Taxes, financing decisions, and firm value

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fama, EF; French, KR
• 署名单位: University of Chicago
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1082
• DOI: 10.1111/0022-1082.00036
• 发表日期: 1998
• 页码: 819-843
• 关键词: STOCK RETURNS; market valuation; capital structure; Dividend policy; CASH DIVIDENDS; AGENCY COSTS; INFORMATION; RISK; debt; OFFERINGS

摘要

We use cross-sectional regressions to study how a firm's value is related to dividends and debt. With a good control for profitability, the regressions can measure how the taxation of dividends and debt affects firm value. Simple tax hypotheses say that value is negatively related to dividends and positively related to debt. We find the opposite. We infer that dividends and debt convey information about profitability (expected net cash flows) missed by a wide range of control variables. This information about profitability obscures any tax effects of financing decisions.