We investigate dividend smoothing behaviors of approximately 6,000 firms from 28 countries. The data find a wide … variation in the extent of dividend smoothing across countries, while US firms smooth dividends the most. Firms with a … concentrated ownership structure adjust their dividends quickly, especially when the target dividend level is lower than dividends …

For a sample of 28,895 firms across 30 countries and 29 years, there is a negative relation between dividend tax rates … and dividend payout. Firms increase dividend payout in response to both absolute and relative (to capital gains tax rates …) decreases in dividend tax rates. This negative relation is robust to both increases and decreases and both shocks and continuous …