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Management article
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Reference no. 77301
Published by: Harvard Business Publishing
Published in: "Harvard Business Review", 1977

Abstract

The case involving Universal Data Corp. illustrates transfer pricing methods employed by many companies to maximize profits. The European subsidiary of Universal Data Corp. engages in "creative transfer pricing" when it ships computer hardware from the United States and Europe to Brussels at different prices for the same machine. This procedure can cause problems with local custom authorities and create hostility toward the MNC in the host country. Four executives discuss the major issues involved in transfer pricing: 1) profit maximization versus profit satisfaction; 2) centralization versus decentralization of the subsidiary; 3) one set of books for the company versus multiple sets; and 4) the letter of the law versus its intent.

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Abstract

The case involving Universal Data Corp. illustrates transfer pricing methods employed by many companies to maximize profits. The European subsidiary of Universal Data Corp. engages in "creative transfer pricing" when it ships computer hardware from the United States and Europe to Brussels at different prices for the same machine. This procedure can cause problems with local custom authorities and create hostility toward the MNC in the host country. Four executives discuss the major issues involved in transfer pricing: 1) profit maximization versus profit satisfaction; 2) centralization versus decentralization of the subsidiary; 3) one set of books for the company versus multiple sets; and 4) the letter of the law versus its intent.

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