Initial findings of two transfer pricing surveys by TP Week show transfer pricing as the key tax issue for tax directors across industry worldwide. They will be the forerunners of a series of market surveys which we intend to conduct over the next few months.
In the first we have contacted tax directors and transfer pricing directors in 100 major financial institutions in all major markets. We have asked them to identify the key issues for transfer pricing specialists in the banking and financial services sectors. We are seeking to identify the major transfer pricing issues for transfer pricing and tax leaders
Our initial findings point to transfer pricing emerging as the single most critical tax for international banks. Bankers told TP Week that it is progressively assuming greater importance.
All of our respondents so far have point to the attitude of revenue authorities being increasingly combative. All respondents are guaranteed anonymity but one bank – a household name across the world – said: The tax authorities in Asia becoming ruder and more aggressive. We find the ones in Japan and Korea to be the worst.”
Our second and larger survey is conducted among 500 tax and transfer pricing directors in a mix of industry sectors exclusive of financial services but drawn from many jurisdictions around the world.
This again pointed to transfer pricing achieving greater impact on their workloads. Many talked about the pressures of contemporaneous documentation regulation, transfer pricing audits, unsympathetic revenue authorities and cost sharing approaches.
Both surveys are still running – until the end of February. If you are included in the sample groups for either survey please email to tpweek@euromoneyplc.com