Maya Forstater

If simple ratios like 'misalignment' between location of profits & employee headcount/payroll/sales don't make a lot of sense at the level of individual companies, what do the patterns which emerge when we look at aggregate data [e.g. Torslov/Wier/Zucman's paper] mean for #BEPS?

In my blog post i only look at 4 companies (so shouldn't read too much into it, but gives a clue). Some countries show up on both the 'positive' and 'negative' misalignment sides. e.g. UK, US, France and South Africa all appear on different sides for different companies

In an aggregation this kind of thing would tend to cancel out, & only countries that appear on one side predominantly will show up (like Lux) -- this means the ratio isn't picking up 'profit shifting' exactly, but places w more mobile activities & management of intangiables