Asymmetric Information between the Taxpayer and the Tax Authority – Income Shifting via Patents

We examine whether, when, and to what extent asymmetric information between a multinational corporation (MNC) and the local tax authority over how to value intra-firm royalty payments facilitates tax-motivated income shifting via patents. As the value of patents is often firm specific, the local tax authority lacks information on comparable transactions when assessing an MNC's transfer-pricing strategies. Using a sample of affiliates of European MNCs and employing the relative share of patents held by an MNC as a measure, we show that tax-motivated income shifting increases in the level of asymmetric information. We also find that more external comparable information available to the local tax authority and stricter tax enforcement mitigate this relation. In contrast, more extensive transfer-pricing documentation requirements are less effective in this setting. Overall, our results suggest that the level of comparable information is an economically important determinant of tax-motivated income shifting via patents. The effectiveness of tax-policy measures in curbing income shifting critically depends on their ability to increase the set of comparable information

Efficient Enzymatic Amine Resolution at High Substrate Input Using Diethyl Malonate as an Acyl Donor of Low Hazard Potential

Simon S, Osswald S, Roos J, Gröger H. Efficient Enzymatic Amine Resolution at High Substrate Input Using Diethyl Malonate as an Acyl Donor of Low Hazard Potential. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung Section B-A Journal Of Chemical Sciences. 2012;67b(10):1123-1126.Diethyl malonate turned out to be both a "green" and highly efficient acyl donor in the lipase-catalyzed resolution of amines, thus representing an attractive alternative to currently applied acyl donors. By means of this acyl donor a highly efficient enzymatic process for the resolution of amines, running at high substrate input of up to 200 g/L in an organic solvent classified as "usable" according to the Pfizer Solvent Selection Guide, is presented

Alcohol dehydrogenase whole-cell catalysts - A broad technology platform for life science applications

Osswald S, Doderer K, Gröger H, Wienand W. Alcohol dehydrogenase whole-cell catalysts - A broad technology platform for life science applications. CHIMICA OGGI-CHEMISTRY TODAY. 2007;25(5, S):16-18

A study towards efficient L-threonine aldolase-catalyzed enantio- and diastereoselective aldol reactions of glycine with substituted benzaldehydes: biocatalyst production and process development

Baer K, Dückers N, Rosenbaum T, et al. A study towards efficient L-threonine aldolase-catalyzed enantio- and diastereoselective aldol reactions of glycine with substituted benzaldehydes: biocatalyst production and process development. Tetrahedron Asymmetry. 2011;22(9):925-928.The development of aldol reactions of glycine with substituted benzaldehydes in the presence of recombinant L-threonine aldolases from Escherichia coil or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which were obtained with excellent overexpression data, has been carried out. When using glycine and ortho-chlorobenzaldehyde, a high conversion of >95%, an enantioselectivity of >99% ee, and a diastereoselectivity with d.r.(syn/anti) = 80:20 was obtained for the resulting beta-hydroxy alpha-amino acid in such a biotransformation. It should be noted that this enzymatic process can be conducted at an elevated substrate concentration of 250 mM. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Design and performance of an ultra-flexible two-photon microscope for in vivo research

We present a cost-effective in vivo two-photon microscope with a highly flexible frontend for in vivo research. Our design ensures fast and reproducible access to the area of interest, including rotation of imaging plane, and maximizes space for auxiliary experimental equipment in the vicinity of the animal. Mechanical flexibility is achieved with large motorized linear stages that move the objective in the X, Y, and Z directions up to 130 mm. 360° rotation of the frontend (rotational freedom for one axis) is achieved with the combination of a motorized high precision bearing and gearing. Additionally, the modular design of the frontend, based on commercially available optomechanical parts, allows straightforward updates to future scanning technologies. The design exceeds the mobility of previous movable microscope designs while maintaining high optical performance