In 2010, E S.A. transferred the legal ownership of a trademark to subsidiary S and subsequently entered into an agreement with S for the “licensing of the use of the trademarks”. In 2013, the same trademark was transferred back to E. S.A. As a result of these transactions, E. S.A., between 2010 and 2013, recognised the licence fees paid to S as tax costs, and then, as a result of the re-purchase of those trademarks in 2013 – it again made depreciation write-offs on them, recognising them as tax costs. The tax authority found that E S.A. had reported income lower than what would have been reported had the relationships not existed. E S.A. had  overestimated the tax deductible costs by PLN […] for the depreciation of trademarks, which is a consequence of the overestimation for tax purposes of the initial value of the trademarks repurchased from S – 27 December 2013 – by the amount of PLN […]. The ... Read more

Skechers US Inc. had formed a related party entity, SKII, in 1999 and transferred IP and $18 million in cash to the entity in exchange for 100 percent of the stock. Skechers then licensed the IP back from SKII and claimed a franchise tax deduction for the royalties and also deductions for management fees and interest expenses on the unpaid balance of royalty fees. The Wisconsin tax authorities held that these were sham transaction lacking business purpose and disallowed the deductions. Judgement of the Tax Appeals Commission The Tax Appeals Commission ruled in favor of the tax authorities. Excerpt “(…) The burden of proof is on Petitioner to prove that the Department’s assessment is incorrect by clear and satisfactory evidence. In this case, Petitioner must prove that it had a valid nontax business purpose for entering into the licensing transaction that generated the royalty deductions claimed on its Wisconsin tax returns and that the licensing transaction had economic substance. Both ... Read more

“Fertilizer Licence SA” (“A”) transferred its trademarks to “B” in 2013, previously financed the transfer through a cash contribution, and then, following the transfer, paid royalties to “A” in exchange for the ability to use the assets. According to the tax authorities, a situation where an entity transfers its assets to another entity, finances the transfer and then pays for access to use those assets does not reflect the conditions that unrelated parties would establish. An unrelated party, in order to obtain such licence fees from another unrelated party, would first have to incur the costs of manufacturing or acquiring the trademarks and to finance these costs itself without the involvement of the licensee. An independent entity which has finances the creation or purchase of an intangible asset, should not incur further costs for the use of that asset. Furthermore, in determining the licence fee to “B” for the use of trademarks, “A” relied on formal legal ownership, granting “B” ... Read more

On 30 November 2012, X sold its trademarks to subsidiary C which in turn sold the trademarks to subsidiary D. X and D then entered into a trademark license agreement according to which X would pay license fees to D. These license fees were deducted by X in its 2013 tax return. The tax authorities claimed that X had understated its taxabel income as the license fees paid by X to D for the use of trademarks were not related to obtaining or securing a source of revenue. The decision stated that in the light of the principles of logic and experience, the actions taken by the taxpayer made no sense and were not aimed at achieving the revenue in question, but instead at generating costs artificially – only for tax purposes. An appeal was filed by X. Judgement of the Administrative Court The court set aside the assessment of the tax authorities and decided in favor of X. According ... Read more

Where the business restructuring provides for a transfer of an intangible followed by a new arrangement whereby the transferor will continue to use the intangible transferred, the entirety of the commercial arrangement between the parties should be examined in order to accurately delineate the transaction. If an independent party were to transfer an asset that it intends to continue exploiting, it would be prudent for it to negotiate the conditions of such a future use (e.g. in a license agreement) concomitantly with the conditions of the transfer. In effect, there will generally be a relationship between the determination of an arm’s length compensation for the transfer, the determination of an arm’s length compensation for the post-restructuring transactions in relation to the transferred intangible, such as future licence fees that may be payable by the transferor to be able to continue using the asset, and the expected future profitability of the transferor from its future use of the asset. For instance, ... Read more

Also in the case where a local operation disposes of the legal ownership of its intangibles to a foreign associated enterprise and continues to use the intangibles further to the disposal, but does so in a different legal capacity (e.g. as a licensee), the conditions of the transfer should be assessed from both the transferor’s and the transferee’s perspectives. The determination of an arm’s length remuneration for the subsequent ownership, control and exploitation of the transferred intangible should take account of the extent of the functions performed, assets used and risks assumed by the parties in relation to the intangible transferred, and in particular analysing control of risks and control of functions performed relating to the development, enhancement, maintenance, protection, or exploitation of the intangibles ... Read more

The business activity of A S.A. was wholesale of pharmaceutical products to external pharmacies, hospitals, wholesalers (including: to affiliated wholesalers). The tax authority had noted that the company’s name had been changed in FY 2013, and a loss in the amount of PLN […] had been reported in the company’s tax return. An audit revealed that the Company had transferred significant assets (real estate) to a related entity on non-arm’s length terms. The same real estate was then going forward made available to the company on a fee basis under lease and tenancy agreements. The tax authority issued an assessment where a “restructuring fee” in the amount of PLN […] was added to the taxable income, reflecting the amount which would have been achieved if the transaction had been agreed between independent parties. According to the company the tax authority was not entitled at all to examine the compliance of the terms of these transactions with the terms that would ... Read more

Brewery S.A. had transferred its trademarks to a subsidiary in Cyprus and in subsequent years paid royalties/licences for the use of the trademarks. The tax authorities had disregarded deductions of the royalty/licence payments for tax purposes, and the resulting assessment of additional taxable income was later upheld by the District Administrative Court. Judgement of the Supreme Administrative Court In its judgment, the court stated that it is beyond the scope of the legal possibilities of tax authorities to assess legal actions and to derive – contrary to their content – negative tax consequences for the taxpayer, if such authorisation does not directly result from a tax provision. The court referred to the position contained in the NSA’s judgment of 16 December 2005, in the light of which, the tax authorities have no grounds under tax law for questioning effectively concluded agreements, even if their purpose is to reduce the tax burden. Seeking to pay the lowest possible taxes is not ... Read more

“Brewery S.A.” had transferred its trademarks to a subsidiary in Cyprus and in subsequent years paid royalties/licences for the use of the trademarks. The tax authorities disregarded the deductions of the royalty/licence payments, and issued an assessment of additional taxable income. An appeal was filed by “Brewery S.A.” Judgement of the District Administrative Court The court dismissed the appeal of “Brewery S.A.” and upheld the assessment issued by the tax authorities. “It should be emphasised that the tax authorities have not questioned the already well-established view that sub-licence fees are, in principle, deductible costs. They did not question either their incurrence by the company or their amount. However, in the specific circumstances, they pointed out that these fees were not purposeful and have no connection to revenue. On the other hand, if, in a specific case, an analysis of the entity’s conduct in the light of the principles of logic and life experience leads to the conclusion of an obvious ... Read more

Based on these findings, it can be concluded that Company A continues to perform the same functions and assume the same risks as before the restructuring took place. In particular, Company A continues to have the capability and actually performs control functions in relation to the risk of exploitation of the intangibles. It also carries on the functions related to the development, maintenance and execution of the worldwide marketing strategy. Company Z has no capability to perform control functions, and does not in fact perform the control functions needed to assume the intangible related risks. Accordingly, the accurate delineation of the transaction after the restructuring may lead to the conclusion that this is in substance a funding arrangement between Company A and Company Z, rather than a restructuring for the centralisation of intangible management. An assessment may be necessary of the commercial rationality of the transaction based on the guidance in Section D.2 of Chapter I taking into account the ... Read more

Where the business restructuring provides for a transfer of an intangible followed by a new arrangement whereby the transferor will continue to use the intangible transferred, the entirety of the commercial arrangement between the parties should be examined in order to accurately delineate the transaction. If an independent party were to transfer an asset that it intends to continue exploiting, it would be prudent for it to negotiate the conditions of such a future use (e.g. in a license agreement) concomitantly with the conditions of the transfer. In effect, there will generally be a relationship between the determination of an arm’s length compensation for the transfer, the determination of an arm’s length compensation for the post-restructuring transactions in relation to the transferred intangible, such as future licence fees that may be payable by the transferor to be able to continue using the asset, and the expected future profitability of the transferor from its future use of the asset. For instance, ... Read more

Also in the case where a local operation disposes of the legal ownership of its intangibles to a foreign associated enterprise and continues to use the intangibles further to the disposal, but does so in a different legal capacity (e.g. as a licensee), the conditions of the transfer should be assessed from both the transferor’s and the transferee’s perspectives. The determination of an arm’s length remuneration for the subsequent ownership, control and exploitation of the transferred intangible should take account of the extent of the functions performed, assets used and risks assumed by the parties in relation to the intangible transferred, and in particular analysing control of risks and control of functions performed relating to the development, enhancement, maintenance, protection, or exploitation of the intangibles ... Read more

The case was about a sale and lease back arrangement characterizised as a loan by the US tax authorities referring to “substance over form”. The Court agreed with the tax authorities. “We have held that all of the test transactions failed the substance over form inquiry because petitioner did not acquire the benefits and burdens of ownership in the assets involved in the test transactions. We have also concluded that the test transactions are more similar to loans made by petitioner to CPS and MEAG because petitioner’s return on its investment was predetermined at the time petitioner entered into the test transactions. Accordingly, in 1999 petitioner exchanged the Powerton and Collins power plants for an interest in financial instruments. Such an exchange fails to meet the “like kind” requirement outlined in the Code and the regulations. Thus, petitioner must recognize the gain it received in 1999 on the sale of the Powerton and Collins plants under section 1001.” US-vs-Exelon-Corp-September-2016-US-Tax-Court ... Read more

“H-trademark S.A.” applied for a ruling on the tax rules governing a business restructuring where trademarks were transferred to another group company and licensed back – whether Polish arm’s length provisions would apply to the transaction. The company was of the opinion that Polish arm’s length provision (article 11) would not apply, since the arrangement was covered by special Polish provisions related to financial leasing (article 17b-g). Judgement of the Court The Court found that the Polish arm’s length provisions applied to the transaction. Excerpts “In the present case, the legal problem boils down to the correct identification of the nature of the norms arising from Article 11 of the A.p.d.o.p. and its relationship with the provisions on leasing raised by the applicant (Articles 17b – 17g of the A.p.d.o.p.). Indeed, the applicant takes the view that the leasing provisions themselves introduce derogations from market conditions and that, consequently, it is not possible to examine certain activities governed by the ... Read more

In the case of Talbots Inc, the Massachusetts Appeals Court Decisions found that the Appellate Tax Board correctly affirmed the denial by the Commissioner of Revenue (commissioner) of a taxpayer’s request to abate corporate excise taxes that were assessed against the taxpayer on the basis of disallowed deductions for royalty payments the taxpayer made to a wholly owned subsidiary for the use of intellectual property, where sufficient evidence supported the board’s finding that the commissioner properly disregarded, under the “sham transaction doctrine,” the transfer and licensing of the intellectual property between the taxpayer and the subsidiary; further, the board correctly affirmed the commissioner’s reattribution of the royalty and interest income earned by the subsidiary to the taxpayer, where the taxpayer controlled the intellectual property from which the income was generated, and in fact received substantially all of the income. US vs Talbots 2011 ... Read more

This case is about a IP sale-and-license-back arrangement. The taxpayer acquired the shares in BV Z (holding). BV Z owns the shares in BV A and BV B (the three BVs form a fiscal unity under the CITA). BV A produces and sells shoes. In 1993, under a self-proclaimed protection clause, BV A sells the trademark of the shoes to BV C, which is also part of the fiscal unity. The protection clause was supposedly intended to protect the trademark in case of default of BV A. Taxpayer had created BV C prior to the sale of the trademark. In 1994, the taxpayer entered into a licensing agreement with BV C: the taxpayer pays NLG 2 to BV C per pair of shoes sold. Next, BV C is then moved to the Netherlands Antilles, which results in the end of the fiscal unity as of January 1, 1994. The roundtrip arrangement, the sale of an intangible and the subsequent payment of ... Read more

Sherwin-Williams is an Ohio corporation, headquartered in Cleveland, and is engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale of paints and paint-related products. In 1991, it formed two subsidiaries under Delaware law to hold certain tradenames, trademarks and service marks that it had developed. Sherwin-Williams and the subsidiaries teen entered into nonexclusive licensing agreements for the right to use these various intangibles. In filing its 1991 state income tax return, Sherwin-Williams deducted all royalty and interest expenses accrued under the agreement, in computing taxable income. Following an audit, the Department of Revenue disallowed the deductions and assessed additional tax, because the transfer and license back of the marks was a “sham” disallowed under the “sham-transaction doctrine”. According to the Department of Revenue the royalty payments were not deductible, because the transactions had no valid business purpose and transactions were not at “arm’s-length.” On appeal, the Appellate Tax Board upheld the assessment of the tax authorities. Judgement for the Court The Supreme ... Read more

In the case of Ramsay a substance over form-doctrine was endorsed by the House of Lords (predecessor of the “UK Supreme Court” established in 2009). The “Ramsay principle” has since been applied in other cases involving tax avoidance schemes in the UK, where transactions have been constructed purely for tax purposes. Statutes referring to “commercial” concepts have also been applied in tax cases where transactions have lacked economic substance. UK vs RAMSAY LIMITED 1981 ... Read more