Alston & Bird Tax Blog

APA

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

By

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

IRS APMA’s Results May Suggest COVID-19 Immunity

By and

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

By and

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

International Tax ADVISORY: Big Tax Court Win for Eaton in Canceled APA Case

By and

The IRS abused its discretion when it canceled two advance pricing agreements. Our International Tax Group covers Eaton’s victory in the Tax Court and how it allays concerns about how worthwhile an APA can be.

Public and judicial scrutiny
Standard of review
Where do we go from here?

Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more