Book-tax conformity and capital structure

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Blaylock, Bradley; Gaertner, Fabio B.; Shevlin, Terry
• 署名单位: University of Oklahoma System; University of Oklahoma - Norman; University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison; University of California System; University of California Irvine
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ACCOUNTING STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1380-6653
• DOI: 10.1007/s11142-017-9386-2
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 903-932
• 关键词: accounting earnings; IMPLIED COST; corporate; INFORMATION; income; firm; association; incentives; management; ratios

摘要

We examine the effect of increased book-tax conformity on corporate capital structure. Prior studies document a decrease in the informativeness of accounting earnings for equity markets resulting from higher book-tax conformity. We argue that the decrease in earnings informativeness impacts equity holders more than debt holders because of the differences in payoff structures between debt and equity investments such that increases in book-tax conformity lead to increases in firms' reliance on debt capital. We exploit a natural experiment in the U.S. and find that firms facing an increase in required book-tax conformity increase leverage relative to other firms. We also provide evidence of an increase in the cost of equity (but not of debt) capital for firms facing an increase in required book-tax conformity, relative to control firms, and show that these increases in cost of equity capital are positively associated with an increase in leverage. Our findings are consistent with firms substituting away from equity and toward more debt in the presence of higher book-tax conformity.