We study the relation between patent concentration and tax-motivated income shifting. Using affiliate-level data for European multinational corporations (MNCs) and employing the relative share of patents held by an MNC as a measure for patent concentration, we predict and find that tax-motivated...

Large multinational companies are regularly suspected of using transfer pricing of intangibles to shift profits from high- to low-tax jurisdictions. We study the optimal transfer prices while endogenizing the location choice of intangibles and considering spillovers. In line with the initial...

This study combines macro and micro data to quantify the revenue effects of double tax treaties. First, drawing on administrative information, the study estimates the tax sensitivity of income flows (dividend, interest, and royalty payments) at an aggregate level. The analysis finds important...

Out of all double tax treaties (DTTs) in force in 2012, around 41% are symmetric and 59% are asymmetric, i.e., they prescribe different dividend withholding tax rates (WTRs) depending on the foreign investor's ownership fraction. The paper investigates the reasons for this phenomenon, namely why...

This paper investigates the effects of double tax treaties (DTTs) on foreign direct investment (FDI) after controlling for their relevance in the presence of treaty shopping. DTTs cannot be considered a bilateral issue, but must be viewed as a network, since FDI can flow from home to host...

In July 2013 the OECD, to tackle multinational tax avoidance, published its Action Plan against base erosion and profit shifting. The Action Plan suggests a variety of legislative and administrative measures to eliminate frictions from interactions between domestic tax laws and international tax...

This paper uses firm-level survey data to explore whether the extent to which firms perceive taxes and crime as impediments to their operations and growth (perceived constraints) affects firm tax evasion. To rule out spurious covariation, I use reported crime incidences as an instrumental...

Corporate tax behavior has recently received considerable public interest, and anecdotal evidence suggests that firms are increasingly concerned about the reputational risk of tax planning. Using RepRisk data to capture firms’ reputational risk due to public scrutiny, this study examines the...

This study examines the relation between risk-based tax audit strategies and corporate tax avoidance. We exploit OECD data across 54 countries on risk profiling, predictive modeling, and internal intelligence functions in tax administrations from 2014 to 2017 to investigate whether risk-based...

In this paper, we investigate the acceptance by taxpayers and tax auditors of voluntary e-audits, i.e., online-based, automated tax audits. Further, we analyze the effects of e-audits on trust in and power of tax authorities. Perceived benefits and shortcomings of e-audits for taxpayers and tax...