Transferring Away Human Rights: Using Human Rights to Address Corporate Transfer Mispricing

Abstract

An estimated sixty percent of international trade happens within multinational enterprises. Transfer pricing occurs when one part of a firm sets a price in order to sell to another division in another country. When these prices are deliberately set at something other than market rate in order to minimize the firm’s tax liability, this is known as transfer mispricing, or abusive transfer pricing. These practices account for an enormous portion of global illicit financial flows. This paper will consider transfer mispricing as a violation of human rights, and will look at the ways in which various human rights instruments and mechanisms might be employed in order to address this global problem. In doing so, this paper seeks to add to a growing body of literature that considers the human rights implications and the importance of incorporating a human rights approach to issues like tax policy, trade, and corruption, with the aim of addressing the underlying structural drivers of human rights violations. It also seeks to address a gap in law and policy discussions that is generally characterized by an uneven power relationship between stakeholders and lack of voice for those most affected.

Keywords: human rights, international taxation, transfer mispricing

JEL Classification: K33