Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 02 DECEMBER 2020

IRS Seeks To Bar Transfer Pricing Argument In Western Digital

Mayer Brown
Mayer Brown
Contributor
Mayer Brown

Mayer Brown

Mayer Brown is a leading international law firm positioned to represent the world’s major...

View firm profile
Explore more from Mayer Brown

The parties recently completed briefing on an IRS motion for partial summary judgment in Western Digital Corporation v. Commissioner.

United StatesTax

The parties recently completed briefing on an IRS motion for partial summary judgment in Western Digital Corporation v. Commissioner. The motion asks the US Tax Court to hold that a safe harbor in the Section 482 regulations is not relevant to whether intercompany receivable terms are "ordinary and necessary" under a provision in Subpart F. In our view, the motion is an unusual attempt to bar the taxpayer from making a well-founded legal argument in a case that is over a year away from trial.

The Subpart F issue hinges on foreign affiliates' intercompany sales to a US affiliate. The US affiliate paid the foreign affiliate for finished goods within 90 of the invoice date. Under Section 956(c)(2)(C), intercompany receivables are treated as "United States property" if they are not "ordinary and necessary." And the IRS determined that the receivables here were not "ordinary and necessary" because the 90-day period was a few weeks longer than appropriate. The IRS

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Visit us at mayerbrown.com

Mayer Brown is a global services provider comprising associated legal practices that are separate entities, including Mayer Brown LLP (Illinois, USA), Mayer Brown International LLP (England & Wales), Mayer Brown (a Hong Kong partnership) and Tauil & Chequer Advogados (a Brazilian law partnership) and non-legal service providers, which provide consultancy services (collectively, the "Mayer Brown Practices"). The Mayer Brown Practices are established in various jurisdictions and may be a legal person or a partnership. PK Wong & Nair LLC ("PKWN") is the constituent Singapore law practice of our licensed joint law venture in Singapore, Mayer Brown PK Wong & Nair Pte. Ltd. Details of the individual Mayer Brown Practices and PKWN can be found in the Legal Notices section of our website. "Mayer Brown" and the Mayer Brown logo are the trademarks of Mayer Brown.

© Copyright 2026. The Mayer Brown Practices. All rights reserved.

This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.

See more popular content from