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Multinationals’ Sales and Profit Shifting in Tax Havens

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  • Toubal, Farid
  • Laffitte, Sébastien

Abstract

We show that U.S. multinationals record sales and the profit from these sales in tax havens, while their goods and services are physically sold in other countries. We propose a framework illustrating the strategy of sales shifting. Our results reveal the importance of tax havens which attract a disproportionate fraction of worldwide sales. Our quantification shows a large contribution of sales shifting to multinationals’ profit shifting that amounts to $80bn in 2013. Our findings suggest that international corporate tax rules based on sales may not efficiently address profit shifting if the policy designs are unable to identify sales by destination.

Suggested Citation

  • Toubal, Farid & Laffitte, Sébastien, 2021. "Multinationals’ Sales and Profit Shifting in Tax Havens," CEPR Discussion Papers 16675, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16675
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Multinational firms; International taxation; Tax avoidance; Transfer pricing; Tax havens; Profit shifting; Sales shifting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H73 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects

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