We investigate why firms choose to evaluate a tax department as a profit center (“contributor to the bottom line”) as opposed to as a cost center and the association between this choice and effective tax rates (ETRs). Using data from a confidential survey taken in 1999 of Chief Financial...

This paper provides evidence that keiretsu group member firms are subject to lower effective tax rates than independent firms in Japan. As one explanation for this phenomenon, we develop a hypothesis that keiretsu firms strategically shift financially reported income among affiliates in order to...

This paper introduces a dataset on forms of finance used in 12,363 Canadian and US venture capital and private equity financings of Canadian entrepreneurial firms from 1991 to 2003. The data comprise different types of venture capital institutions, including corporate, limited partnership,...

We use the unique nature of the director and officer liability protection law applicable to Nevada-incorporated firms to study how liability protection is related to corporate tax avoidance. We find that firms incorporated in Nevada avoid 32 percent more federal corporate tax as a fraction of...

We study the economic consequences of anti-loss trafficking rules, which disallow the use of loss carry-forwards as tax shield after a substantial ownership change. Using staggered changes to these rules, we find that limiting the transfer of tax losses reduces the number of M&As with...

One of the fundamental questions in business tax reform is whether to allow firms to immediately expense investments or require economic cost recovery. The conventional view is that expensing would generate stronger growth effects holding revenues constant. This view is rooted in traditional...

Traditional economic theory holds that a business cash-flow tax is superior to a business income tax because it is more efficient and progressive. But much of the literature espousing this view does not explicitly specify the full range of assumptions underlying these claims, let alone explore...

We investigate the consequences of public disclosure of information from company income tax returns filed in Australia. Supporters of more disclosure argue that increased transparency will improve tax compliance, while opponents argue that it will divulge sensitive information that is, in many...

We examine the capital market reaction to the announcement of the European Union (EU) to introduce a public tax country-by-country reporting (CbCR) regime. By employing an event study methodology, we find a significant cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR) of -0.699%, which translates into a...

In response to discussions about large multinational enterprises’ tax planning activities, legislators around the world have adopted numerous regulations to increase corporate tax transparency. New settings and datasets have spurred empirical research in recent years. Our paper presents a...