How does mandatory IFRS adoption affect tax planning decision? Evidence from tax avoidance distributions

Abstract

ABSTRACT The extant literature has provided much evidence on the consequences of adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), but studies that pertain to taxes and the IFRS are rare. This study investigates whether IFRS adoption affects corporate tax avoidance and how the impact of IFRS varies with country-level institutions. We find that the effect of an IFRS mandate on corporate tax avoidance is conditional; that is, firms with a lower (higher) initial level of tax avoidance tend to be more (less) tax aggressive after IFRS adoption. In addition, this conditional impact is more pronounced in regimes with higher levels of investor protection. We also find that the strength of country-level tax enforcement might erode (bolster) the positive (negative) effects of IFRS adoption.