BUS262 International Taxation, Tax Havens and Sustainability

Over the past 40 years, income from corporation tax has either fallen or been held stable in developed economies. This course takes a closer look at what lies behind this development.

One important reason why income from corporation tax is less important than it could is that a lower corporation tax rate has become a key tool in the competition to attract investment. But the development is also due to tax havens offering even lower tax rates. Not only has it contributed to further pressure on tax rates. There are a number of examples of multinational companies booking profits that have been generated elsewhere in tax havens - known as profit shifting.

Tax is one of the ways in which companies contribute to the society around them, and the reduced tax revenue from corporation tax helps to undermine welfare states around the world. Therefore, there is increasing international effort from various authorities to tighten up. At the same time, tax has also become a natural part of the sustainability strategies of more and more companies and investors. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) is one of many high profile examples of an organization with a clear strategy for responsible tax.

This course provides a basic introduction to corporation tax and the international system for taxing companies. It also takes a closer look at tax havens, at how companies use various techniques to move profits from high-tax countries to low-tax countries, and at how the authorities work to stop profit shifting. In addition, it takes a closer look at how companies and investors develop increasingly clear strategies to show that they have responsible tax practices.

Knowledge:

The student should:

• Know how the international tax system is organized and what international tax competition is about
• Have up-to-date knowledge of the extent of profit shifting internationally
• Know the most commonly used techniques for profit shifting and other tax avoidance and how this has developed over time
• Have broad knowledge of what has been done in Norway and internationally to prevent profit shifting and other aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance

Skills:

The student should

• Be able to reflect on what is a sustainable approach to tax for a company and what social responsibility the company has in the area of ​​tax
• Be able to summarize what we know today about companies' use of tax havens
• Be able to find and perform simple analyses of data sets that provide insight into multinational companies' tax payments
• Be able to distinguish between aggressive tax planning, tax avoidance and tax evasion.

General competence:

The student should

• Be able to define what a tax haven and what profit shifting is
• Communicate the considerations a company must take into account with regard to sustainable tax payment, both internally in the organization and externally
• Know the most important processes that take place internationally to prevent profit shifting