A well-known strategy of tax avoidance by multinationals is to locate debt in subsidiaries in countries with a high tax rate. In case of M&As it is particularly advantageous to locate debt at the level of holdings. By using firm-level data provided by the German Central Bank, I show empirically...

This paper analyzes the optimal level of transfer pricing manipulation when the expected tax penalty is a function of the tax enforcement and the market price parameter, and the multinational enterprise is subjected to distinct rules of foreign profit taxation. The application of the arm’s...

By introducing controlled-foreign-corporation (CFC) rules, the parent country of a multinational firm reserves the right to tax the income of the firm's foreign affiliates, if the tax rate in the affiliate's host country is below a specified threshold. In this paper, we identify the conditions...

This paper investigatesthe effect of firms' internal digitalization on the performance of business support functions such as the tax department. We put forward a novel, micro-level IT sophistication index based on a survey monitoring European firms' digital infrastructure. Following the...

Many subsidiaries can deduct interest payments on internal debt from their taxable income. By issuing internal debt from a tax haven, multinationals can shift income out of host countries through the interest rates they charge and the amount of internal debt they issue. We show that, from a...

This paper analyzes a two-country model with an international investor considering acquisitions of already existing target firms in a high-tax country and a low-tax country. The investor is able to shift profits from one location to another for tax saving purposes. Two systems of corporate...

This paper considers the impacts of differently formed borders of municipalities on local business tax policy. First a model is presented that shows the dependence of the level of taxation on the administrative structure. Afterwards, data from Germany are employed to discover the effects of the...

We develop a theory of economic disintegration that features both endogenously formed tax and trade policies. We show very generally that the economic disintegration of a country from an economic union leads to a deeper integration of international trade institutions. Moreover, we set up a...

This paper provides a theory of incorporation and taxation that emphasizes the role of the corporate legal form in facilitating access to external capital and the potential advantages of limited liability. Incorporation relaxes financing constraints and makes corporations larger than comparable...

The paper explores the effect of cum-ex trading on the stock market on ex-dividend days. A loophole in the German withholding tax system until 2011 enabled cum-ex traders to achieve the issuance of cash-equivalent withholding-tax certificates without previous tax payment. The paper discusses the...