Payout taxes and the allocation of investment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Becker, Bo; Jacob, Marcus; Jacob, Martin
• 署名单位: Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research; WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2012.08.003
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 1-24
• 关键词: Corporate payout; dividend taxes; Investment allocation

摘要

When corporate payout is taxed, internal equity (retained earnings) is cheaper than external equity (share issues). If there are no perfect substitutes for equity finance, payout taxes may therefore have an effect on the investment of firms. High taxes will favor investment by firms who can finance internally. Using an international panel with many changes in payout taxes, we show that this prediction holds well. Payout taxes have a large impact on the dynamics of corporate investment and growth. Investment is locked in in profitable firms when payout is heavily taxed. Thus, apart from any level effects, payout taxes change the allocation of capital. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.