Tax Study On Transfer Pricing Of Intangible Assets

As a basic topic in the field of international taxation, transfer pricing is also the most important issue faced by MNCs and tax authorities. Accompanied with the development of knowledge economy and the increased importance of intangible assets in the operation of MNCs, the particularity and difficulty of intangible assets transfer pricing have drawn more and more attentions from tax authorities. OECD put developing transfer pricing rules of intangible assets into the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) action plan in2013.And after seven months, OECD released the public consultation-REVISED DISCUSSION DRAFT ON TRANSFER PRCING ASPECTS OF INTANGIBLES.The tax management of transfer pricing in our country dates back to1980s. Transfer pricing regulations system from scratch has made great progress, and the anti tax avoidance task also has get better results in recent years. However, the transfer pricing regulations about intangible assets fell behind some western countries. In the practice of transfer pricing, the tax authority also faced lots of problems which are peculiar to developing countries. In2012,State administration of Taxation also issued Paper on strengthening the construction of international tax management system, which required attaching importance to intangible assets transactions.Based on the interpretation of theories about intangible assets transfer pricing, this paper have analyzed transfer pricing tax system of intangible assets in our country, and points out the present problems.Then the international legislative and practical experiences are explored, including the opinions and guidelines of UN and OECD,the law or regulations of USA, Australia, India and so on. Referring to international experience, and combined with China’s national conditions, this paper puts forward corresponding countermeasures to develop transfer pricing tax systems of intangible assets. The first and most necessary propose is to develop related laws and regulations through enriching the definitions of intangible assets, the application of traditional transfer pricing methods,cost sharing arrangements and so on. As for other recommendations includes the introduction of new methods such as asset appraisal techniques, the improvement of APA, the establishment of complete information database and the participation in BEPS initiated by OECD.