We study profitable firms with no tax expenses. We find that the proportion of profitable firms that owe zero taxes (zero-tax firms) has increased substantially over the past 70 years, accounting for almost 15% of listed U.S. firms in recent years. Zero-tax firms thus represent a major group of...

This paper examines the role of personal income taxes in multinationals’ corporate tax–induced profit shifting. As required by corporate tax rules in most countries, firms need economic substance in low–corporate tax countries to justify profit shifting to these countries. Because higher...

Amid growing globalization, many countries have offered significant tax incentives to attract corporate investment. Prior research studies the role such tax incentives play in firms' location and investment choices. However, we have limited evidence on the role tax enforcement plays in those...

This paper examines whether the profit-shifting trend in Europe during 2003–2013 can be explained by tax policy changes. Consistent with prior literature, we find that affiliates' profits are sensitive to tax rate changes. However, we document that tax base–broadening reforms have mitigated...

We examine the consequences of federal corporate tax enforcement for local business activity. U.S. corporate tax return audits have declined significantly in recent years, and recent policies target expanding the number of tax return audits to improve tax revenues. However, tax audits can impose...

This paper studies how corporate tax hikes transmit across countries through multinationals' internal networks of subsidiaries. We build a parsimonious multicountry model to underscore two opposing spillover effects: While tax competition between countries generates positive investment...

This paper studies how corporate tax hikes transmit across countries through multinationals’ internal networks of subsidiaries. We build a parsimonious multicountry model to underscore two opposing spillover effects: While tax competition between countries generates positive investment...