How Multinationals Shift Profits Through Royalty Payments

International Business with Fexingo: Global Trade, Cross-Border Deals, and Multinational Operations · Oct 23, 2026 · 9m · transcript

Multinational corporations are increasingly using intellectual property licensing to shift profits from high-tax jurisdictions to low-tax havens. This episode examines how companies like Apple and Microsoft structure royalty payments to reduce their effective tax rates, leveraging the OECD's Pillar Two rules and the US global minimum tax. We look at specific mechanisms like cost-sharing arrangements and transfer pricing for intangibles, revealing how a few percentage points in royalties can save billions. With the trade-weighted dollar index at 121.4 and markets reacting to recent tariff…