Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments

Currently, there is a lack of consensus amongst OECD Member countries as to how profits should be attributed to a permanent establishment (PE). As a first step in remedying this situation a working hypothesis has been developed as to the preferred approach for attributing profits to the PE. The basis for the working hypothesis is to examine how far the approach of treating the PE as a hypothetical distinct and separate enterprise can be taken and how the guidance in the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines could be applied, by analogy, to attribute profits to a PE. This discussion draft contains the results of testing the working hypothesis in general (Part I) and to PEs of banks (Part II). Public comments are invited in order to assist in the development of an OECD consensus on the attribution of profits to a PE.