Optimal Policies against Profit Shifting: The Role of Controlled-Foreign-Company Rules

Haufler, Andreas; Mardan, Mohammed and Schindler, Dirk (April 2016): Optimal Policies against Profit Shifting: The Role of Controlled-Foreign-Company Rules. Discussion Papers in Economics 2016-6

Abstract

By introducing controlled-foreign-company (CFC) rules, the parent country of a multinational firm reserves the right to tax the income of the firm's foreign affiliates if the tax rate in the affiliate's host country is below a specified threshold. We identify the conditions under which binding CFC rules are part of the optimal tax mix when governments can set the statutory tax rate, a thin capitalization rule and the CFC rule. We also analyze the effects of economic and financial integration on the optimal policy mix. Our results correspond to the actual development of anti-avoidance rules in OECD countries.

• Item Type: Paper
• Keywords: Multinationals; profit shifting; controlled foreign company rules; thin capitalization rules; H25; H73; F23
• Faculties: Economics; Economics > Munich Discussion Papers in Economics
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
• JEL Classification: H25, H73, F23
• Language: English

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