Pursuit's Take
Globalization has increased incentives for multinational corporations to shift profits from country to country to use differences in the countries’ corporate tax systems to reduce taxes. This profit shifting can lead to the erosion of U.S. and other countries’ corporate tax bases, reducing tax revenues. OECD did a comprehensive analysis of corporate base erosion and profit shifting and, in the fall of 2015, issued 15 action plans to address the problem. GAO was asked to analyze the effects on the U.S. economy of adopting OECD actions.
GAO analyzed the potential effects of the two actions furthest along in implementation: revised transfer pricing guidelines and new transfer pricing documentation, including country-by-country reporting. For these actions, GAO examined (1) how likely it is that the action would reduce BEPS, (2) what is known about the potential administrative and compliance costs of the action, and (3) what is known about the potential effects the actions could have on the U.S. economy.
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