Will tax reforms alone solve the tax avoidance and tax haven problems?

Abstract

The next decade will test whether new tax reforms can reverse the trend of tax avoidance and tax havens. Tax policies such as OECD’s BEPS and EU’s CCCTB are being agreed upon and implemented. Our research question is: how effective will these reforms be in significantly reducing the degree of tax avoidance and the problem of tax havens? The effectiveness of tax laws are assessed by focusing on an MNE’s response to these laws when choosing its tax practice – what makes the opportunities for tax avoidance possible and acceptable to MNEs. We take an institutional logics perspective to theorize how the interaction of countries’ tax laws, other MNEs’ tax practices, and the strength of the MNE’s social welfare logic influence an MNE’s cognitive decision processes in choosing a tax practice. We introduce the zone of acceptable tax avoidance opportunities construct whose dimensions imply two complementary approaches to tax reform. Following from theory, we discuss other activities to decrease aggressive tax avoidance whereby countries engage MNE exemplars to help marginalize tax havens.