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This thesis studies the effects of differences in the international tax system on the location of target companies and potential tax savings leading from international transactions. Using a large sample of M&A transaction data, we develop a target location choice model and estimate it by a multinomial logistic regression. The results show that differences in taxation of target and acquirer country provide opportunities for tax optimization practices that increase the probability of choosing a target location with higher tax difference. We further evaluate these effect using regression on takeover premium which shows that 1 percentage point increase in difference of effective average tax rate may cause up to 0.5 percentage point increase in takeover premium. The found effects are heterogenous for individual companies and correspond to characteristics of tax-inversions and profit shifting practices. i

No / The OECD led BEPS project attempts key changes to the international tax standards to limit harmful tax avoidance. First, it is found that calls for the BEPS project are based on arguments (illicit financial flows and tax competition) that are supported by limited evidence and hence may not offer much fiscal gain to the developing countries. Second, it is found that the BEPS project would, through information sharing, further limit the fiscal jurisdiction of capital importing states. Further it is found that tax competition, even if existing in a limited form, is a result of the international tax architecture and the externalities caused by it. In fact, it is seen that the MNCs actually reduce the inefficiencies created by this tax architecture and thereby reduce transaction costs. By agreeing to the BEPS agenda of information sharing the developing countries would be paying the cost of internalising the externality.

År 2013 lade OECD fram åtgärdsplanen BEPS. BEPS syftar till att minska möjligheterna till otillbörlig intäkts- och kostnadsallokering samt skattebaserodering som är ett resultat av diverse företagsupplägg där vinster allokeras till lågbeskattade länder och kostnader allokeras till exempelvis länder med förmånliga avdragsmöjligheter. BEPS Action 8 förväntas leda till att internprissättningar kommer att ske i enlighet med värdeskapandet. De nya riktlinjerna föreskriver att en part som utför funktioner, använder tillgångar eller antar risk ska kompenseras korrekt och i enlighet med armlängdsprincipen. BEPS Action 8 kommer vidare att innebära att legala ägare inte anses vara berättigade till eventuell avkastning från immateriella tillgångar endast på den grund att de är legala ägare. Om en ägare inte utför viktiga funktioner, använder tillgångar, åtar sig risk, eller utövar kontrollen över risken, eller inte har den finansiella kapaciteten att åta sig den risken, har ägaren endast en begränsad rätt till den eventuella avkastningen. Författaren avser att redogöra för riktlinjerna som BEPS Action 8 stipulerar samt dess förenlighet med gällande svensk internationell skatterätt. Författaren avser också att, i de fall riktlinjerna inte anses vara förenliga med gällande svensk internationell skatterätt, redogöra för möjliga sätt att införliva riktlinjerna i svensk rätt.

There is a large body of literature indicating that profits are shifted into countries with better conditions, i.e. lower tax rates. It was showed that the problem is nonlinear. However, precise estimates are missing in the available literature. In this thesis we improved the precision by allowing for nonlinearity, time-variant tax semi-elasticity of profits and financial secrecy is a driver of the profit shifting. We showed that all three elements of the estimation are very important. Our analysis suggests that the profit shifting problem started at the turn of millennium and increases since, with some temporal drops. The highest amount of profit shifted out of the United States was almost 300 billion of U.S. dollars with the consequent revenue loss of 62.3 billion of U.S. dolars.

In this paper, I talk about Section 965, also known as the transition tax, enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). First, I examine loopholes under the old tax regime that allowed for the accumulation of offshore earnings and how the TCJA closes those loopholes. After detailing the legislation of the transition tax and a comparison with Section 965 included in the American Jobs Creation Act in 2004, I compare firms’ recorded provisions of the transition tax with an estimation based on the past disclosures of firms’ permanently reinvested earnings and finds that the transition tax will generate an estimated $308 billion in tax revenue. Lastly, I propose three alternate scenarios to the transition tax: taxing all offshore earnings under the GILTI regime, treating offshore cash as eligible for the 21% corporate rate, and a ratable payment plan compared to the current phase-in payment plan.

Large multinational companies are regularly suspected of using transfer pricing of intangibles to shift profits from high- to low-tax jurisdictions. We study the optimal transfer prices while endogenizing the location choice of intangibles and considering spillovers. In line with the initial intuition, we find that multinationals locate their intangibles in low-tax jurisdictions and deploy royalty flows to minimize tax payments. However, if multinationals face a trade-off between tax minimization and efficient spillover internalization, the so-called "home bias" might occur. Then, for a large spillover, the intangible is optimally located in the high-tax domestic country. This leads to less severe investment distortions because the spillover is internalized. In addition, the model predicts that curtailing profit shifting possibilities can either harm or facilitate multinationals' overall investments. This depends heavily on unobservable factors such as the underlying accounting system. Therefore, our analysis highlights challenges for the anti-avoidance legislation of governments. / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

The diploma thesis deals with the concept of International Taxation of Permanent Establishments. The treatment of permanent establishment is defined and compared from both czech and international perspective. Furthermore, there are identified issues that individual countries and the international organization OECD have to deal with under the Action Plan BEPS. Moreover, at the end of the thesis frequency of permanent establishments in the Czech Republic is displayed according to the residence of taxpayers.

This study serves to critically assess the effectiveness of South Africa’s thin capitalisation framework in dealing with Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) through excessive interest deductions by multinational enterprises (MNEs). Given the impact of globalisation in interconnecting economic activities across multiple countries, BEPS presents a major policy concern both internationally and domestically. Thin capitalisation, a situation in which an entity utilises to their tax benefit the deductions/exemption mismatch that arises from crossborder debt financing, is one of the most common methods of BEPS utilised by MNEs. This study aims to ascertain whether the framework is effective in dealing with thin capitalisation whilst balancing the need to attract investment and boost economic development and, to assess whether the framework is reflective of South Africa’s contextual realities. It achieves this by engaging with the South Africa’s legislative framework consisting of s 31 and s 23M of the Income Tax Act and the Draft Note on Thin Capitalisation and their relationship with international tax norms and standards. The study relies on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to identify the international standards and contrasts South Africa’s framework with Canada, a developed and OECD member state. The study concludes that the framework is fraught with uncertainties and administrative difficulties that hinder its effectiveness. It also concludes that the framework’s reliance on the OECD’s standards is misguided and does not reflect South Africa’s contextual realities. This is a stark contrast to Canada which opted for a thin capitalisation approach outside the OECD’s recommendations which more reflects its context. The study thus concludes that South Africa’s thin capitalisation framework is ineffective in dealing with BEPS by way of thin capitalisation.

The master’s thesis deals with the initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, namely the Action plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). The aim of this thesis is to quantify impacts of selected BEPS measures on the tax bases of Czech companies. The paper is divided into a literary summary and a practical part. In the literary summary, important concepts of international taxation are defined and the BEPS action plan and the Anti Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) are presented here. In the practical part, selected BEPS measures are applied to model examples, and the impact on the tax base of Czech companies in the situation before and after the implementation of specific measures is quantified. The model examples result in an increase in the tax base and the tax liability of Czech companies in the situation after the implementation of the selected BEPS measures. BEPS measures applied to Czech companies in this thesis pose a negative impact on their tax planning.