Relationship between corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance: international evidence

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and tax avoidance as well as how CSR and country-level governance interplay in affecting tax avoidance in an international setting.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an empirical work using listed companies from 35 countries and relying on several proxies for corporate tax avoidance activities including the difference between the statutory tax rate and the annual effective tax rate, the book-tax difference and the residual book-tax difference.FindingsThis study finds strong evidence that CSR is positively related to tax avoidance. It also finds that in countries with weak country-level governance, firms with higher CSR scores engage in less tax avoidance, implying that CSR and country-level governance are substitutes.Originality/valueThis paper is the first study that examines the relationship between CSR and tax avoidance in an international setting with different legal and institutional environment.