In: Accounting
When a company incorporated in a country with a high tax rate does business in countries with lower tax rates, it will report an effective tax rate below its statutory rate.
a. Is the difference sustainable into the future?
b. What occurs if the company decides to repatriate earnings?
c. How should operating taxes be computed in the year of repatriation?
d. How is ROIC distorted by foreign taxation and repatriation?
e. One of the most common deferred-tax liabilities occurs because of accelerated depreciation. When is the difference between reported taxes and cash taxes likely to be greatest? When will it be smallest? Can it reverse? That is, can cash taxes be higher than reported taxes?
Anwer:-
a) No, the difference is not sustainable. When they repatriate the earnings, the home country requires them to pay the difference. The operating taxes for the repatriation year should be computed including the foreign tax rate and repatriation rate
b) If company tries to repatriate the earnings it will have to pay the taxes on such repatriation in the form of Dividend Distribution tax/Repatriation taxes (or Any other form) received by such recepient companies and the same form of tax may be payable by the company repatriating such funds.
c) Operating taxes should be computed after taking into considerations the Net Income received from the business in High Tax jurisdiction along with the taxes to be paid on the repatriation received from the company in low tax jurisdiction.
d) ROIC will be distorted to seem lower for a company who does business in a country with lower tax rates because they will have to pay difference when they repatriate their earnings to the home country.
e) When depreciation is accelerated, a company will pay less cash tax than reported tax and the difference will be largest. When depreciation is not accelerated, this difference will be smallest. Cash taxes could potentially be higher than reporting taxes in cases where the company is paying down a deferred tax liability from a prior year