RUI: International Taxation and the International Trade of Multinational Firms

本研究探讨了企业所得税国际征税与跨国公司国际贸易之间的关系。大约40%的美国国际贸易是公司内贸易，即发生在跨国公司两个附属公司之间的国际贸易。初步证据表明，跨国公司改变其内部贸易交易的价格，以最大限度地减少其在全球范围内的税收负担。例如，通过低价出售给低税收国家的附属公司的商品，以及高价从低税收国家的附属公司购买的商品，跨国公司可以将收入转移到税收更低的地区。相反的策略适用于与高税收国家的交易。这项研究的第一个目标是检验这种收入转移的规模，分析不同行业的这种行为模式。实证分析将考虑公司内贸易价格与伙伴国税率之间的关系，使用劳工统计局关于公司内贸易价格的详细数据。拟议研究的第二个目标将是考虑这一行为对(A)美国与不同国家的国际贸易量和(B)美国联邦政府税收的后果。这一分析将在一定程度上依赖于美国经济分析局关于美国跨国公司运营的数据。第三，本研究将考虑另一种国际税收制度--公式分摊。在这一制度下，美国跨国公司将根据其在美国的全球活动份额(通过销售额、工资或资产衡量)来征税，而不是根据他们在美国产生的收入来征税。将探讨这一系统的收入后果。这项研究将为那些对税收政策感兴趣的学者和政策制定者以及对贸易模式感兴趣的人提供参考。例如，跨国公司通过将收入转移到低税收国家来避税的程度，影响了我们对当前国际税收制度的公平和效率的评估。通过将现行制度与另一种替代办法--公式分摊直接进行比较，可以更多地了解这两种办法的成本和效益。此外，跨国公司的税收最小化行为也会以贸易经济学家忽视的方式影响美国的国际贸易模式。这项研究的最终目标将是对里德学院的研究和教育环境产生积极影响。这将通过加强首席研究员作为研究人员的能力，通过与本科生就拟议的研究密切合作，并通过与里德和其他地方的学生和研究人员分享数据和研究结果来实现。

This research investigates the relationship between the international taxation of corporate income and the international trade of multinational firms. About 40 percent of all U.S. international trade is intrafirm trade, or international trade that occurs between two affiliates of a multinational firm. Preliminary evidence suggests that multinational firms alter the prices on their intrafirm trade transactions in order to minimize their worldwide tax burden. For example, by underpricing goods sold to affiliates in low tax countries and overpricing goods purchased from affiliates in low-tax countries, a multinational firm can shift income to more lightly taxed locations. The opposite strategy applies to transactions with high tax countries. The first goal of the research is to examine the magnitude of such income shifting, analyzing the pattern of such behavior in different industries. The empirical analysis will consider the relationship between intrafirm trade prices and the tax rate of the partner country, employing detailed data on intrafirm trade prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The second goal of the proposed research will be to consider the consequences of this behavior for (a) the volumes of U.S. international trade with different countries and (b) U.S. federal government revenue collections. This analysis will rely in part on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on the operations of U.S. multinational firms. Third, this research will consider an alternative international taxation system, formula apportionment. Under this system, U.S. multinational firms would be taxed based on the share of their worldwide activity (measured by sales, payroll, or assets) located in the United States, rather than based on the income they incur in the United States. The revenue consequences of this system will be explored. This research will be informative for those scholars and policy makers who are interested in tax policy as well as those interested in trade patterns. For example, the extent to which multinational firms avoid taxation by shifting their income to low-tax countries affects our assessment of the fairness and efficiency of the current international tax system. By directly comparing the current system with an alternative, formula apportionment, more can be learned about the costs and benefits of these two options. Further, the tax minimizing behavior of multinational firms also affects the pattern of U.S. international trade in ways that trade economists have neglected. A final goal of the research will be to positively impact the research and educational environment of Reed College. This will be done by strengthening the principal investigator's abilities as a researcher, by working closely with undergraduate students on the proposed research, and by sharing data and research findings with students and researchers both at Reed and elsewhere.