TFL Vsebine / Revija SIR*IUS

Transfer prices in connection with the restructuring ofcompanies in a group of related parties

Prestrukturiranje poslovanja je odziv mednarodnih korporacij na globalne konkurenčne pritiske in spreminjajoče se povpraševanje na trgu. Na splošno prestrukturiranje poslovanja narekujejo zunanji in notranji dejavniki. Najznačilnejša oblika poslovnega prestrukturiranja je krčenje ali prenehanje proizvodnje v eni državi in selitev v drugo. Poleg tega bi mednarodne korporacije lahko strukturirale svoje poslovanje tako, da bi odvzele funkcije (npr. proizvodnjo, distribucijo), vredna opredmetena in neopredmetena sredstva ter tveganja, ki so jih prej opravljala lokalna podjetja, ter jih prenesle na centralizirane in specializirane regionalne ali globalne enote. Davki niso glavni motivator za čezmejno prestrukturiranje. Kljub temu se je v okviru strukturiranja poslovanja v preteklih letih močno povečala ozaveščenost o davkih, predvsem z vidika transfernih cen. Eden od razlogov so razlike v mednarodnih davčnih sistemih. Te razlike bi lahko povzročile neskladja zaradi dejstva, da so davčni organi pogosto zainteresirani samo za povečanje svojih davčnih prihodkov, ne da bi upoštevali, da davčni organi v drugih jurisdikcijah morda nimajo istih pogledov na obdavčitev. Različna in izolirana obravnava predmeta obdavčitve bi lahko privedla do dvojnega obdavčevanja, ki bi ga bilo mogoče – če sploh – rešiti le z dolgotrajnim pogajanjem ali arbitražnim postopkom med zavezancem in davčnimi organi.

Business restructurings are a reaction to global competitive pressures and changing market demand. In general, there are often external and internal factors, which underlie the need for an MNE to change or restructure its business. A classic scenario for business restructuring is the reduction or elimination of production capacity in one country and its shift to another country. Furthermore, an MNE could structure its business by “stripping out” functions (e.g. production, distribution), tangible and intangible assets and risks, which were previously integrated in local operations, and transferring them to more centralized and specialized regional or global units. Taxes are not the predominant motivator for cross-border business restructurings. Nevertheless, the awareness of taxes, and transfer prices especially, increased significantly in the context of business structuring in past years. One reason is the differences in international tax systems. These differences could lead to discrepancies because tax authorities are often interested only in increasing their own tax revenue without taking into consideration that tax authorities in other jurisdictions may not apply the same interpretation. The different and isolated treatment of the tax substrate could lead to double taxation, which could, if at all, be only resolved through a lengthy negotiation or arbitration process between the taxpayer and the tax authorities.