BEPS case study

On February 13 2013, the OECD released a report on tax planning by multinationals that reduces group corporate tax liability to an unacceptably low level, as a first step against base erosion and profit-shifting (BEPS). In the preceding months Starbucks, Google and several others were publicly attacked for not paying their “fair” share. Johann Muller, a member of the international corporate taxation department at the Danish Tax Authority – submitting this article in a personal capacity in advance of the OECD Working Party No 6 meeting in March – examines the issues that need to be addressed when looking at examples 1 and 2 to Annex C of the BEPS report.