Strategizing Multinational Tax Risks

KPMG has published their 2018 tax dispute benchmarking survey, interviewing 159 senior tax professionals of US based multinationals.

• State tax disputes have accelerated, more than IRS or foreign tax audits
•  State authorities are not developing risk assessment proficiencies
• All audits are taking longer to resolve
• Canada, India, China, Germany and Italy rank as the most difficult to resolve
• Transfer pricing remains as the top issue of examination
• 58% of respondents did not have a dispute resolution budget
• Tax disputes are not monitored by technology, with ⅓ Excel tracking
• External law firms are being engaged at the start of the proposed assessment

As tax disputes, and the difficulty of resolving them, are escalating, it is revealing that most companies in the survey do not have a process in place for audits before they commence.  This survey should be reviewed, with Best Practices and learnings, in mind for the future.

Click to access 2018-kpmg-tdr-benchmarking-report.pdf