Research in Taxation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Research in taxation covers a broad spectrum of topics and research paradigms. In this commentary I briefly provide an overview of the field of tax research before narrowing to a discussion of archival-empirical tax research. In my discussion of empirical tax research I use the framework referred to as the Scholes and Wolfson (1992) framework and illustrate the framework by reference to the extant empirical literature. I conclude by offering some thoughts on directions for future research in the tax field. An alternative approach to structure my discussion is to select a particular topic, such as international tax or mergers and acquisitions, and then discuss many of the same issues (e.g., how different paradigms are used to address questions within the topic area). However, by taking the overview approach I hope to appeal to a broader audience than just current tax researchers.