Multinational companies are more concerned about the image their tax affairs portray to the public than ever before but, with tax departments operating in a number of different countries, with various tax managers responsible for managing that jurisdiction’s tax affairs, how can a company stay on top of its tax affairs and judge the structures that may be acceptable in one country but cause problems in another?
It is fair to say the Indian budget this month left corporate investors disappointed. Expectation was high for business-friendly tax measures but few appeared, save for an announcement that safe harbour rules and guidance are imminent.
The UN and the OECD are both working on important transfer pricing policy discussion reports and representatives from both organisations have said tax practitioners can expect significant developments in 2013.
Robin Beran, chief tax officer and director for global tax and trade at Caterpillar, the machinery manufacturer, told delegates at the Tax Council Policy Institute conference on intangibles in Washington today that policy discussions about how to tax intangible assets are giving him “night terrors”.
