The Impact of Firm Characteristics on Corporate Tax Aggressiveness: A Study on Malaysian Public Listed Companies

Abstract

The importance of taxes to governments worldwide is undeniable. Governments depend on their tax revenues, especially in ensuring sufficient provisions of public amenities to the society. However, their coffers are unceasingly threatened by tax aggressive behaviors, or aggressive actions to reduce tax burdens, especially by companies. Considering that the Malaysian government is highly reliant on its tax revenues, particularly its corporate income tax collections, this study’s purpose is to examine the impact of firm characteristics on the tax aggressiveness level of public listed companies in this country. This study uses fixed-effects panel regression analysis on 182 companies listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia for the consecutive period from 2010 to 2012. The results identify that firm size, debt intensity, capital intensity, growth rate, and profitability have significant impacts on the level of tax aggressiveness of the companies tested. These findings imply that corporate tax behavior is indeed influenced by the companies’ very own characteristics. Therefore, this study’s findings compellingly suggest that firm characteristics should be adopted as a means in assessing the tax aggressive tendency of Malaysian corporate taxpayers.