Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and Business Restructurings

Abstract

In anticipation of the release of the new Chapter IX of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Transfer Pricing Guidelines, this article looks at the potential impact that the outcome of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project will have on business restructurings. Specifically, the article examines some of the areas of convergence and divergence between the 2010 version of Chapter IX and the new guidance issued under the BEPS Actions 8–10 Final Reports (Aligning Transfer Pricing Outcomes with Value Creation). Whilst the new guidance arising from Actions 8–10 is anticipated to offer additional clarifications in the area of business restructurings, we note that there are additional areas of complexity which are likely to lead to increased controversy for multinational enterprises (MNEs), with double taxation as an inevitable result.