Global Transfer Pricing Forum is centre of debate

July 06, 2009

Transfer pricing has never been under so much scrutiny from taxpayers and tax authorities. Profits and, consequently, tax receipts are dwindling, as the recession in the global economy has put company balance sheets and national revenues under extreme pressure

This situation has compelled tax directors to look for efficiencies at all levels of their company’s tax affairs and officials to look for any source of revenue.Where does transfer pricing fit into these new realities? How can you apply the latest thinking on transfer pricing to the practical issues you are dealing with every day?

Clearly, profit allocation has become an even more critical concern for taxpayers at this time. They have to become adept at identifying the best locations for their company to locate their activities to derive the most tax benefits. Every part of a business’s supply chain is being examined.

At the same time, tax officials want to make sure they are doing all they can to minimise the gap between they believe they are due and what is being paid. This effort has meant that transfer pricing is a key area of contention between taxpayers and tax authorities.

International Tax Review’s ninth annual Global Transfer Pricing Forum at the Westin Hotel in Paris on September 23 and 24 next will bring together leading tax directors, officials and advisers to discuss these issues and help you to plan the best transfer pricing strategies for your business. How the economic downturn is affecting how taxpayers deal with transfer pricing and what form of transfer pricing planning your company needs when things get better are the two debates that will override the debate between panellist and among the delegates.

There is much to consider. The relevance of profit-based methodologies when companies are making losses is one. The effects on transfer pricing policies in the financial services industry, which has been hit hard by the recession, is another. Dispute resolution and the feasibility of renegotiating advance pricing agreements is a third. And transfer pricing and the labour market is something else that will generate debate in a time when companies are being forced to get by with fewer staff .

The foremost transfer pricing experts will tackle these issues and others at the Global Transfer Pricing Forum in Paris. It is the ideal opportunity for you to hear their views, increase your understanding and prepare for the future of transfer pricing.

Over the last eight years, the Global Transfer Pricing Forum has proved to be the most vibrant and insightful event for the discussion of the critical issues in the field.