Corporate Tax Research Articles

The interaction between incentive and opportunity in corporate tax planning: Evidence from financially constrained firms

Prior studies document that incentive factors (i.e., equity compensation, shareholder activism, financial constraints, etc.) motivate managers to avoid more taxes, which suggests that managers overlook tax planning opportunities (TPOs) in the absence of incentives. In this study, I use a prediction model to capture TPOs and find that the positive association between financial constraints (my proxy for incentive) and tax avoidance is stronger for firms with higher levels of TPOs. My results are robust to a variety of identification strategies. To shed light on a possible source of tax uncertainty, I show moderate evidence that firms with lower levels of TPOs adopt risky tax planning strategies under financial constraints to increase tax avoidance. Overall, my study contributes to the literature by demonstrating corporate tax planning as an incentive-opportunity story and identifying an important cross-section in which the connection between incentive and tax avoidance is more prominent.

Economic impacts of federal reserve policies on taxation and corporate finance

Federal Reserve policies play a pivotal role in shaping the U.S. economy, influencing not only macroeconomic stability but also the financial strategies and tax implications for corporations. Broadly, the Federal Reserve's use of monetary tools—such as interest rate adjustments, Quantitative Easing (QE), and inflation targeting—affects the economic environment within which businesses operate, impacting costs of capital, investment incentives, and overall corporate behaviour. Through mechanisms like lowering interest rates, the Federal Reserve reduces borrowing costs, which encourages companies to adjust their capital structures and debt levels, with significant implications for tax planning due to interest deductibility. QE, on the other hand, drives asset prices higher, promoting increased investment activity, stock buybacks, and changes in dividend policies that indirectly influence corporate taxation. This article examines the nuanced relationships between Federal Reserve decisions and corporate finance, analysing how shifts in policy impact tax revenue and how governments adapt tax policies to manage economic conditions such as inflation. By presenting case studies from the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, this analysis illustrates the practical effects of the Federal Reserve's actions on corporate financial decisions and the broader tax landscape. The article concludes by addressing the future of Federal Reserve policies in light of technological advances in finance and the adaptive strategies that corporate and regulatory bodies may adopt to navigate an increasingly dynamic economic environment.

Data Breach Notification Laws and Corporate Tax Planning

ABSTRACTThis study explores the impact of data breaches on corporate tax planning in the United States. The results reveal that when a firm's headquarter is located in a state that has adopted a data breach notification (DBN) law, there is a significant 3.8% decrease in the long‐term effective tax rate. This reduction translates to annual tax savings of approximately $8.13 million. Furthermore, tax sheltering is found to decrease by 19.17% compared to the sample average. These effects are particularly pronounced in financially constrained firms and those operating in high‐tech industries. The findings suggest that after the introduction of mandatory data breach disclosure requirements, firms are less inclined to engage in aggressive tax avoidance practices, which could otherwise lead to increased litigation costs. Instead, they prioritize efficient tax planning strategies to improve after‐tax cash flows.

The Effect of Changes in Tax Laws on Stock Liquidity: Evidence From the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) on stock liquidity. The TCJA brought significant changes, including a reduction in corporate tax rates and provisions incentivizing the repatriation of foreign earnings. We find a negative association between TCJA‐related events and the liquidity of U.S. stocks, persisting even up to 60 days following legislative announcements. However, despite the negative impact on liquidity, there is evidence of improved price efficiency following the TCJA enactment, driven by increased informed trading. Additionally, our analysis extends to non‐U.S. stocks traded in U.S. markets and indicates similar relations.

Collectivist Culture and Corporate Tax Avoidance: Evidence from China

Collectivist Culture and Corporate Tax Avoidance: Evidence from China

Public Revenues and Educational Sector Productivity in Nigeria

This study examined the influence of public revenue on the productivity of the educational sector, focusing on how various tax policies and expenditures impact education’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), focusing on the role of Company Income Tax (CIT), Education Tax (EDT), Research and Development Investment (R&DI), and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX). Using annual data spanning from 1994 to 2023, the study employs econometric techniques, including the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, to analyze the relationship between these variables and the education sector’s economic performance. The findings reveal that CIT and EDT positively influence the education sector’s contribution to GDP, suggesting that these forms of taxation play a crucial role in funding educational activities and stimulating economic growth within the sector. Additionally, R&DI and CAPEX exhibit mixed effects on the education sector, with lagged investments showing a more significant impact on economic performance over time. It was recommended that there is a need by policy makers and stake holders for continued efforts to create a conducive fiscal environment for businesses operating in the education sector, including favorable tax policies and incentives to stimulate investment and innovation. Keywords: Nigerian tax system, educational sector, Company Income Tax, Education Tax, Capital Expenditure.

Political cycles, fiscal policy and capital flight in Africa

PurposeThis paper examined the interactive role of Political Cycles on the relationship between Fiscal Policy and Capital Flight in Africa.Design/methodology/approachA two-step System Generalized Methods of Moment empirical estimator was employed. This study used data on 40 African countries from 2009 to 2018.FindingsThe findings revealed that the interaction between political structures and fiscal policy is positive and significant, indicating that fiscal policies during election periods or different regimes would increase capital flight. The study found that political cycles positively affect capital flight, indicating that election periods and possible government changes promote capital flight activities. The tension and volatile atmosphere characterizing election periods in most African countries cause investors to use all alternatives, including illegal systems, to fly funds to a potentially stable economy.Practical implicationsThis study recommends that government and policymakers maintain fiscal discipline during election years and enact pragmatic policies to ensure the continuity of critical fiscal policies to promote business climate and economic stability, especially when there is a change in government.Originality/valueThis study contributes to capital flight literature in two forms. One, the study, to the best knowledge of the authors, is the first to proxy tax with corporate tax (a sound proxy for tax within the business space). Also, this study is the first to empirically show that elections worsen the effect of fiscal policy on capital flight in Africa.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0130

Corporate tax collection in times of Covid-19 pandemic: An analysis of the Peruvian economy

Corporate tax collection in times of Covid-19 pandemic: An analysis of the Peruvian economy

Does the presence of a sustainability committee strengthen the impact of ESG disclosure on tax aggressiveness? Insights from North America

AbstractWe investigate the influence of ESG disclosure on tax aggressiveness within the North American Travel and Leisure (T&L) sectors, specifically examining the role of sustainability committees in this relationship. Our analysis utilizes longitudinal panel data from the USA B3000 and Canadian S&P/TSX indices over the period from 2010 to 2020. Employing fixed-effects panel quantile regression with two distinct measures of tax aggressiveness, our findings indicate that firms with a focus on ESG tend to display higher levels of tax aggressiveness. This suggests that some companies might use strong ESG performance as a facade to obscure aggressive tax strategies. Moreover, our research introduces new evidence that the existence of sustainability committees can both hinder corporate tax aggressiveness and foster an ethical corporate culture, which aligns higher ESG engagement with lower tax aggressiveness. Our study underscores the importance of fostering tax compliance in T&L companies, emphasizing that individuals and corporations, which often seek direct state benefits, regard robust public services as essential for encouraging adherence to tax regulations. Furthermore, sustainability committees play a crucial role in enabling firms to address broader social issues, including tackling tax aggressiveness, thus shaping their sustainability agendas.

Corporate Tax Aggressiveness and Managerial Capabilities: Insights From Indonesian Firms

This study aims to investigate the effect of management ability, business strategy, and profitability on corporate tax aggressiveness. This study uses mediation analysis with the Smart PLS approach on a sample of basic materials sector companies listed on the IDX from 2020 to 2022. The results show that more capable management tends to adopt a conservative approach in tax management practices. In addition, business strategies such as prospector and defender have a significant impact on tax aggressiveness. More profitable companies tend to implement more aggressive tax strategies. Companies need to improve managerial capabilities to manage taxes more effectively, as well as formulate appropriate business strategies to mitigate tax risks in the future. With a better understanding of tax risks, companies can minimize potential tax disputes and protect their reputation and long-term performance. This study extends the research time scope to 2022 and uses corporate governance mechanisms as moderating variables, both internal and external, which have not been widely studied in previous studies.

The mediating role of financial reporting aggressiveness in corporate tax avoidance strategies

Tax avoidance, often driven by managerial discretion, remains a critical issue in corporate governance due to its implications for financial transparency and regulatory compliance. This study investigates how Transfer Pricing, Thin Capitalization, Leverage, and CSR Disclosure – strategies employed by managers – affect Tax Avoidance and examines the mediating role of Financial Reporting Aggressiveness. Grounded in agency theory, the study analyzes data from 20 firms listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2019 to 2023 using PLS-SEM. The findings reveal that Transfer Pricing (β = 0.062, p = 0.002), Leverage (β = 0.046, p < 0.001), and CSR Disclosure (β = 0.061, p < 0.001) significantly increase Tax Avoidance, with Financial Reporting Aggressiveness acting as a mediator. However, Thin Capitalization does not significantly influence Tax Avoidance (β = 0.028, p = 0.422). These results suggest that managers exploit these mechanisms to minimize tax burdens, often at the cost of long-term shareholder interests. The study calls for stronger corporate governance and stricter oversight of CSR reporting and financial transparency to mitigate such practices.

Taxes under stress: bank stress tests and corporate tax planning

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how bank stress tests affect bank tax planning.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses US bank stress test bank size thresholds and a regression discontinuity design to investigate the effect of the Dodd-Frank Act and the instituted bank stress tests on bank tax planning. We use different measures of tax planning, including bank-specific measures and measures of tax avoidance, tax aggressiveness, and effective tax planning from recent literature. Our regression discontinuity and difference-in-differences regression analyses include bank and year fixed-effects and lagged bank characteristics to control for potential endogeneity.FindingsThis study finds that stress tests have the unintended consequences of intensifying tax planning and increasing tax avoidance. Stress-test banks increase tax avoidance by accelerating charge-offs, net interest, and non-interest expenses. However, this increase in tax planning is not optimally maximized, leading to lower effective tax planning compared to non-stress-test banks. Banks with a substantial increase in tax avoidance under the Dodd–Frank Act tend to increase their risk, investing in high-risk-weight assets and lending in riskier loan categories. These findings are consistent with tax minimization conditions under added regulatory attention and policy uncertainty.Originality/valueLiterature on bank tax planning is limited. Most tax avoidance literature excludes financial institutions such as bank holding companies mainly due to differences in business practices and regulatory frameworks. This study is the first to investigate tax planning behavior among US banks. The current study thus extends the research field by examining the effect of bank transparency regulations, such as bank stress tests, on bank tax planning activities. Our findings have a direct bank policy implication. They show that stress testing has the unintended consequences of increasing tax planning activities and consequently increasing risk-taking on banks with high tax avoidance, which goes against the goals of stress testing regulations.

Gendered Taxation: IMF Tax Advice and the Unintended Disempowerment of Women

Case research points to the gendered effects of the value added tax (VAT), which may particularly disadvantage women by crowding out their economic participation. A key driver of VAT introductions has been the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To counterbalance of-payments woes, IMF advice for cash-stripped countries has frequently focused on shifting toward broad-based consumption taxes while lowering trade taxes and corporate income taxes. We expect this tax policy advice – while ostensibly gender-blind – to contribute in practice to a deterioration in women’s socioeconomic well-being. To test this hypothesis, we construct a panel dataset for 147 countries from 1980 to 2016 and estimate the effect of IMF programs on women’s economic participation, education and health. Accounting for selection effects, we find that women’s life chances deteriorate relative to men’s if a country undergoes an IMF program with tax conditionality. We corroborate these findings to demonstrate the mechanism underlying these effects by showing a negative effect of IMF-induced de jure VAT adoption on women’s life chances. We provide complementary individual-level evidence from the World Values Surveys based on 98 countries from 1981 to 2019. We show that during an IMF program with tax conditionality, women are significantly less satisfied with home life and report more material hardships. Our results provide evidence of the potential for unintended consequences of IMF revenue prescriptions for women, supporting calls for increased attention to gender-responsive budgeting.

The Incidence and Distributional Effects of the Corporate Income Tax: The Role of Rent Sharing

The Incidence and Distributional Effects of the Corporate Income Tax: The Role of Rent Sharing

Do stock prices affect corporate tax behavior?

Purpose This study aims to examine how firm-specific information in stock prices influences corporate tax behavior. Design/methodology/approach This study uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to examine the association between stock price informativeness and effective tax rate (ETR) volatility. Findings Stock price informativeness is positively associated with short-term tax avoidance as measured by ETR volatility. Originality/value While prior research examines the association between market activity and the level of ETRs, this study examines other various aspects of tax behavior.

The Influence of Corporate Governance on Tax Avoidance and The Role of Independent Auditors in Vietnamese Firms

This research addresses how corporate governance mechanisms influence tax avoidance in Vietnamese firms and the role of independent auditors in detecting or mitigating tax avoidance. The purpose of the research is to explore the relationship between corporate governance structures (e.g., independent boards, audit committees) and tax behavior, as well as to assess how auditors interact with these governance mechanisms to ensure tax compliance. A qualitative case study approach was used to analyze six companies from different sectors and governance models (2 state-owned enterprises; 2 family-owned private companies; and 2 publicly listed companies) through 18 interviews conducted between May 2024 and October 2024 with 3 key individuals from each company, including: Independent auditor; Company CEO; Manager or administrator, along with documentary analysis of financial statements and tax filings. The research found that firms with stronger governance (e.g., independent boards and active audit committees) are less likely to engage in tax avoidance, while weak governance structures often lead to more aggressive tax strategies. Independent auditors were more effective in well-governed firms, but faced ethical challenges in weaker ones. These findings are significant because they highlight the importance of strengthening governance frameworks and ensuring auditor independence to reduce tax avoidance and improve corporate transparency in Vietnam.

The Subject-to-Tax Rule in East Africa: Is It Worth It?

The two-pillar approach focusses on BEPS issues in developing countries to a greater extent than preceding OECD agreements. In particular, the Subject-to-Tax Rule (STTR) is intended to address BEPS risks in low-income countries’ tax treaties. BEPS is undoubtedly a critical issue in East Africa since corporate income tax is an unusually important source of tax revenue in Africa. This article analyses the STTR alongside treaties and domestic law to understand the likely impact of the rule in the region. It also considers the diverse domestic policy landscapes to explore whether the STTR is an attractive measure for countries in East Africa. The author believes that implementation of the rule will be complex, challenging already stretched tax administrations. Furthermore, some low-income countries may prefer not to engage with reforms that increase source taxation. The analysis concludes that any hopes that the STTR will mark a major step in addressing BEPS in this part of the world are likely to be disappointed, but it could form part of a portfolio of measures for some specific countries.

Tax System Optimization: A Comparative Analysis Between Personal Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax in Indonesia

This study adopts a qualitative approach to analyze the comparison between Personal Income Tax (PPh) and Corporate Income Tax (PPh Corporate) in Indonesia. Through literature studies and observations, this study explores the tariff structure, tax relief, and tax compliance level of the two tax systems. The economic implications of the implementation of Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax on economic growth, investment, and income distribution were also discussed. The findings show that tax reform, as stated in the Law on Harmonization of Tax Regulations (UU HPP), has a significant impact in improving the effectiveness and fairness of the tax system. The results of this study provide in-depth insights into the importance of appropriate tax policies to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Indonesia.

Recuperation mechanism of direct taxation to control post covid economic contraction: India’s new tax reform with crypto tax

This study explores the impact of the progressive tax structure on income equality, emphasizing the significance of direct taxes in promoting economic and social equality. It also examines the challenges faced by the Indian government in meeting its revenue targets due to the decline in corporation tax and personal income tax revenues. The present study assesses the role of the newly implemented tax by the Indian Finance Ministry on capital gains from the sale or purchase of cryptocurrencies and its impact on economic growth. A qualitative approach has been adopted, utilizing secondary information sources for characterization and analysis. The study relies on Time Series Data from the Income Tax Department for the financial years 2000-01 to 2018-19 and global estimates of total tax revenues published by the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD). The findings indicate that the substantial decline in direct tax revenues necessitated a search for alternative sources of income. The separate taxation system for cryptocurrencies has legitimized digital assets and enabled the government to monitor transactions and capital gains. The introduction of the "Digital Rupee" aims to enhance the digital economy through efficient currency management. This research highlights the need for policymakers to develop a well-defined regulatory framework for cryptocurrency taxation. Clear regulations on cryptocurrency taxation and the "Digital Rupee" could help India boost its digital economy while ensuring better monitoring of crypto transactions and revenues.

The Subject-to-Tax Rule in East Africa: Is it Worth it?

The two-pillar approach focusses on BEPS issues in developing countries to a greater extent than preceding OECD agreements. In particular, the Subject-to-Tax Rule (STTR) is intended to address BEPS risks in low-income countries’ tax treaties. BEPS is undoubtedly a critical issue in East Africa since corporate income tax is an unusually important source of tax revenue in Africa. This article analyses the STTR alongside treaties and domestic law to understand the likely impact of the rule in the region. It also considers the diverse domestic policy landscapes to explore whether the STTR is an attractive measure for countries in East Africa. The author believes that implementation of the rule will be complex, challenging already stretched tax administrations. Furthermore, some low-income countries may prefer not to engage with reforms that increase source taxation. The analysis concludes that any hopes that the STTR will mark a major step in addressing BEPS in this part of the world are likely to be disappointed, but it could form part of a portfolio of measures for some specific countries.