Do Tax Avoidance and Firm Ownership Matter for Sustainable Finance Disclosure? Evidence From the Listed Banks in Asean Countries

Abstract

Purpose:  The rise of sustainability concern has brought the sustainable finance disclosure to the financial industry. Our study examines the effect of tax avoidance and firm ownership on sustainable finance disclosure in the Listed Banks in ASEAN Countries.   Theoretical framework: The study explores the sustainable finance phenomenon by following the concept of agency theory and institutional theory.    Design/methodology/approach:  Using purposive sampling method, we generate a set of panel data with a total of 327 observations from 109 banks during 2017-2019, analyzed with panel data regression.   Findings:  We discover that the level of sustainable finance disclosure in ASEAN banking industry is still low in overall, despite the practice in Singapore has been considerably high. Empirical analysis with panel data regression reveals that government ownership has positive effect on sustainable finance disclosure, emphasizing the role of government shareholders in boosting sustainable finance disclosure practice. Meanwhile, family ownership and tax avoidance exhibit no significant effect. This research contributes to the development of the literature as one of the initial studies investigating sustianable finance disclosure in ASEAN.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  We also bring several implications for the improvement of sustainable finance disclosure in ASEAN banking sector. The enforcement for sustainable finance disclosure should be increased by maximizing the role of the government and business regulators. Banks should also participate properly in sustainable finance disclosure regardless of the financial and ownership aspects and thus can help achieve sustainable development goals.   Originality/value: The study provides new insights regarding the impact of tax avoidance and firm ownership in ASEAN banking sector.