Chapter 10, Problem 34QA

Billabong Fashion is based in Melbourne, Australia. Billabong Fashion has a subsidiary in Shanghai that generates RMB85 million in annual sales. Any earnings generated by the subsidiary are reinvested to support its operations. Belle Fashion is the close competitor of Billabong Fashion. Belle Fashion is a local Australian company located in Japan with annual export sale to Malaysia of about MYR 45 million. Based on the information provided, which firm is subject to a higher degree of translation exposure? Justify your answer with thorough explanation on both companies.

Transfer Pricing; Ethics Zen Manufacturing Inc. is a multinational firm with sales and manufacturing units in 15 countries. One of its manufacturing units, in country X, sells its product to a retailunit in country Y for $300,000. The unit in country X has manufacturing costs of $150,000 for theseproducts. The retail unit in country Y sells the product to final customers for $450,000. Zen is considering adjusting its transfer prices to reduce overall corporate tax liability.Required1. Assume that both country X and country Y have corporate income tax rates of 40% and that no specialtax treaties or benefits apply to Zen. What would be the effect on Zen’s total tax burden if the manufacturing unit raises its price from $300,000 to $360,000?2. What would be the effect on Zen’s total taxes if the manufacturing unit raised its price from $300,000 to$360,000 and the tax rates in countries X and Y are 20% and 40%, respectively?3. Comment on any ethical issues you observe in this case

ABC Inc. is a U.S. firm with annual export sales to Canada of about C$500 million.  Its main competitor is XYZ Inc., also based in the United States, with a subsidiary in Canada that generates about C$500 million in annual sales.  Any earnings generated by the subsidiary are reinvested to support its operations.  Based on the information provided, which company is subject to a higher degree of translation exposure?  Explain.