This paper exploits firm-level data from the ORBIS database to assess international tax planning by multinational enterprises (MNEs). Profit shifting to lower-tax rate countries is measured by comparing the profitability of MNE entities having different links to countries with different tax...

This paper assesses the redistribution of foreign direct investments (FDI) and tax revenues among countries due to multinationals’ response to international differences in corporate tax systems. The paper briefly reviews the literature on the tax sensitivity of FDI and uses a consensus...

This paper presents a rationale of why and under what economic environment the corporate income tax should exist, in particular, as a form of double taxation. In this sense, we suggest the tax code similar to those in the real world, however, ours turns out to be informationally much more...

Recent leaks expose corporate offshore vehicles, commonly used for tax evasion purposes but secret to outsiders, to the public. We examine the capital structure consequence of such exogenous leaks. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we document that firms exposed in offshore leaks...

In this study, we examine whether tax avoidance affects firm-level external financing choices. We hypothesize that firms marginally choose equity over debt because tax avoidance generates incremental cash flows but is likely risky. Consequently, we predict that tax avoidance induces a relative...

This paper examines the cross-sectional relation between leverage and future stock returns. Prior research documents a puzzling negative correlation. We show that it is largely caused by firms' use of internal financing when having significant off-balance-sheet operating assets due to...

We analyze the optimal debt structure of multinational corporations choosing between centralized or decentralized borrowing. We identify how this choice is affected by creditor rights and bankruptcy costs, taking into account managerial incentives and coinsurance considerations. We find that...

This paper investigates how multinational firms choose their capital structure in response to political risk. We focus on two choice variables, the leverage and the ownership structure of the foreign affiliate, and we distinguish different types of political risk, like expropriation, corruption...

This paper empirically analyses whether both personal and corporate taxation have an impact on companies' capital structure decisions. We investigate the effect of the difference in taxation of debt and equity financing on capital structures. Our empirical results, based on a comprehensive panel...

Tax neutrality towards alternative financing instruments for corporate investment is a ubiquitous demand in the political debate. At the same time, the literature is surprisingly silent about the magnitude of possible efficiency costs of a departure from tax neutrality. Against this background,...