Here is another in recent pieces I’ve come across that deal with transfer pricing and taxing authorities.  This article explores the expanding use of “Advanced Pricing Agreements” where companies gain taxing authority approval of their transfer prices in advance of using those prices internally.  Theoretically it saves time/money to do this work on the front-end.

Indeed, tax authorities are increasingly insisting that they get their piece of the pie as they step up enforcement efforts over transfer pricing, or the pricing of sales and services between a company’s subsidiaries. These transactions in particular have caught the eye of international tax authorities whose coffers have dwindled as the global economic crisis shrunk the revenue of multinationals and, subsequently, their taxable income.

How to Get on the Same Page as the Taxman. More companies are looking to make deals with tax authorities on transfer-pricing terms to avoid unexpected penalties, tax advisers report. Sarah Johnson – CFO.com. October 20, 2009