’, where avoidance becomes abuse, and the pros and cons of some measures to control it. • The basics of UK tax law are simple, but difficulties arise from complex transactions that require specific rules – which in turn create opportunities for aggressive tax avoidance and abuse. ax avoidance has rarely been out of the news over the past two years, although the term has also rarely been properly defined and has often been muddled both with tax abuse and, even more incorrectly, tax evasion. Commentary has focused on two separate assertions that tax avoidance is taking place. Firstly, claims that some multinational groups of companies, generally US-owned, have undertaken planning which might involve recognising profits in one country rather than another that has higher corporation tax rates. Secondly, introducing planning arrangements to secure better treatments of financing costs, intellectual property rights and undistributed profits by locating business...
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...ACCG330: Strategic Management Accounting LECTURE 12 CONTROL PROBLEMS AND PRACTICES IN MULTINATIONAL ORGANISATIONS ACCG330 Readings: Anthony & Govindarajan (2007, pp.678-696) ACCG330 Strategic Management Accounting Session 1, 2012 Learning Objectives 1. Describe management control problems and practices in multinational corporations. 2. Explain problems and issues associated with global organisations: i. Cultural differences and their impact on management controls. ii. Transfer pricing and related issues in multinational corporations. iii. Effects of exchange rates on multinational corporations and control system design issues. ACCG330 Strategic Management Accounting Session 1, 2012 1 Nature of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) • What is a Multinational Corporation? – A corporation that owns and operates production facilities in two or more countries. OR – A corporation with power to coordinate and control operations in two or more countries without owning them. • Typically have Headquarters in the country of origin • Build or acquire affiliates or subsidiaries in other countries (the host nation) ACCG330 Strategic Management Accounting Session 1, 2012 Basic Structures of MNCs • A number of basic structures exist that permit an MNC to operate and compete internationally – Structure must meet the need of both the local market and the home-office strategy of globalization – Basic structures of MNCs: • Domestic structure plus foreign subsidiary...
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...Corporate Inversions The principal tax benefit of an inversion transaction is that a foreign controlled corporate group can create tax avoidance opportunities by sheltering U.S. profits of the U.S. corporate group with deductible payments made to foreign related parties. Moreover, tax benefits are enhanced to the extent that foreign subsidiaries held by the U.S. group (and thereby subject to the U.S. subpart F rules) are restructured or their operations are otherwise transferred to related foreign corporations that are outside the scope of the U.S. subpart F regime because the new foreign parent’s widely held stock places it outside the definition of a controlled foreign corporation. * Many inversions were subject to full taxation at the shareholder level (and sometimes at the corporate level) under prior law. The absence of gain or availability of losses or other income-sheltering tax attributes, however, often mitigated the tax cost in consummated transactions. Notwithstanding the “toll charge” on inversions under prior law, Congress concluded that corporate inversion transactions should be further deterred because of the significant opportunities to strip earnings out of the United States. Congress also believed that similar benefits could be achieved from inversion transactions involving U.S. businesses conducted in partnership form. * . . . [S]ection 7874 operates to effectively disregard the inversion (i.e., in the case where former shareholders own at...
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