Transfer Pricing -- With Higher Valuations and Tax Bills -- Comes Into Play in Cross-Border Transactions; Planners Should Use M&A to Streamline Processes, Pick the Right Method and Reduce Audit Risk, Says Marks Paneth
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Aug 31, 2015) - Cross-border mergers and acquisitions are at their hottest pace since before the financial crisis. In fact, M&A volume was $1.10 trillion in 2014, up from $775.3 billion in 2013 and the highest since 2008. And intangible assets like intellectual property and goodwill play an increasingly large role in these transactions. However, there's a trap for corporate tax and financial planners, warns New York accounting firm Marks Paneth: Using the wrong method to value intangibles can raise red flags to tax authorities and lead to audits, penalties or regulatory actions, or to lengthy litigation.
One of the valuation methods -- financial reporting -- results in significantly lower valuations for intangibles than the other -- transfer pricing. The financial reporting approach is standard in most transactions. But when the transaction is cross-border, different rules come into play that may require the transfer pricing method, which leads to a higher valuation and a bigger tax bill.
"Tax planners need to understand the differences between the two methods and know which to apply -- the wrong choice can result in costly penalties and sanctions, or protracted litigation," says Angela Sadang, Director in the Financial Advisory Services group at Marks Paneth.
"Tax authorities frown on low valuations," Ms. Sadang says, "especially when that makes it easier to transfer an asset to a more favorable tax jurisdiction. The IRS and other tax authorities have warned that financial reporting valuations should only be used as a 'starting point' for transfer pricing and may not stand up to scrutiny. Courts don't always agree -- the IRS has lost two major transfer-pricing cases. But defending those cases can be expensive and isn't guaranteed to work."
Ms. Sadang highlights the best method for valuing intangibles in cross-border M&A and the risks of getting it wrong. Among them:
For more information, or to schedule an interview or bylined article, contact Katarina Wenk-Bodenmiller of Sommerfield Communications at (212) 255-8386 or katarina@sommerfield.com.
About Marks Paneth
Marks Paneth LLP is an accounting firm with more than 550 people, including over 70 partners and principals. The firm provides public and private businesses with a full range of auditing, accounting, tax, consulting, trade remediation and valuation services as well as litigation and corporate financial advisory services to domestic and international clients. The firm also specializes in providing tax advisory and consulting for high-net-worth individuals and their families, as well as a wide range of services for international, real estate, hospitality, media, entertainment, nonprofit and government services clients. The firm has a strong track record supporting emerging growth companies, entrepreneurs, business owners and investors as they navigate the business life cycle.
The firm's subsidiary, Tailored Technologies, LLC, provides information technology consulting services. In addition, its membership in Morison International, a leading international association for independent business advisers, financial consulting and accounting firms, facilitates service delivery to clients throughout the United States and around the world. Marks Paneth, whose origins date back to 1907, is the 35th largest accounting firm in the nation and the 9th largest in the mid-Atlantic region. In addition, readers of the New York Law Journal rank Marks Paneth as one of the area's top three forensic accounting firms for the fifth year in a row.
Its headquarters are in New York City. Additional offices are in Washington, DC, New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and the Cayman Islands. For more information, please visit www.markspaneth.com.
Contact Information:
Katarina Wenk-Bodenmiller
Sommerfield Communications, Inc.
(212) 255-8386
katarina@sommerfield.com