Mixed evidence of profit shifting by multinationals

Despite anecdotal evidence, it is very difficult to find substantive empirical evidence on the extent to which multinational companies can reduce their overall tax liabilities by moving profits to lower taxed countries for example, through transfer pricing manipulation, moving debt to higher taxed countries, or simply not repatriating profit. There have been no studies of UK companies due to lack of detailed data. However, two new studies, published by the European Tax Policy Forum (ETPF), are being presented at a joint conference of the ETPF and the Institute for Fiscal Studies on 24 April.