Alfi’s European asset management conference on Tuesday caught up on the global debate about corporate taxation, something that will also affect large Luxembourg investment funds. At the heart of the complex discussion: BEPS Pillar Two and Transfer Pricing.
“Some see it like building a plane while flying,” said Keith O’Donnell, managing partner at Atoz Tax Advisors. “Really big challenge. No tax authority has issued forms yet to allow firms to comply. It is very much a work in progress.”
The panel (photo) that O’Donnell moderated also included Tim McCann, group head of tax at Schroders and Peter Moons, partner at the Loyens & Loeff law firm.
The OECD’s BEPS 2.0 project has been making waves in the world of international tax policy, and its second pillar has important implications for investment funds in Luxembourg. In October 2021, over 130 countries agreed to implement a minimum 15% corporate tax rate for multinationals with global turnover over €750 million, as part of the second pillar of the OECD’s taxing the digital economy framework.
Pillar One seen dead in the water
Where BEPS Pillar One is seen as dead in the water because the US Congress is unlikely to approve a plan that will force a special tax on global tech firms, Pillar Two is seen as getting traction.
“Pillar two is very much alive and kicking. The reality of a global minimum tax of 15 percent is up and running,” said McCann, adding that it remains to be seen if the desired proceeds of $150 billion will be achieved.
The Pillar Two change will have a substantial practical impact on the global operations of multinational enterprises, including investment funds, and will require significant adjustments to compliance and reporting systems. In particular, investment funds in Luxembourg may need to collate data, perform and process complex calculations, and adjust for changes in prior periods.
While the new BEPS 2.0 measures aim to address tax developments arising from the digitalization of the economy, stakeholders in the asset management industry have raised concerns about the business impact of the latest proposals. In particular, some have argued that the rules could disproportionately affect smaller asset managers and lead to higher costs for investors.
Compliance and reporting required
Overall, the implementation of BEPS 2.0 and its second pillar will have important implications for asset management. While the new rules aim to address long-standing issues around tax avoidance and the digital economy, they will require significant changes to compliance and reporting systems, and may lead to higher costs for investors.
For a firm like Schroders, this change could lead to a 1000-page tax return, said McCann. “We have to add up the profits; do the tax calculation, based on a special new rules from the OECD rule book, which is a big mix-match of all. 40 jurisdictional tax calculations need to be done, and to be reported into an info portal that does not exist yet.”
But, he added, “unless your fund is very very big the reality of this should not apply to you”.
Transfer pricing
Investment funds, in Luxembourg and elsewhere, will also be subject to new global rules for transfer pricing as they will require funds to adjust their pricing policies and documentation to comply with the new rules. Transfer pricing refers to the price at which goods, services, or intellectual property are sold between companies within a multinational group, and it is an important issue for investment funds that operate across multiple jurisdictions.
In June 2021, the OECD published new transfer pricing guidance that seeks to ensure that multinational enterprises pay their fair share of tax. The new rules will require investment funds in Luxembourg to provide more detailed documentation of their transfer pricing policies and transactions, and to demonstrate that their pricing is consistent with the arm’s length principle, which requires that prices between related parties be the same as those between unrelated parties in comparable transactions. Investment funds may also need to adjust their pricing policies to ensure compliance with the new rules, and may face higher compliance costs as a result.
Overall, the new global rules for transfer pricing will require investment funds in Luxembourg to make significant changes to their transfer pricing policies and documentation to comply with the new rules. However, these changes may also create opportunities for investment funds to optimise their transfer pricing policies and improve their tax position, particularly in the digital economy.