Verrechnung von Marken im Konzern
Eine empirische Analyse zur Ermittlung umsatzabhängiger Markenlizenzpreise mit der äußeren Preisvergleichsmethode
Transfer pricing of trademarks within MNE groups
von Bozena Thiele
Datum der mündl. Prüfung:2015-08-26
Erschienen:2016-11-04
Betreuer:Prof. Dr. Andreas Oestreicher
Gutachter:Prof. Dr. Andreas Oestreicher
Gutachter:Prof. Dr. Michael Wolff
Zum Verlinken/Zitieren:
http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-5952
Dateien
Name:Verrechnung von Marken im Konzern - Eine emp...pdf
Size:3.04Mb
Format:PDF
Lizenzbestimmungen:
Zusammenfassung
Englisch
According to the dealing at arm’s length principle, the price of goods transferred or services within MNE groups should be determined by the market forces. The requirement for this, is that the market prices for such goods or services are known or can be determined. However, market prices are only available if the goods transferred and services provided by MNE groups are the subject of business transactions within associated enterprises or between third parties. Even if market transactions exist that are similar to transactions within multinational enterprises, the arm’s length principle cannot be always applied. This requires the i. e. “comparable uncontrolled transactions”, what means, that the associated enterprises should operate as independent enterprises in comparable transactions and comparable circumstances. Such an analysis of the controlled und uncontrolled transactions, which are referred to the “comparability analysis” is the heart of the application of the arm’s length principle. If the transactions are made between associated enterprises and independent enterprises differ in conditions, the comparability can be established by reasonable accurate adjustments to eliminate the material efforts of such differences. Somehow, the principles and further knowledge of how to eliminate those differences are largely underdeveloped. It is often not clear which factors exactly determinate the comparability analysis that means, which factors are price-determining factors of a transaction and how they affect the price of the transactions. To determinate prices for goods and services within affiliated enterprises the OECD, the German Tax Administration and the financial administrations of many industrialized countries postulat the comparable uncontrolled price method over other, such as profit and income-oriented methods. The application of the comparable uncontrolled price method for the determination of prices requires an appropriate comparability analysis. Both the OECD and the German Tax Administration specify multiple comparability criteria and factors, which apply to the different types of business transactions that occur. It can be assumed that in case of matching comparability factors for transactions between independent enterprises the prices which are observed at the market meet the requirements for dealing at arm’s length principle and they are appropriate to determine prices for affiliate companies. This conclusion has proved his validity in literature and in practice however has not been empirically tested yet. An empirical verification will be undertaken to figure out if prices, here royalty rates for trademarks, are the same or nearly equal by transactions, which are realized between third parties under comparable circumstances, postulated by the OECD and the German Tax Administration. Therefore, the comparable uncontrolled price method is being used. Based on operationalized comparability factors it was analyzed if the price comparability can be empirically confirmed. Within the scope of this work important findings on the price-influencing factors, their influence direction and influence strength for the transaction of trademark licensing could be obtained. The results show that the determination of prices for trademark royalty rates with comparable uncontrolled price method is possible, however in limited cases. These boundaries result from the entire identification of the relevant influencing factors for the respective transaction and the lack of information availability for these factors. Furthermore, it is questionable if the transaction-related approach, which is the heart of dealing at arm’s length principle, corresponds to the economic behavior that exists between third parties.
Keywords: transfer pricing; brand licensing; comparable uncontrolled price method; intangibles; royalty rates
Schlagwörter: Verrechnungspreise; äußere Preisvergleichsmethode; umsatzabhängige Markenlizenzgebühr; immaterielle Wirtschaftsgüter; Lizenzgebühren