utilizing the standard debt tax shield, multinationals can shift debt from affiliates in low-tax countries to affiliates in high …-tax countries. We study the capital structure of multinationals and expand previous theory by incorporating debt tax shield effects …. Testing our model using a large panel of German multinationals, we identify all three debt tax shields. Our estimates suggest …

Some multinationals use the parent company as a lender to the group, whereas others set up an internal bank in a low … theory model using data on the universe of German multinationals. The empirical analysis largely supports our model in that …: (i) smaller firms often rely on parental debt financing; (ii) larger multinationals are more likely to use internal banks …