Cross‑Border Structuring – Withholding Tax, Intercompany Arrangements & Anti‑Avoidance

Withholding tax and treaty access

• Source‑based taxation: understanding the distinction between the “pay” rule and the “use” rule in determining the source of investment income, and how different jurisdictions apply them.
• Withholding tax on dividends, interest and royalties: when domestic law imposes withholding and how treaties can reduce or eliminate tax; examples involving rental income and other passive receipts.
• Beneficial ownership and treaty entitlement: importance of demonstrating beneficial ownership to access treaty rates; overview of limitation‑on‑benefits provisions and anti‑treaty‑shopping measures.
• Multiple competing claims: how dual residence or multiple properties can lead to competing withholding tax claims, and methods for resolving conflicts through treaties.

Intercompany arrangements & transfer pricing fundamentals

• Brief overview of OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and arm’s‑length principle.
• Transfer pricing methods (Comparable Uncontrolled Price, Resale Price, Cost Plus, Transactional Net Margin Method, Profit Split) and selection criteria.
• Documentation requirements: master file, local file and country‑by‑country reporting; penalties for non‑compliance.
• Risks in intercompany services, cost sharing, financing arrangements and use of intangibles; introduction to cost‑sharing agreements vs service‑provider models.
• Practical exercise applying the arm’s‑length principle to an intra‑group services contract and discussing appropriate mark‑ups.

Common UK anti‑avoidance touchpoints

• Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules: overview of exemptions (exempt period, low profits, low profit margin, tax exemption) and interaction with tax treaties.
• Diverted Profits Tax (DPT): scope, triggers and calculation; situations where DPT applies to arrangements that divert profits away from the UK.
• Anti‑hybrid rules: how hybrid mismatch legislation disallows deductions or includes income where there is a mismatch in tax treatment between jurisdictions.
• Interest limitation rules (corporate interest restriction) and thin capitalisation considerations; implications for cross‑border financing.
• General Anti‑Abuse Rule (GAAR) and targeted anti‑avoidance in relation to permanent establishments, residence and withholding tax.
• Group exercise identifying potential CFC and hybrid mismatch issues in a sample multinational structure and discussing mitigation strategies.

Case studies and exercises

• Competing withholding tax claims: analysis of a structure where a property is owned through entities resident in multiple jurisdictions; discuss how domestic and treaty provisions allocate taxing rights.
• Cross‑border financing: evaluate whether interest income is subject to withholding tax in different jurisdictions and consider the impact of limitation‑on‑benefits rules.
• Intercompany services pricing: participants apply transfer pricing methods to a management services agreement and draft a short transfer pricing policy.
• Anti‑avoidance review: working through an example where hybrid instruments and thin capitalisation combine to create a perceived tax benefit; identify which UK anti‑avoidance rules could apply and how to mitigate them.

Redcliffe's course trainer is the CEO and Tax Advisor at a tax consultancy / advisory firm. He advises internationally active businesses and individuals on UK and cross-border tax, with a particular focus on permanent establishment risk, corporate residence/POEM, treaty positions and documentation, and cross-border structuring (including withholding tax considerations and transfer pricing).
The trainer lectures in International Taxation (CIOT/ADIT context) and has held senior tax leadership and advisory roles, including Head of Tax for the Diacron Group and consulting/advisory work with other International Tax firms (including Bain & Company). He has worked across multiple jurisdictions including the UK, Italy, the US and Costa Rica, and brings a practitioner-led, case-driven approach that is grounded in real client scenarios.

This course gives participants a comprehensive overview of the cross‑border tax issues that frequently arise alongside permanent establishment (PE) and corporate residence analyses. By the end of the course participants will:

• Understand how source‑based taxation and withholding tax apply to dividends, interest, royalties and other passive income, and how treaty provisions and domestic rules determine the rate and source of tax.
• Navigate treaty access and beneficial ownership tests to ensure eligibility for treaty relief, considering limitation‑on‑benefits clauses and anti‑treaty‑shopping rules.
• Apply transfer pricing fundamentals to intercompany transactions, including choice of method, documentation requirements and risk areas for services, financing and intangibles.
• Identify and manage UK anti‑avoidance rules relevant to cross‑border structures, such as Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules, Diverted Profits Tax (DPT), anti‑hybrid mismatches and interest limitation rules.
• Work through case studies illustrating competing withholding tax claims, intercompany pricing challenges and anti‑avoidance pitfalls.

Many courses treat withholding tax, transfer pricing and anti‑avoidance in isolation. This programme integrates these topics with permanent establishment and residence considerations, reflecting the way cross‑border tax issues interact in practice. Participants receive practical tools to manage treaty access and beneficial ownership tests, draft transfer pricing policies and assess anti‑avoidance exposure. The course emphasises real‑world scenarios and current UK and OECD developments, ensuring relevance to today’s tax environment.

• Tax managers and directors overseeing cross‑border structures and needing to manage withholding tax, transfer pricing and anti‑avoidance risks.
• Transfer pricing specialists and finance professionals seeking a broader understanding of how pricing rules interact with PE and residence issues.
• Legal counsel and corporate treasury teams involved in negotiating intercompany agreements and financing arrangements.
• Entrepreneurs and investors structuring cross‑border investments and seeking to avoid double taxation and anti‑avoidance pitfalls.
• Advisers and consultants specialising in international tax, transfer pricing or corporate finance.

Cross‑border structures expose businesses to multiple layers of tax rules – source‑based withholding taxes, transfer pricing, beneficial ownership tests and anti‑avoidance regimes. A single transaction can trigger withholding in more than one country, require arm’s‑length pricing support and fall under CFC or hybrid mismatch rules. This course provides a unified framework for assessing these risks and implementing practical solutions. Through case studies and exercises, participants learn to design compliant and efficient cross‑border structures that balance commercial objectives with tax certainty.