CORPORATE TAX AVOIDANCE AND FIRM VALUE

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Desai, Mihir A.; Dharmapala, Dhammika
• 署名单位: Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Connecticut
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest.91.3.537
• 发表日期: 2009-08
• 页码: 537-546
• 关键词: earnings management; income; OWNERSHIP; shelters; accruals; evasion

摘要

Do corporate tax avoidance activities advance shareholder interests? This paper tests alternative theories of corporate tax avoidance using unexplained differences between income reported to capital markets and to tax authorities. OLS estimates indicate that the effect of tax avoidance on firm value is a function of firm governance, as predicted by an agency perspective on corporate tax avoidance. Instrumental variables estimates based on exogenous changes in tax regulations yield larger overall effects and reinforce the basic result, as do several robustness checks. The results suggest that the simple view of corporate tax avoidance as a transfer of resources from the state to shareholders is incomplete given the agency problems characterizing shareholder-manager relations.