Ask an expert: Transfer of US luxury retailer’s IP to new UK office

Question

I am the CFO at a US based luxury retailer. We are currently looking at launching our brand in Europe and due to the differences in markets our commercial team has proposed to lead the European market out of a new office to be based in the UK. I would like to find out more about the risks and best practices in relation to intellectual property (IP) migration out of the US. The transformation incidentally has the potential for achieving an element of cash benefit due to the tax differential between the US and most of the European jurisdiction. How can we implement a structure that works for us commercially mitigates the risk of being challenged by the IRS and does not generate an unfavourable tax cost for the business?

Answer