The interplay of corporate tax planning and corporate governance on firm value: Evidence from listed NGX consumer goods firms

Abstract

The study investigates the interactive impact of tax planning and CG on firm value of the listed Nigerian consumer goods firms by examining whether this relationship is further strengthened or weakened in the presence of strong corporate governance. From the population of the entire 21 consumer goods firms of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), 19 firms with complete data were selected as a sample. Data were collected from the annual reports of these firms and both descriptive and inferential analyses were employed to estimate the relationship between the variables. Tax planning was measured using the effective tax rate and book-tax difference, firm value using Tobin’s q, while corporate governance was measured using board independence. The fixed effect panel regression was used to estimate the relationship. The study revealed a positive relationship between tax planning (for both proxies) and firm value although the relationship is statistically insignificant (p = 0.0981 and 0.387). Also, there is limited evidence to support the assertion that the interactive effect of tax planning and firm value is significantly moderated by corporate governance (p = 0.818). The combined implication is that evidence on the moderating effect of corporate governance on tax planning and firm value is limited and should be interpreted with caution suggesting that more empirical research should be carried out in this area. In addition, shareholders should demand more disclosure of tax-related matters as this will help prevent information asymmetry, improve monitoring, and increase the value effectiveness of tax planning.