Illicit Transfer Pricing Endangers Shareholders
August 28, 2009Forbes — Shareholders in many of the world’s leading multinational corporations face significant financial peril from a source few have probably ever thought about: transfer pricing.

Forbes — Shareholders in many of the world’s leading multinational corporations face significant financial peril from a source few have probably ever thought about: transfer pricing.
Australia’s tax authorities have vowed to scrutinise taxpayers’ transfer pricing activities and thin capitalisation rules in a bid to help businesses and individuals facing genuine hardship during the economic downturn.
The curse of exchange controls could be to blame for so many of South Africa’s otherwise astute rich falling for Barry Tannenbaum’s wiles. It seems Tannenbaum offered investors a conduit called transfer pricing to take their money out of the country. The aim was to shift offshore some of the enormous profits he promised them.
Strategic dispute resolution has become critical for companies to sustain their global transfer pricing strategies. Now, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced its International Transfer Pricing 2009 book which predicts an increase in disputes around the world as more and more tax authorities aggressively attempt to enforce their transfer pricing rules. “In 2009 we expect that several major territories will adopt new or revised requirements for transfer pricing and the impact of the OECD’s discussion draft on business restructurings will be evaluated,” said Garry Stone, a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Kolkata: Although the government failed to lay down a concrete roadmap on ways to reduce the huge fiscal deficit in the Union Budget 2009-10, the changes made in the tax structure, both direct and indirect taxes, were a welcome measure and could have a positive impact on the economy, felt industry experts.
British charities have welcomed moves announced by the Government which could herald major improvements in the way tax is regulated internationally.
Governments are being urged to shake up the way tax havens operate before the next G20 meeting later this summer, writes Neasa MacErlean
There was an awfully genteel protest organised by the Tax Justice Network in Jersey earlier this year. The TJN had joined up with a group of Jersey campaigners who would like the island to wean itself off its dependence on the more creative aspects of modern finance. Christian Aid have estimated that Southern countries lose at least $160 billion every year in unpaid taxes as a result of dodgy accounting by corporations operating on their territory. According to the OECD, there is $5 trillion (or more) parked in offshore tax havens, beyond the reach of impertinent governments and their demanding citizen bodies.
Authors of a report on tax havens and development, commissioned by the Norwegian government, believe international action is required to deal with the problem of transfer mispricing.
Taxpayers in France will be subjected to stricter transfer pricing rules under new legislation.
Tanzania – Economists have continued to poke holes into Finance and Economic Affairs minister, Mr Mustafa Mkulo’s budget saying it has a lot of problems.
Finance ministers meet (sic) in Berlin on Tuesday 23rd June to review the international crackdown on tax havens. The meeting was organised by the French and German finance ministries and was also attended by Hans-Rudolf Merz, Swiss finance minister. Interestingly, this meeting has been the occasion for the UK to announce its support for Country by Country reporting in order to fight aggressive tax avoidance, informs recent article in the Financial Times.