Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic Business leaders, tax practitioners, and attorneys are considering how to address the serious challenges that may arise from disruptions in commercial activities due to business closures, travel restrictions, and stay-at-home orders that were put in place in many countries around the world in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This is also impacting transfer pricing syst ...

Reflections on the Ninth Circuit’s Decision in Amazon.com, Inc. v. Commissioner What is included when valuing intangibles assets for transfer pricing purposes? This is an issue that was addressed once by the U.S. Tax Court and more recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a unanimous decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (issued on August 16, 2019) the court of appeals affirmed ...

In Related-Party Cost Sharing Arrangements (Part II of II) This two-part paper demonstrates how the discount rate associated with the investment in intangibles developed under a cost sharing arrangement can be calculated using an analytical framework that explicitly considers variability of outcomes in profitability of the intangibles to be developed. Such framework is the probability-weighted scenario anal ...

In Related-Party Cost Sharing Arrangements (Part I of II) This two-part paper demonstrates how the discount rate associated with the investment in intangibles developed under a cost sharing arrangement can be calculated using an analytical framework that explicitly considers variability of outcomes in profitability of the intangibles to be developed. Such framework is the probability-weighted scenario analy ...

Best Practices: Thought Leadership in Valuation, Damages, and Transfer Price Analysis This fall, Robert F. Reilly and Robert P. Schweihs published Best Practices: Thought Leadership in Valuation, Damages, and Transfer Price Analysis. The book celebrates the 50th anniversary of Willamette Management Associates and is intended to present thought leadership. The topics selected for inclusion are topics that th ...

Writing on behalf of BIAC, Will Morris said that many MNEs that have centralized intra-group services centers expend significant sums supporting audits for intra-group payments. He said the goal for this project should be to create clear, simplified, rules and safe harbors, where possible. Existing guidance should be clarified, not expanded, he said. To read the full article in MNE Tax, click: OECD Publishe ...

IRS Division Releases List of Examination Issues The Internal Revenue Service Large Business and International Division has released a list of 13 issues that could be the focus of upcoming examinations.  Tammy Whitehouse summarizes the guidance. To read the full article in Compliance Week, click: IRS Identifies 13 "Campaigns" for Tighter Compliance Scrutiny. ...

Aligning Business Models and Business Practices A key factor in establishing a reasonable transfer price is establishing the business model used by sales and distribution organizations. In this article, the authors describe the three primary models and their relevance establishing and defending a transfer price. ...

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have continued growing since 2008’s financial crisis.  Through the first three months of 2016, the value of worldwide M&A totaled nearly $750 billion.  Cross-border M&A activity totaled $308 billion—accounting for a quarterly record-high 41% share of global M&A value.  As in previous years, M&A in industries with hefty intangible assets—such as pharmaceutic ...

While the vast majority of jurisdictions have moved away from the new business rule and adopted the modern new business rule, by which new/unestablished businesses can recover damages, such adoption does not diminish the requirements under the reasonable certainty standard. Given the lack of historical financial performance data and under the lens of the reasonable certainty standard, estimates of lost prof ...

Part II: Nine Additional Reasons a Valuation Is Needed in Chapter 11 This second part of the article focuses on the remaining nine reasons a valuation of IP is necessary in a Chapter 11. ...

Part I: Three of the 12 Reasons a Valuation Is Needed in Chapter 7, 9, and 11 This two-part article summarizes the various types of intellectual property that valuation analysts (“analysts”) may encounter within a commercial bankruptcy controversy, lists the generally accepted intellectual property valuation approaches, and presents the reasons why analysts may be asked to value intellectual property within ...

A Primer on the Approaches and Issues Involved in Valuing Trademarks Valuation analysts are often called on to perform valuation, damages, and transfer price analyses of trademark-related intangible property for various purposes. This discussion describes the valuation of trademarks within the context of both financial accounting and income tax accounting (in particular, tax-related intercompany transfer pr ...

Because of increased IRS audit procedures, multi-national corporations face great risk when it comes to transfer pricing from both a compliance and tax planning perspective.  The familiar multi-nationals like Amazon or Microsoft have made headlines regarding transfer pricing disputes and adjustments that run into the billions.  In an excellent article by the Journal of Accountancy, small, closely-held compa ...

The standard 10 stages to use in an intangible asset engagement In this second installment, Robert F. Reilly completes his review of the 10 typical stages of any intangible asset analysis engagement. For purposes of this article, an intangible asset analysis may include a valuation, damages analysis, transfer price study, or other economic analysis. The business appraiser will typically consider these stage ...

The standard 10 stages In this first half of his two-part series, Robert F. Reilly summarizes six of the ten typical stages of any intangible asset analysis assignment. For purposes of this article, an intangible asset analysis may include a valuation, damages analysis, transfer price study, or other economic analysis. The business appraiser will typically consider these stages, or elements, before, during, ...