Whirlpool Financial Corporation’s taxable income was recently increased $50 million by the IRS
Whirlpool Financial Corporation’s taxable income was recently increased $50 million by the IRS due to income that was earned from their foreign subsidiary, Whirlpool Swiss (Bagchi, 2020). It involved Whirlpool and two of their foreign subsidiaries, Whirlpool Swiss and Whirlpool Mexico. This was not good for Whirlpool or their foreign subsidiaries.
There was an agreement between Whirlpool and the two foreign subsidiaries’ and they were subject to tax code Section 957(a). It means that the U.S. company owned a majority of the foreign company’s stock or a majority of its voting stocks for at least one day out of the foreign company’s tax year (Bagchi, 2020).
In 2009, Whirlpool Swiss was the nominal manufacturer of household appliances made in Mexico, which the Swiss company sold to Whirlpool and to Whirlpool Mexico.
Whirlpool challenged the IRS’s determination that the income from the sales should be counted as foreign base company sales income (FBCSI) under tax code Section 954(d), which deals with certain sales by a foreign company of personal property created by a related entity of that foreign company (Bagchi, 2020).
The court ruled that the IRS was correct to tax the income. The judge said “If Whirlpool Swiss had conducted its manufacturing operations in Mexico through a separate entity, its sales income would plainly have been FBCSI under section 954(d)(1),” Judge Albert G. Lauber (Bagchi, 2020).
For Whirlpool, foreign subsidiaries are usually beneficial. They are able to manufacture their products globally and sell them worldwide. This time, it was not beneficial for Whirlpool. It looks like they were trying to find a loophole to transfer price their earned income. It was a 11-year battle they had with the IRS and they lost in the long run.
Bagchi, Aysha (2020 May 6). Whirlpool Loses $50 Million Tax Fight Over Foreign Income. Retrieved from https://news.
Answer preview Whirlpool Financial Corporation’s taxable income was recently increased $50 million by the IRS
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