MAG 2025. Authors: Thijs Busschots (Universiteit Leiden – Rechtsgeleerdheid). Arjan Lejour (Tilburg University – Tilburg School of Economics and Management), Giulia Aliprandi (EU Tax Observatory & Paris School of Economics).
The past decade has seen several efforts to combat profit shifting and tax evasion by multinationals. So far, measuring profit shifting and the effectiveness of efforts to combat profit shifting have remained difficult due to data limitations. Country-by-country reporting (CbCR) data is a new and promising source of information on profits, employment, assets and tax liability in every jurisdiction where large multinationals are active. However, the literature has little experience dealing with data quality issues (e.g. double counting, loss offsets, unit errors). With the help of the Microdata Access Grant, this study will merge CbCR data to administrative data, enabling new and relevant insights for academics and policy. In this collaborative research project, international academics and Dutch policy makers will make new steps in understanding the quality and limitations of CbCR data, and quantify the magnitude of profit shifting and the effects of recent anti-tax avoidance measures in the Netherlands.
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