Digital Commons Network^™

Transfer Pricing, Business Restructurings And Intangibles - Case Studies: Ups V. Commissioner; Dsg Retail Ltd. V. Hmrc, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

United Parcel Service of America, the largest motor carrier in the US, and DSG Retail the largest retailer of electrical goods in the UK, restructured operations and established captive insurance companies in offshore tax havens. In both instances, these restructurings removed sizeable amounts of income from the domestic tax base.

The IRS and HMRC opened transfer pricing audits. The UPS case involved tax year 1984 and was settled in 2003; DSG Retail involved 1997 through 2005 and was settled in 2009. Both settlements came on the heels of government-favorable court decisions, and prior to the addition of Chapter IX to …

Nonrecourse Financing And Tax Shelter Abuse: The Crane Doctrine Before And After The At Risk Provisions, Michael Gurwitz

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment will examine the history of nonrecourse financing and tax shelters from the fabled Crane holding to the new reality of the ARP. This will be done by dividing the Comment into four parts. Part I will discuss the period preceding the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1976, focusing on the Crane doctrine and subsequent attempts by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to define and limit the use of nonrecourse debt. Part II will highlight the factors that contributed to the growing abuse of tax shelters. Part III, in general terms, will examine the statutory scheme of …