This study provides evidence on a significant real consequence of an opaque financial reporting information environment: increased corporate tax avoidance. Using an international sample of firms, I find that firms with a more opaque information environment, as measured at both the firm and...

The issue of base erosion and profit shifting has been on the international policy agenda for several years now. The aim of this paper is to examine how firms adjust their profit shifting mechanisms in a changing institutional environment. In particular, we test whether firms substitute one...

Much work has been done by international organizations, tax scholars around the world and business experts on the future shape of the taxation of the digitalized economy. Starting from the assumption that any “ring-fencing” of the digitalized economy should be avoided, it is far from easy to...

For tax purposes, Belgium allows companies to take into account an NID on their equity. This regime enables companies to tax corporate profits in Belgian finance companies virtually for free. This case study presents in a first step how such finance companies can be set up. Then, using a unique...

We investigate real investment, financial revenues and profits in formerly domestic firms once they enter a multinational entity (MNE) through an acquisition. We argue that following the acquisition, those targets are tax-optimized in a profit shifting context if they are acquired by MNEs with...

The international taxation of multinational enterprises (MNEs) stands under public and political pressure. The OECD BEPS project is striving for taxation in line with economic activity and value creation. While this might prevent book profit shifting it comes at the risk of investment shifting...

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of R&D tax incentives. It explains the economic justification behind the state support of research and development and summarizes its main types. In addition, it gives an overview of the existing R&D tax incentives in Europe and...

How did the rise of multinational enterprises (MNEs) put pressure on the prevailing international corporate tax framework? MNEs, and firms with market power, are not new phenomena, nor is the corporate income tax, which dates to the early 20th century. This prompts the question, what is...

The arm's length principle (ALP), which requires multinationals to price their related-party transactions as if the transactions were conducted at arm's length, currently faces three major criticisms (or Goliaths), two old, one new. The old Goliaths are (1) transfer pricing is abusive and strips...

We study experimentally how the conflict of interest faced by tax consultants – between telling the truth and pleasing their clients – affects their professional decision-making process, under different levels of scrutiny in the form of an audit. Eighty percent of the experiment's...