Henry J. Birnkrant Participates in Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development ("OECD")

Henry J. Birnkrant, a partner in the firm's International Tax group and co-leader of the Tax Section, was one of 25 transfer pricing practitioners invited to participate in the "Transfer Pricing Experts Advisory Meeting" convened by the OECD Secretariat in Paris on November 21, 2003. The 25 invitees were tax professionals from a variety of backgrounds and countries, including tax executives from major multinational firms and a handful of lawyers and economists from private practice in the United States and Europe. The participants discussed improving international tax dispute resolution and provided input to the OECD on practical issues encountered by multinationals in trying to comply with the OECD Guidelines.

The OECD is critical to the process of reaching a consensus on standards for resolving international tax disputes. The OECD has published and periodically revises the "Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations," which the tax authorities of member governments use to resolve disputes on the proper pricing for cross-border transactions, and the "Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital" and accompanying commentary, which member governments use to negotiate and interpret tax treaties. Its 30 member governments oversee the world's major industrialized economies.