Newsletter
July 2017 Newsletter
Transfer pricing
Chevron: interest rate on borrowing not arm’s length
In a major transfer pricing judgment, the Full Federal Court has unanimously dismissed Chevron Australia’s appeal, finding that its loan arrangement with its related US company Chevron Texaco Funding Corporation was not at arm’s length and the Commissioner was justified in denying Chevron Australia’s interest deduction claims.
Draft guideline on cross-border related-party financing
The ATO has released a Draft Practical Compliance Guideline that sets out its compliance approach to the taxation outcomes associated with a related-party financing arrangement. It makes no direct reference to the Chevron decision, but has clearly been produced as a risk assessment tool for entities that engage in broadly similar related-party financing arrangements.
The ATO assesses related-party financing arrangement risk using a framework of six risk zones, ranging from white zone (arrangements already reviewed and concluded by the ATO) and green zone (low risk) to red zone (very high risk).
If a related-party financing arrangement falls outside the low risk category, taxpayers can expect the ATO to monitor, test and/or verify the taxation outcomes of the arrangement.