Category: Financial Transactions

In transfer pricing financing transactions includes inter-company loans, treasury activity (eg. cash pooling), and guarantees within MNEs.

Italy vs Veneto Banca, July 2017, Regional Tax Court, Case No 2691/2017

Italy vs Veneto Banca, July 2017, Regional Tax Court, Case No 2691/2017

In 2014, the tax authorities issued the Italien Bank a notice of assessment with which it reclaimed for taxation IRAP for 2009 part of the interest expense paid by the bank to a company incorporated under Irish law, belonging to the same group which, according to the tax authorities, it also controlled. In particular, the tax authorities noted that the spread on the bond was two points higher than the normal market spread. The Bank appealed the assessment, arguing that there was no subjective requirement, because at the time of the issue of the debenture loan it had not yet become part of the group of which the company that had subscribed to the loan belonged. It also pleaded that the assessment was unlawful because it applied a provision, Article 11(7) TUIR, provided for IRES purposes, the extension of which to IRAP purposes was provided ... Continue to full case
Germany vs "A Investment GmbH", June 2017, Tax Court , Case no 10 K 771/16

Germany vs “A Investment GmbH”, June 2017, Tax Court , Case no 10 K 771/16

A Investment GmbH, acquired all shares of B in May 2012. To finance the acquisition, A Investment GmbH took up a bank loan (term: 5 years; interest rate: 4.78%; secured; senior), a vendor loan (term: 6 years; interest rate: 10%; unsecured; subordinated) and a shareholder loan (term: 9 to 10 years; interest rate: 8%; unsecured; subordinated). The 8 % interest rate on the shareholder loan was determined by A Investment GmbH by applying the CUP method based on external comparables. The German tax authority, found that the interest rate of 8 % did not comply with the arm’s length principle. An assessment was issued where the interest rate was set to 5% based on the interest rate on the bank loan (internal CUP). A Investment GmbH filed an appeal to Cologne Tax Court. The court ruled that the interest rate of the bank loan, 4.78%, ... Continue to full case
Peru vs "Holding S.A.", June 2017, Tax Court, Case No 1308-2009

Peru vs “Holding S.A.”, June 2017, Tax Court, Case No 1308-2009

Following an audit the tax authorities issued an assessment, where the interest rate on a loan had been changed based on application of transfer pricing rules. An appeal was filed by “Holding S.A.” arguing that the transfer pricing rules do not apply to the loan operations observed, since there has not been a lower payment of income tax as required by paragraph a) of article 32-A of the aforementioned tax law, This is also not verified by having obtained losses in the years 2000 to 2005, since being a holding company and only receiving income from dividends, such losses cannot be carried forward, in addition to the fact that the only effect of the objection formulated is to reduce the loss and not to determine a higher tax payable. Judgement of the Tax Court The Tax Court sets aside the assessment and decided in favour ... Continue to full case
France vs General Electric France, June 2017, Conseil d État, Case No 392543

France vs General Electric France, June 2017, Conseil d État, Case No 392543

The Supreme Administrative Court laid down the factors to be applied in determining the abnormal nature of the remuneration of intragroup loans. “The normal or abnormal nature of the remuneration of loans taken by an enterprise from another enterprise to which it is affiliated must be assessed in relation to the remuneration that the lender should pay to a financial institution or similar body to which the enterprise is not related and would borrow, under similar conditions, sums of an equivalent amount. A lender’s assessment of the default risk of the borrower, whose risk premium is the consideration, depends on the debtor’s ability to repay the debt to the obligee until maturity. The assessment of the solvency risk of the borrower, in particular summarized in the periodic ratings that the rating agencies attribute to the companies that may, where appropriate, solicit them to this effect, ... Continue to full case
Liechtenstein BF AG, June 2017, Administrative Court, Case No VGH 2017/008

Liechtenstein BF AG, June 2017, Administrative Court, Case No VGH 2017/008

In the tax return for FY 2014, BF AG declared a asset loans to related parties (holding company C) in the amount of USD 67,322,417.76 and liability loans to related parties (shareholder) in the amount of USD 110,051,410.39. Furthermore, interest income of USD 1,917,825.02 and interest expenses of USD 1,894,410.39 were declared in the tax return. BF AG reported a net loss of USD 16,803.00. An assessment was issued 10 September 2015 by the tax administration. The tax administration adjusted the taxable net income/loss by an additional income of USD 1,024,661.00 and further tax adjustments of USD 1,224.00. The adjustment of USD 1,024,661.00 was justified because interest of 3.5% (USD 1,024,661.00) had been paid on the outstanding interest claims amounting to USD 29,276,021.00, although it had been agreed in the loan agreement of 28 December 2002 that the interest was to be paid quarterly. The ... Continue to full case
Norway vs Hess Norge AS, May 2017, Court of Appeal

Norway vs Hess Norge AS, May 2017, Court of Appeal

A Norwegian subsidiary of an international group (Hess Oil), refinanced an intra-group USD loan two years prior to the loans maturity date. The new loan was denominated in Norwegian kroner and had a significantly higher interest rate. The tax authorities reduced the interest payments of the Norwegian subsidiary pursuant to section 13-1 of the Tax Act for fiscal years 2009 – 2011, thereby increasing taxable income for years in question with a total of kroner 262 million. The Court of Appeal found for the most part in favor of the tax administraion. Under the circumstances of the case, neither the claimed refinancing risk nor the currency risk could sufficiently support it being commercially rational for the subsidiary to enter into the new loan agreement two years prior to the maturity date of the original USD loan. When applying the arm’s length principle, the company’s refinancing ... Continue to full case
US vs Wells Fargo, May 2017,  Federal Court, Case No. 09-CV-2764

US vs Wells Fargo, May 2017, Federal Court, Case No. 09-CV-2764

Wells Fargo, an American multinational financial services company, had claimed foreign tax credits in the amount of $350 based on a “Structured Trust Advantaged Repackaged Securities” (STARS) scheme. The STARS foreign tax credit scheme has two components — a trust structure which produces the foreign tax credits and a loan structure which generates interest deductions. Wells Fargo was of the opinion that the STARS arrangement was a single, integrated transaction that resulted in low-cost funding. In 2016, a jury found that the trust and loan structure were two independent transactions and that the trust transaction failed both the objective and subjective test of the “economic substance” analysis. With respect to the loan transaction the jury found that the transaction passed the objective test by providing a reasonable possibility of a pre-tax profit, but failed the subjective test as the transaction had been entered into “solely ... Continue to full case
US vs Santander Holding USA Inc, May 2017, Supreme Court, Case No. 16-1130

US vs Santander Holding USA Inc, May 2017, Supreme Court, Case No. 16-1130

Santander Holding USA is a financial-services company that used a tax strategy called Structured Trust Advantaged Repackaged Securities (STARS) to generate more than $400 million in foreign tax credits. The scheme was developed and promoted to several U.S. banks by Barclays Bank PLC, a U.K. financial-services company, and the accounting firm KPMG, LLC. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ultimately concluded that the STARS transaction was a sham, and that the economic-substance doctrine therefore prohibited petitioner from claiming the foreign tax credits. The STARS-scheme was designed to transform the foreign tax credit into economic profit, at the expense of the U.S. Treasury. STARS involved an arrangement whereby the U.S. taxpayer paid tax to the United Kingdom, claimed a foreign tax credit for that U.K. tax, and simultaneously recouped a substantial portion of its U.K. tax. Instead of the typical one-to-one correlation of credits claimed to taxes ... Continue to full case
India vs BG Exploration and Production Ltd., April 2017, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Delhi, Case no. 2227/Del/2014 & CO 13/Del/2015

India vs BG Exploration and Production Ltd., April 2017, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Delhi, Case no. 2227/Del/2014 & CO 13/Del/2015

BG Exploration and Production Ltd. had determined the remuneration for various services provided on an aggregated basis by applying the TNMM method using profit to sales as the Profit Level Indicator. The tax authorities found that a CUP method was the most appropriate method and that the various services provided should be priced separately. On that basis an assessment was issued. BG E&P filed a complaint and the Dispute Resolution Panel set aside the assessment. “Consequently, after verifying that assessee has demonstrated need for those services, benefit derived from those services, evidence of receipt of such services and submitting that those services are neither duplicative in nature and nor are share holder activities, the DRP directed the Ld. transfer pricing officer to delete the adjustment proposed with respect to the intragroup services of Rs. 3329766244/–, deserves to be upheld.” The tax authorities then filed an ... Continue to full case
Australia vs Chevron Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, 21 April 2017, Federal Court 2017 FCAFC 62

Australia vs Chevron Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, 21 April 2017, Federal Court 2017 FCAFC 62

This case was about a cross border financing arrangement used by Chevron Australia to reduce it’s taxes – a round robin. Chevron Australia had set up a company in the US, Chevron Texaco Funding Corporation, which borrowed money in US dollars at an interest rate of 1.2% and then made an Australian dollar loan at 8.9% to the Australian parent company. The loan increased Chevron Australia’s costs and reduced taxable profits. The interest payments, which was not taxed in the US, came back to Australia in the form of tax free dividends. The US company was just a shell created for the sole purpose of raising funds in the commercial paper market and then lending those funds to the Australian company. Australian Courts ruled in favor of the tax administration and the case was since appealed by Chevron. In April 2017 the Federal Court decided to dismiss Chevron’s appeal. (Following the Federal Court’s decision, Chevron appealed to the ... Continue to full case
Spain vs McDonald's, March 2017, Spanish Tribunal Supremo, Case no 961-2017

Spain vs McDonald’s, March 2017, Spanish Tribunal Supremo, Case no 961-2017

An adjustments had been made by the tax authorities to a series of loans granted by GOLDEN ARCHES OF SPAIN SA (GAOS), domiciled in Ireland, to RESTAURANTES MC DONALDS, S.A. (RMSA), throughout the period 2000/2004 for amounts ranging between 10,000,000 and 86,650,000 €, at interest rates between 3,450% and 6,020%. The tax administration held that GAOS “has no structure or means to grant the loan and monitor compliance with its conditions … it does not have its own funds to lend, it receives them from other companies in the group”. The Administration refers to a loan received by GAOS from the parent company at a rate of 0%, which is paid in advance to receive another with an interest rate of 3.3%. The Administration indicates that “nobody, under normal market conditions, cancels a loan to constitute another one under clearly worse conditions”. The arm’s length ... Continue to full case
UK vs. Ladbroke Group, February 2017, case nr. UT/2016/0012 & 0013

UK vs. Ladbroke Group, February 2017, case nr. UT/2016/0012 & 0013

Tax avoidance scheme. Use of total return swap over shares in subsidiary to create a deemed creditor relationship. Value of shares depressed by novating liability for large loans to subsidiary. The scheme used by Ladbroke UK involved a total return swap and a novation of loans to extract reserves. Used to achieve a “synthetic transfer” of the JBB business to LB&G. In essence, this involved extracting the surplus which had accumulated in LGI and transferring it to LB&G prior to an actual sale of the JBB business to LB&G. The normal way to extract such reserves would be by a dividend payment. The Court ruled, that it is sufficient for the application of paragraph 13 (UK GAAR) that the relevant person has an unallowable purpose. Where the unallowable purpose is to secure a tax advantage for another person, HMRC do not have to show that the other ... Continue to full case

Venezuela vs. Sodexho, 15. Dec 2016, Tax Court of Caracas

Sodexho Venezuela had appealed an adjustment made under the Venezuelan transfer pricing rules. The tax authorities claimed that the interest rate charged by Sodexho on a loan, made to a related party outside Venezuela, was not at arm’s-length. The tax authorities claimed that when applying the CUP method and comparing the controlled transaction with an uncontrolled transaction, Sodexho Pass Venezuela should have used an active rate such as the prime rate. The tax court ruled that Sodexho had correctly applied the CUP method and therefore cancelled the transfer pricing adjustment ... Continue to full case
Germany vs "X Sub GmbH", December 2016, Münster Fiscal Court, Case No 13 K 4037/13 K,F

Germany vs “X Sub GmbH”, December 2016, Münster Fiscal Court, Case No 13 K 4037/13 K,F

X Sub GmbH is a German subsidiary of a multinational group. The parent company Y Par B.V. and the financial hub of the group Z Fin B.V. – a sister company to the German subsidiary – are both located in the Netherlands. In its function as a financial hub, Z Fin B.V granted several loans to X Sub GmbH. The interest rate on the loans had been determined by the group based on the CUP method. The German tax authority considered that the amount of interest on the inter-company loans paid by X Sub GmbH to Z Fin B.V. was too high. An assessment was issued where the interest rate was instead determined based on the cost-plus method. The differences in the calculated interest amounts was added to the taxable income of the German GmbH as a hidden profit distribution (vGA). X Sub GmbH filed ... Continue to full case
Switzerland vs. A GmbH, 7 Dec. 2016,  Administrative Court, Case No. SB.2016.00008

Switzerland vs. A GmbH, 7 Dec. 2016, Administrative Court, Case No. SB.2016.00008

The distinction between cash pool receivables and long-term loans. A GmbH is a group company of the global A-group. The A Group also includes company F Ltd, which is responsible for the global treasury and cash pooling of the A Group. In 2008, A GmbH entered into an agreement with F Ltd on the short-term deposit of excess liquidity and short-term borrowing (cash pool). Under the terms of the agreement, if the balance were in A GmbH’s favor, recievables would be credited interest based on the one-month London Interbank Bid Rate (LIBID) less 6 , 25 basis points, but at least 0.05%. The Swiss tax administration argued that a portion of the cash pool receivable had to be treated as a long-term loan bearing higher interest rates. The long-term loan was set to the minimum cash pool receivable balance of each fiscal year. The interest ... Continue to full case
Russia vs Continental Tires RUS LLC , Aug. 2014, Russian Court of Appeal, Case No А40- 251161/2015

Russia vs Continental Tires RUS LLC , Aug. 2014, Russian Court of Appeal, Case No А40- 251161/2015

Continental Tires RUS LLC had been issued a substantial loan from Continental AG (Germany). Following an audit the tax authority established that the main purpose of the loans was the systematic withdrawal of funds abroad. According to the tax authorities the loan transactions were concluded for the purpose of artificially raising cash in the form of loans and, accordingly, artificially increasing accounts payable, while the shortage of working capital arose and arises from the special, continuous and coordinated provision of deferred payments to buyers of tyre products. Judgement of the Russian Court of Appeal The Court ruled in favor of the tax administration. Excerpt: “The provisions of Article 252 of the Tax Code stipulate that the taxpayer reduces the income received by the amount of expenses incurred. Expenses are considered to be justified and documented expenses of the taxpayer. Reasonable expenses are defined as economically ... Continue to full case
Norway vs. IKEA Handel og Ejendom, October 2016, Supreme Court HRD 2016-722

Norway vs. IKEA Handel og Ejendom, October 2016, Supreme Court HRD 2016-722

In 2007, IKEA reorganised its property portfolio in Norway so that the properties were demerged from the Norwegian parent company and placed in new, separate companies. The shares in these companies were placed in a newly established property company, and the shares in this company were in turn sold to the original parent company, which then became an indirect owner of the same properties. The last acquisition was funded through an inter-company loan. Based on the non-statutory anti-avoidance rule in Norwegian Tax Law, the Supreme Court concluded that the parent company could not be allowed to deduct the interest on the inter-company loan, as the main purpose of the reorganisation was considered to be to save tax. The anti-avoidance rule in section 13-1 of the Tax Act did not apply in this circumstance. Click here for translation Norway vs IKEA-Handel-og-Ejendom-HRD-2016-722 ... Continue to full case
Italy vs "Lender SpA", October 2016, Regional Tax Commission, Case No 17/10/2016 n. 308/2

Italy vs “Lender SpA”, October 2016, Regional Tax Commission, Case No 17/10/2016 n. 308/2

The Tax Agency had issued some notices of assessment against “Lender SpA” that had provided non-interest bearing loans to two Serbian companies, of which it owned respectively 70 and 80 per cent of the share capital, because it had decided not to recognise such loans, hypothesising a violation of Article 110, paragraph 7 of the Italian Income Tax Code (Tuir), on the subject of transfer pricing. An appeal was filed by Lender SpA with the Provincial Tax Commission where the assessment was set aside. An appeal was then filed by the tax authorities with the Regional Tax Commission. Decision of the Regional Tax Commission The Court, upheld the first instance ruling and affirmed that the non-interest bearing loan cannot be considered an income component, but must be considered a type of financing between affiliated companies. Excerpt “The Office’s appeal is unfounded and the judgment under ... Continue to full case
Netherlands vs Corp, October 2016, Supreme Court 16/01370

Netherlands vs Corp, October 2016, Supreme Court 16/01370

Company A had acquired the business (assets and liabilities) of another company, through an Acquisition B.V. Company A provided a loan of EUR 300,000 to Acquisition B.V. in 2008. The Acquisition B.V. failed to perform well and went bankrupt in 2011. Company A claimed a write-down loss on the loan in its corporate income tax return. The Tax Administration stated that this was an extreme default risk loan and did not accept the loss. According to Dutch case law the main characteristic of an EDR loan is that an arm’s length interest rate cannot be found – the shareholder grants the loan under such circumstances that it is clear from the outset that it cannot be repaid and the shareholder does not have business interest, other than in its capacity as shareholder, to grant the loan. The Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal disagreed with the Tax ... Continue to full case
Norway vs. ConocoPhillips, October 2016, Supreme Court HR-2016-988-A, Case No. 2015/1044)

Norway vs. ConocoPhillips, October 2016, Supreme Court HR-2016-988-A, Case No. 2015/1044)

A tax assessments based on anti-avoidance doctrine “gjennomskjæring” were set aside. The case dealt with the benefits of a multi-currency cash pool arrangement. The court held that the decisive question was whether the allocation of the benefits was done at arm’s length. The court dismissed the argument that the benefits should accure to the parent company as only common control between the parties which should be disregarded. The other circumstances regarding the actual transaction should be recognized when pricing the transaction. In order to achieve an arm’s length price, the comparison must take into account all characteristics of the controlled transaction except the parties’ association with each other. While the case was before the Supreme Court, the Oil Tax Board made a new amendment decision, which also included a tax assessment for 2002. This amendment, which was based on the same anti-avoidance considerations, was on its own to the company’s advantage. Following the Supreme Court judgment, a new ... Continue to full case