Tag: Check-the-Box

The “check-the-box” regulations in the US paved the way for various new tax avoidance and tax deferral strategies. Specifically, they expanded the opportunity for “hybrid branch” or “hybrid entity” strategies, which take advantage of differences in the classification of an entity as a corporation or not in multiple jurisdictions, in order to engage in cross-border tax arbitrage.

US vs TBL LICENSING LLC, January 2022, U.S. Tax Court, Case No. 158 T.C. No 1 (Docket No. 21146-15)

A restructuring that followed the acquisition of Timberland by VF Enterprises in 2011 resulted in an intra-group transfer of ownership to valuable intangibles to a Swiss corporation, TBL Investment Holdings. The IRS was of the opinion that gains from the transfer was taxable. Judgement of the US Tax Court The tax court upheld the assessment of the tax authorities. Excerpt: “we have concluded that petitioner’s constructive distribution to VF Enterprises of the TBL GmbH stock that petitioner constructively received in exchange for its intangible property was a “disposition†within the meaning of section 367(d)(2)(A)(ii)(II). We also conclude, for the reasons explained in this part IV, that no provision of the regulations allows petitioner to avoid the recognition of gain under that statutory provision.†“Because we do not “agree[] to reduce the adjustment to income for the trademarks based on a 20-year useful life limitation, pursuant to Temp. Treas. Reg. § 1.367(d)-1T,†we determine, in accordance with the parties’ stipulation, that “[p]etitioner’s increase in income for the transfer of the trademarks is $1,274,100,000.†Adding that figure to the agreed value of the foreign workforce and customer relationships that petitioner transferred to TBL GmbH and reducing the sum by the agreed trademark basis, we conclude that petitioner’s income for the taxable year in issue should be increased by $1,452,561,000 ($1,274,100,000 +$23,400,000 + $174,400,000 − $19,339,000), as determined in the notice of deficiency. Because petitioner did not assign error to the other two adjustments reflected in the notice of deficiency, it follows that respondent is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Accordingly, we will grant respondent’s motion for summary judgment and deny petitioner’s corresponding motion.” Click here for translation US vs TBL Licensing LLC Jan 2022 US tax court ...

Netherlands vs X B.V., July 2020, Supreme Court (Preliminary ruling by the Advocate General), Case No ECLI:NL:PHR:2020:672

X bv is part of the worldwide X group, a financial service provider listed on the US stock exchange. At issue is deductibility of interest payments by X bv on a € 482 million loan granted by the parent company, US Inc. In 2010 the original loan between X bv and US Inc. was converted into two loans of € 191 million and € 291 million granted by a Luxembourg finance company in the X group, to two jointly taxed subsidiaries of X bv. According to the Dutch Tax Authorities, the interest payments on these loans falls under the provisions in Dutch art. 10a of the VPB Act 1969 whereby interest deductions are restricted. The Court of appeal disagreed and ruled in favor of X bv. This decision was appealed to the Supreme Court by the tax authorities. In a preliminary ruling, the Advocate General advises the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal. According to the Advocate General, X bv is entitled to the interest deduction. The conditions of the loans are at arm’s length. Taxpayers are free in their choice of financing their participations, including choosing financing arrangements based on tax reasons. The loans have not been taken out on the basis of non-business (shareholder) motives. Nor is it important that the interest deducted in the Netherlands is also deducted in the US and France (under the Dutch provisions applicable in the years of the disputed transactions). Click here for translation ECLI_NL_PHR_2020_672 ...

A.3. Legal Structure

A.3. Legal Structure   A.3.1.       General Principles of Company Law A.3.1.1.              The legal systems used by countries include the common law and civil law systems. The common law system originates in the UK and is used in countries such as Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and the USA. The common law is based on judgments in court cases. A judgment of a superior court is binding on lower courts in future cases. The civil law system has its origins in Roman law and operates in Europe, South America and Japan. Under a civil law system, law is enacted and codified by parliament. Companies are recognized under both systems as artificial legal persons with perpetual life and limited liability. The domestic law treatment of a partnership varies in common law and civil law countries. A.3.1.2.              Most countries treat partnerships as fiscally transparent entities with flow-through treatment under which the partnership is ignored and tax is imposed on the partners according to their respective shares of partnership income. Other countries treat partnerships as taxable units subject to taxation as entities, including company treatment. Some countries such as the USA have limited liability companies which provide the benefit of limited liability and allow the entity to choose either flow-through treatment or treatment as a taxable unit. This is called the “check the box†system and the entities are referred to as “hybridsâ€. A feature of common law countries is the “trust†concept which is an obligation in relation to property which allows for concurrent legal and beneficial ownership of the trust property. A trustee will be the legal owner of property but holds the property on trust for the beneficiaries which may include both income and capital beneficiaries. While business operations may be carried on in some common law countries using a trust structure, MNEs would not normally use trusts to carry on business operations. A.3.1.3.              One of the key decisions facing any MNE when expanding its operations to another country is the type of legal structure it will use to operate in that jurisdiction. The alternatives for an MNE are to operate abroad through locally incorporated subsidiary companies (associated enterprises) or operate abroad using permanent establishments (branches). Foreign subsidiaries may be either fully-owned by the parent company or partly-owned. A.3.1.4.              An MNE is a group of companies or other entities and under the company law of the country in which each company is incorporated it is a legal entity. This choice of legal structure will be affected by a number of factors, apart from the tax implications, including: Legal liability; Risk and control; and Administrative and regulatory obligations and costs. A.3.1.5.              Other factors which may affect the choice of the legal form of the enterprise include: Exchange controls; Requirements for minimum shareholding by local persons or entities; Administrative costs; Extraction of profits; and Capital requirements. A.3.1.6.              MNEs may also carry on business abroad through a partnership or joint venture. In most jurisdictions partnerships are not legal entities and are fiscally transparent. For a partnership to exist, an MNE would require other entities to be partners such as independent entities or subsidiaries. Joint ventures involve independent companies working together on a specific project and a joint venture party may include a government or a government authority. The business structures used by an MNE may change over time such as, for example, commencing operations in a jurisdiction using a joint venture structure and then buying out the joint venture partner and operating in that jurisdiction through an associated enterprise. An MNE may also operate abroad using an agent, which may be an independent agent, a dependent agent or a commissionaire. A.3.2.       Companies and Permanent Establishments A.3.2.1.              In an MNE group, the parent company and subsidiary companies are separate legal entities and they may enter into intra-group transactions. On the other hand, an international enterprise with a head office in the country of residence and permanent establishments abroad is one legal entity and a permanent establishment cannot legally enter into transactions with other parts of the enterprise because transactions require at least two legal entities. In the context of the Business Profits article of some tax treaties, notional transactions within an international enterprise (either between a head office and its permanent establishment or between permanent establishments) may be recognized provided they comply with the arm’s length principle. In addition, for accounting and management purposes, the head office of an international enterprise and a branch may be treated as “transacting†with each other. Whether or not dealings between a head office and its branch are subject to transfer pricing rules would depend on the scope of a country’s domestic legislation and its tax treaties. A.3.2.2.              Operational structures used by MNEs vary and evolve over time. There are many types of structures or hybrids which an organization can choose to adopt, but an organization’s primary aim should be to adopt an operational structure that will most effectively support and help it to achieve its business objectives. MNE operational structures usually differ from the legal structures and as a result, employees generally operate beyond and across the boundaries of legal entities and countries. Examples of the types of modern operational structures an MNE may adopt include a functional structure, a divisional structure or a matrix structure as outlined below. A.3.3.       Types of Organizational Structures A.3.3.1.              In a functional structure an MNE’s functions are performed by the employees within the functional divisions. These functions are usually specialized tasks, for instance the information technology engineering department would be staffed with software engineers. As a whole, a functional organization is best suited to a producer of standardized goods and services at large volume and low cost to exploit economies of scale. Coordination and specialization of tasks are centralized in a functional structure, which makes producing a limited amount of products or services efficient and predictable. A.3.3.2.              Under a divisional structure, each organizational function is grouped into a division with each division containing all the necessary resources and functions within it, such ...