The evolution of capital structure and operating performance after leveraged buyouts: Evidence from U.S. corporate tax returns

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 469-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan B. Cohn ◽  
Lillian F. Mills ◽  
Erin M. Towery
Author(s):  
Igor Semenenko ◽  
Junwook Yoo ◽  
Parporn Akathaporn

Growing tax competition among national governments in the presence of capital mobility distorts equilibrium in the international corporate tax market. This paper is related to the literature that examines impact of international tax policies on corporate accounting statements. Employing international firm-level data, this study revisits the race-to-the-bottom hypothesis and documents that tax exemptions lowering effective tax rates relative to statutory rates increase pre-tax returns. This finding directly contradicts the implicit tax hypothesis documented by Wilkie (1992), who provided empirical evidence on inverse relationship between pre-tax return and tax subsidy. We also find evidences that relative importance of permanent versus timing component depends on the geography and that decline in corporate tax rates reduces impact of tax subsidies on profitability. Our findings suggest that tax subsidies play a different role than in 1968-1985, which was examined by Wilkie (1992). These results are consistent with the race-to-the-bottom hypothesis and income shifting explanation


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-244
Author(s):  
Subagio Efendi

This study fills the gap in the tax authority’s Covid-19 financial aid verifications by examining, and nominating, Long-run ETR (Dyreng et al., 2008) as the better corporate tax avoidance measure in excluding tax evader firms from the broad stimulus programs. Analysing confidential tax returns of 4,752 largest firms (32,120 firm-years) in Indonesia over 2009 to 2017 periods, this study found 18.12 percent of total sample firms is able to retain its Long-run ETR below 10 percent, which indicates continual tax avoidance activities by these firms during observation periods. Moreover, applying univariate and multivariate Ordinary Least Squares and Panel Data estimations, this study reveals, relative to other tax avoidance measures, Lagged Cash ETR (Lisowsky, 2010; Lisowsky et al., 2013) present the most consistent reliability in predicting long-run income tax burdens. Thus, this study asserts, in the conditions of computing Long-run ETR is costly and impractical (i.e. because of data unavailability), tax authority and policymakers can directly analyse firms’ Lagged Cash ETR to gauge their long-run income tax burdens and tax compliance behaviours prior the economic downturn. 


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Kays

In order to deter aggressive tax planning, the Australian government mandated public disclosure of three line items from large corporations' tax returns. However, there is no evidence that the mandated disclosure led public firms to pay more taxes (Hoopes, Robinson, and Slemrod 2018). Instead, I find that firms strategically offset expected reputational costs by voluntarily issuing supplemental information. Specifically, when managers expect new reputational costs from the mandated tax return disclosure (wherein the disclosure reveals an unexpectedly low tax liability) and low proprietary costs from a supplemental voluntary disclosure (wherein the firm discloses its nonaggressive tax planning), firms are likely to voluntarily disclose information that both preempts and supplements the government's mandatory disclosure. Thus, when mandatory disclosures are incomplete, firms will voluntarily issue additional information to remain in control of their disclosure environments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Nessa ◽  
Casey M Schwab ◽  
Bridget Stomberg ◽  
Erin M. Towery

ABSTRACT This study investigates how Internal Revenue Service resources affect the IRS audit process for publicly traded corporations. Using confidential IRS audit data, we examine the effect of IRS resources on the incidence and magnitude of proposed deficiencies and settlement outcomes. We find that IRS resources are positively associated with both the likelihood and magnitude of proposed deficiencies, but negatively associated with the proportion of proposed deficiencies collected. These results are consistent with the IRS focusing on fewer positions, but targeting positions supported by weaker taxpayer facts when resources are more limited. Based on our findings, we estimate the loss in tax collections from audits of LB&I corporate tax returns alone exceeds the savings from reductions in the IRS enforcement budget. This study contributes to the literature examining the strategic game between tax authorities and corporate taxpayers and has important implications for policymakers, particularly in light of recent IRS budget cuts.


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara Faccio ◽  
Jin Xu

AbstractWe use nearly 500 shifts in statutory corporate and personal income tax rates as natural experiments to assess the effect of corporate and personal taxes on capital structure. We find both corporate and personal income taxes to be significant determinants of capital structure. Based on ex post observed summary statistics, across Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries, taxes appear to be as important as other traditional variables in explaining capital structure choices. The results are stronger among corporate tax payers, dividend payers, and companies that are more likely to have an individual as the marginal investor.


2015 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Klassen ◽  
Petro Lisowsky ◽  
Devan Mescall

ABSTRACT Using confidential data from the Internal Revenue Service on who signs a corporation's tax return, we investigate whether the party primarily responsible for the tax compliance function of the firm—the auditor, an external non-auditor, or the internal tax department—is related to the corporation's tax aggressiveness. We report three key findings: (1) firms preparing their own tax returns or hiring a non-auditor claim more aggressive tax positions than firms using their auditor as the tax preparer; (2) auditor-provided tax services are related to tax aggressiveness even after considering tax preparer identity, which supports and extends prior research using tax fees as a proxy for tax planning; and (3) Big 4 tax preparers, in particular, are linked to less tax aggressiveness when they are the auditor than when they are not the auditor. Our findings help policymakers and researchers better understand an important feature of tax compliance intermediaries; particularly, how the dual role via audits is related to observable corporate tax outcomes.


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