Alston & Bird Tax Blog

International - Transfer Pricing

Diving into IRS’s Annual Report on Advance Pricing Agreements: Can APMA Overcome Its Sisyphean Task?

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Despite adding personnel and making a concerted effort to speed up the advance pricing agreement process, the Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program (APMA) faces challenges with the mounting demand. Our International Tax Group breaks down the hurdles for APMA and identifies important trends companies negotiating APAs should keep in mind. APMA staff increased 21% last year, but median completion time for an APA increased to 35 months (up from 33 months in 2020) APMA would need more than three years to work through its existing inventory of bilateral APAs at its current processing rate [...]Read more

Has the Global Tax(man) Ended the “Race to the Bottom”? 136 Countries Agree to Overhaul International Corporate Tax System

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Our International Tax Group analyzes the pillars of a new international corporate tax system, but one that faces some major hurdles. Pillar One: a new taxing right in the digital worldPillar Two: a global minimum tax rate of 15%The road(blocks) ahead Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

IRS APMA’s Results May Suggest COVID-19 Immunity

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Our International Tax Group analyzes the report on the IRS’s Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement Program and identifies important insights and trends for advance pricing agreements. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on APMA operations and staffingAPA demand and output, 2019 – 2020More challenges on the horizon Click here to read the full advisory. [...]Read more

How to Price in a Pandemic: New OECD Guidance on Transfer Pricing Challenges Caused by COVID-19

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Our International Tax Group examines how the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s new guidance reiterates the central role of the arm’s-length standard and provides guideposts for taxpayers and tax administrations as they analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting intercompany pricing. Comparability analysisLosses and the allocation of COVID-19 specific costsGovernment assistance programsAdvance pricing agreements Read the full advisory here. Alston & Bird has formed a multidisciplinary response and relief team to advise clients on the business and legal [...]Read more

Proposed Sec. 367 Regs Say Goodbye to Goodwill Exception

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Citing aggressive taxpayer positions, recently proposed regulations do away with the foreign goodwill exception to gain or income recognition for outbound transfers under Section 367. The rules also restrict the type of property eligible for the active business exception.

Reasons for Change

Per the preamble, taxpayers interpret Section 367 and the regulations in one of two ways when claiming favorable treatment of foreign goodwill and going concern value. One interpretation argues that goodwill and going concern value are not IP within the meaning of Section 936(h)(3)(B) and thus not subject [...]Read more