Multinationality, tax havens, intangible assets, and transfer pricing aggressiveness: an empirical analysis

This study examines the individual and joint effects of multinationality, tax havens, and intangible assets on transfer pricing aggressiveness. Based on a hand-collected sample of 286 publicly listed U.S. multinational firms over the 2006–2012 period (2,002 firm-year observations), the regression results indicate that multinationality, tax haven utilization, and intangible assets are significantly positively associated with transfer pricing aggressiveness. The regression results also show that firms magnify their international transfer pricing aggressiveness through the joint effects of intangible assets, multinationality, and tax havens. Overall, the empirical findings demonstrate that the utilization of tax havens and the level of intangible assets are economically important factors that assist firms in obtaining tax benefits through transfer pricing aggressiveness.Grantley Taylor, Grant Richardson, and Roman Lani