Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/67717 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
FZID Discussion Paper No. 61-2012
Publisher: 
Universität Hohenheim, Forschungszentrum Innovation und Dienstleistung (FZID), Stuttgart
Abstract: 
Over the past decade, several countries augmented their national tax law by transfer pricing legislations in order to limit opportunities for tax-motivated transfer price distortions and the associated relocation of multnational income from their borders. The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of transfer pricing laws on multinational profit shifting behaviour. To do so, we collect unique data on the evolution of national transfer price requirements in Europe over the past decade. This data is linked to accounting information on multinational firms in the EU and to corporate tax rate data. In line with previous studies, we find that multinational firms engage in significant tax-motivated profit shifting behaviour. The analysis furthermore suggests that transfer price documentation rules are instrumental in restricting income shifting activities. The effect is statistically significant and economically relevant. Our analysis thus underpins the benefits of implementing transfer price documentation requirements and suggests that they may be socially desirable despite the high administrative burden they impose on firms and tax authorities.
Subjects: 
corporate taxation
international profit shifting
transfer price documentation requirements
JEL: 
F23
H25
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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