The Impact of Tax Status on the Relation between Employee Stock Options and Debt

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagadison K. Aier ◽  
Jared A. Moore

ABSTRACT: This study extends prior research on the tax-motivated substitution of employee stock options (ESOs) for debt by providing evidence on the manner in which the tax status of the firm and ESOs interact to influence debt policy. Using tobit regression and a sample of 13,345 firm-year observations over the period 1993–2004, we find that firms whose expected marginal tax rates are likely to be affected by non-debt tax shields (i.e., tax-sensitive firms) substitute ESOs for debt. In contrast, we find no association between debt and ESOs for firms that are likely able to fully utilize all available tax shields without affecting their expected marginal tax rates due to their high level of profitability for tax purposes (i.e., tax-insatiable firms). These results suggest that tax status impacts the association between debt and ESOs such that the two tax shields are not substitutes for all groups of firms across tax status categories.

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Hanlon ◽  
Terry Shevlin

This paper examines how firms account for and report the tax benefits of employee stock options (ESOs). The tax benefits of ESOs reduce taxes actually owed but enter stockholders' equity directly without reducing reported income tax expense. Failing to adjust reported income tax expense for this benefit can lead to poorly specified studies with the distinct possibility of considerable measurement error and flawed inferences. We explain the adjustments needed for more reliable estimates of effective tax rates, tax burdens, and marginal tax rates often critical to analyses of firm-specific and public policy issues. We document problems with firms' disclosures and, using a sample of large NASDAQ firms likely to be heavy users of ESOs, find that adjusting for the ESO tax benefit is essential to understanding the impact of taxes on those firms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elfina Astrella Sambuaga

<p>This study aims to provide empirical evidence related to the influence of family ownership, tax reform on corporate debt policy, and further prove the impact on the firm value.This study examined the effect of changes in tax rates in 2009 and 2010 on the relationship between family ownership structure and corporate debt policy. The population of this research is manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange for 8 consecutive years (2006-2013), with the period of observation for 7 years (2007-2013). A period of 8 years was taken to see a company that is consistently listed on the Stock Exchange prior to the end of the observation period. The result of this study shows that tax reform from progressive tax rates to a flat rate does not affect the relationship between family ownership structure and corporate debt policy. In contrast to the year 2009, changing rate from 28% to 25% in late 2010 was a significant effect on the debt policy with the company of family ownership. Based on the results, it was found that family ownership and debt policy significantly affect the company's enterprise value. It can be concluded, the higher the family ownership, the company's value would be diminished. Instead, the company's value will increase when the company adds to its debt policy.</p><p>Keywords : debt policy, family ownership, firm value, tax reform.</p>


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-110
Author(s):  
William B. Pollard ◽  
Charles C. Speer

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Gwartney ◽  
Robert A. Lawson

Using a sample of seventy-seven countries, this paper focuses on marginal tax rates and the income thresholds at which they apply to examine how the tax changes of the 1980s and 1990s have influenced economic growth, the distribution of income, and the share of taxes paid by various income groups. Many countries substantially reduced their highest marginal rates during the 1985-1995 period. The findings indicate that countries that reduced their highest marginal rates grew more rapidly than those that maintained high marginal rates. At the same time, the income distribution in several of the tax cutting countries became more unequal while there was little change or even a reduction in income inequality in most countries that maintained high marginal rates. Finally, the evidence suggests that there was a shift in the payment of the personal income tax away from those with low and middle incomes and toward those with the highest incomes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 449-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruhaya Atan ◽  
Nur Syuhada Jasni ◽  
Yousef Shahwan

In the wake of corporate scandals and excessive stock options compensation, International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) has introduced a new accounting standard, IIFRS 2 Share-based Payments. The scope of the standard extends beyond payments to employees, but for the purpose of this study, the focus is only on 'employee stock options'. IIFRS 2 requires a fair value of stock options records calculated on grant date, and recognized as compensation expenses over vesting periods. Prior to the introduction of IIFRS 2, stock options were not recognized and were only disclosed in the notes to the accounts. In Malaysia, the standard is mandatory for all companies listed on or after January 1, 2006. This study assumes the requirement existed in 2003. This study examines the impact of stock options expenses from 2003 to 2005, on the top 100 Malaysian companies. The three year observations show at least 24% of the sample exceeds the 5% materiality threshold on diluted EPS. The sectors that are impacted the most are the Trade/Service and Finance sectors. From the multiple-regression test, this study finds that fair value of stock options have a negative relationship with dividend yields (input of the Black-Scholes Merton (BSM) Model). Most companies in the sample are found to pay dividends and grant stock options at the same time. Therefore, this study suggests that companies need to restructure their compensation plan thus balancing the stock options granted and dividends paid in the future.


2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Eaton

This paper uses a series of two-year panels of tax return data to estimate the effects of two sources of tax rate changes on the participation in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). This paper uses a panel logit approach to control for individual specific fixed effects, which may also influence IRA participation behavior. This paper examines participation during the years of open eligibility for IRAs, as well as examining the impact of the 1986 tax reform on participation. A key finding of this paper is that taxpayers' IRA participation decisions are more sensitive to changes in tax rates due to changes in taxable income than to direct changes in the tax tables.


Author(s):  
Vito Tanzi

This chapter considers the impact of the Great Depression, Keynes’ countercyclical policies, and the Keynesian Revolution. It also looks at the growth of welfare states and of taxes, increasing levels of marginal tax rates and the increasing power of labor unions. This chapter deals with the beginnings of a conservative counter-revolution. New theories, such as growing influence of. the Ricardian Equivalence Hypothesis, Rational Expectations theory, and the Laffer Curve were having a growing influence. Several countries experienced stagflation in the late 1970s. The 1970s included the rise of conservative politicians the arrival of the supply-side revolution and an attempted return to some laissez faire policies. This in turn led to attacks on regulations and on high marginal tax rates. Finally, the chapter heralds the growth of globalization.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolande Jordaan ◽  
Nicholaas J Schoeman

This paper is primarily concerned with the revenue and tax efficiency effects of adjustments to marginal tax rates on individual income as an instrument of possible tax reform. The hypothesis is that changes to marginal rates affect not only the revenue base, but also tax efficiency and the optimum level of taxes that supports economic growth. Using an optimal revenue-maximising rate (based on Laffer analysis), the elasticity of taxable income is derived with respect to marginal tax rates for each taxable-income category. These elasticities are then used to quantify the impact of changes in marginal rates on the revenue base and tax efficiency using a microsimulation (MS) tax model. In this first paper on the research results, much attention is paid to the structure of the model and the way in which the database has been compiled. The model allows for the dissemination of individual taxpayers by income groups, gender, educational level, age group, etc. Simulations include a scenario with higher marginal rates which is also more progressive (as in the 1998/1999 fiscal year), in which case tax revenue increases but the increase is overshadowed by a more than proportional decrease in tax efficiency as measured by its deadweight loss. On the other hand, a lowering of marginal rates (to bring South Africa’s marginal rates more in line with those of its peers) improves tax efficiency but also results in a substantial revenue loss. The estimated optimal individual tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in order to maximise economic growth (6.7 per cent) shows a strong response to changes in marginal rates, and the results from this research indicate that a lowering of marginal rates would also move the actual ratio closer to its optimum level. Thus, the trade-off between revenue collected and tax efficiency should be carefully monitored when personal income tax reform is being considered.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina D. Romer ◽  
David H. Romer

This paper uses the interwar United States as a laboratory for investigating the incentive effects of marginal income tax rates. We examine the impact of the large changes in rates in this period on taxable income using time-series/cross-section analysis of data by small slices of the income distribution. We find that the effect operated in the expected direction but was economically small, and that it is precisely estimated and highly robust. We also find suggestive time-series evidence of a positive impact of marginal rate cuts on business formation, but no evidence of an important effect on other indicators of investment. (JEL D31, H24, H31, M13, N42)


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