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Can formula apportionment really prevent multinational enterprises from profit shifting? The role of asset valuation, intragroup debt, and leases

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  • Kiesewetter, Dirk
  • Steigenberger, Tobias
  • Stier, Matthias
Abstract
The European Commission has been supporting a transition from a system of separate accounting to a system of formula apportionment. In 2011, it presented a proposal for a council directive on a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). Formula apportionment is often considered more resistant to profit shifting and assumed to reduce compliance costs. We use a dynamic model of tax accounting based on neoclassical investment theory and effective tax rates to determine whether, and to what extent, formula apportionment mitigates the efficiency of typical profit-shifting measures. We focus on the roles of transfer pricing and intragroup debt financing (through loans and leases) under both separate accounting and formula apportionment. Our results show that instead of eliminating tax planning strategies, the proposed system will simply induce a shift from manipulating reported profits to influencing the apportionment key. Inside the European Union, the CCCTB may be able to render thin capitalisation rules and transfer pricing documentation redundant. However, formula apportionment invites new forms of tax planning involving manipulating the book value of assets rather than profit shifting.

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  • Kiesewetter, Dirk & Steigenberger, Tobias & Stier, Matthias, 2014. "Can formula apportionment really prevent multinational enterprises from profit shifting? The role of asset valuation, intragroup debt, and leases," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 175, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:arqudp:175
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    2. Regina Ortmann & Erich Pummerer, 2023. "Distortional effects of separate accounting and formula apportionment on factor allocation," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(8), pages 1277-1307, October.
    3. Regina Ortmann & Caren Sureth-Sloane, 2016. "Can the CCCTB alleviate tax discrimination against loss-making European multinational groups?," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(5), pages 441-475, July.
    4. Ortmann, Regina & Pummerer, Erich, 2015. "Formula apportionment or separate accounting? Tax-induced distortions of multinationals' locational investment decisions," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 198, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    5. Kunka Petkova & Alfons J. Weichenrieder, 2020. "The relevance of depreciation allowances as a fiscal policy instrument: A hybrid approach to CCCTB?," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 579-610, August.
    6. Ortmann, Regina, 2015. "Uncertainty in weighting formulary apportionment factors and its impact on after-tax income of multinational groups," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 184, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    7. Rainer Niemann & Ulrich Schreiber, 2020. "Herausforderungen und Entwicklungsperspektiven des Steuersystems [Challenges and Development Perspectives of the Tax System]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(1), pages 1-48, March.
    8. Mlčúchová Markéta, 2023. "Formulary apportionment in the European Union—future research agenda," Economics and Business Review, Sciendo, vol. 9(3), pages 124-152, October.
    9. Müller-Thomczik Sandra & Reiter Lukas, 2022. "Splitting of Corporate Taxes in Germany and Formulaic Distribution of a CCCTB – Critical Comparison," Central European Economic Journal, Sciendo, vol. 9(56), pages 269-290, January.
    10. Jochen Hundsdoerfer & Julia Wagner, 2020. "How accurately does the CCCTB apportionment formula allocate profits? An evaluation of the European Commission proposal," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(4), pages 495-536, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Effective Tax Rate; CCCTB; Formula Apportionment; Tax Planning; Profit Shifting; Debt Financing; Leasing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory

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