The impact of dividend imputation on corporate tax avoidance: The case of shareholder value

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. The objective of this paper is to evaluate whether dividend imputation, whereby tax credits may be passed on to shareholders for corporate tax paid, impacts corporate tax avoidance. This is undertaken with a pooled cross-sectional research design evaluating differences in tax avoidance across firms where there are significant differences in corporate tax avoidance incentives. Specifically, potential differences arise between firms paying dividends with tax credits, paying dividends without tax credits, and not paying dividends. Results suggest that firms paying dividends with tax credits attached are less likely to engage in tax avoidance with an average cash effective tax rate up to 16.9 percentage points higher than firms that pay dividends without tax credits, and up to 14.7 percentage points higher than firms that do not pay dividends at all. Accordingly, this provides insights into the effectiveness of dividend imputation in mitigating corporate tax avoidance, as well as providing support for the continuance of dividend imputation in Australia. Additionally, a positive association is found to exist between outside directors and corporate tax avoidance, extending to firms paying dividends with tax credits where dividend imputation is expected to mitigate such a relation. In combination, these results suggest heterogeneity of costs and benefits of tax avoidance and this is a challenge in evaluating corporate tax aggressiveness generally, and the impact of corporate governance on corporate tax avoidance in particular

The accrual anomoly: Australian evidence

This paper investigates whether the accrual anomaly identified by Sloan (1996), whereby investors overestimate the impact of accruals on the persistence of earnings exists within an Australian context. While there is general support for the existence of the anomaly in Australia there are a number of idiosyncrasies in the results. First, there is evidence that in Australia investors underestimate the persistence of earnings. Second, there are greater errors in assessing the impact of cash flows on the persistence of earnings than accruals (i.e., a cash flow anomaly rather than an accruals anomaly). Third, returns to the hedged portfolio trading strategy are increasing over the three year period subsequent to portfolio formation. Analysis of these results indicates that they are primarily attributable to a limited number of firm year observations in the extreme positive tail of returns. Additionally, a range of sensitivity tests were undertaken to address the robustness of these results

Antiepileptic drugs’ tolerability and safety – a systematic review and meta-analysis of adverse effects in dogs

<p>Various anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are used for the management of idiopathic epilepsy (IE) in dogs. Their safety profile is an important consideration for regulatory bodies, owners and prescribing clinicians. However, information on their adverse effects still remains limited with most of it derived from non-blinded non-randomized uncontrolled trials and case reports.</p><p><span>This poster won third place, which was presented at the Veterinary Evidence Today conference, Edinburgh November 1-3, 2016. </span></p><br /> <img src="https://www.veterinaryevidence.org/rcvskmod/icons/oa-icon.jpg" alt="Open Access" /

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force consensus proposal: Medical treatment of canine epilepsy in Europe

In Europe, the number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) licensed for dogs has grown considerably over the last years. Nevertheless, the same questions remain, which include, 1) when to start treatment, 2) which drug is best used initially, 3) which adjunctive AED can be advised if treatment with the initial drug is unsatisfactory, and 4) when treatment changes should be considered. In this consensus proposal, an overview is given on the aim of AED treatment, when to start long-term treatment in canine epilepsy and which veterinary AEDs are currently in use for dogs. The consensus proposal for drug treatment protocols, 1) is based on current published evidence-based literature, 2) considers the current legal framework of the cascade regulation for the prescription of veterinary drugs in Europe, and 3) reflects the authors’ experience. With this paper it is aimed to provide a consensus for the management of canine idiopathic epilepsy. Furthermore, for the management of structural epilepsy AEDs are inevitable in addition to treating the underlying cause, if possible

Adaptation and conservation insights from the koala genome

The koala, the only extant species of the marsupial family Phascolarctidae, is classified as ‘vulnerable’ due to habitat loss and widespread disease. We sequenced the koala genome, producing a complete and contiguous marsupial reference genome, including centromeres. We reveal that the koala’s ability to detoxify eucalypt foliage may be due to expansions within a cytochrome P450 gene family, and its ability to smell, taste and moderate ingestion of plant secondary metabolites may be due to expansions in the vomeronasal and taste receptors. We characterized novel lactation proteins that protect young in the pouch and annotated immune genes important for response to chlamydial disease. Historical demography showed a substantial population crash coincident with the decline of Australian megafauna, while contemporary populations had biogeographic boundaries and increased inbreeding in populations affected by historic translocations. We identified genetically diverse populations that require habitat corridors and instituting of translocation programs to aid the koala’s survival in the wild

An evaluation of regulated IFRS and non-IFRS firm performance measures

This paper provides empirical evidence on the relative ability of regulated earnings and alternative non-IFRS performance measures to capture firm performance. It also evaluates the appropriateness of the regulatory response to the increasing incidence of non-IFRS performance measures. Our findings suggest that there is no single superior performance measure to regulated earnings and that ASICs response to the growing incidence of non-IFRS performance measures, RG230, and allowing firms to make such disclosures, was most likely appropriate

An evaluation of asset impairments by Australian firms and whether they were impacted by AASB 136

© 2016 AFAANZ. This study evaluates how managers of Australian firms are implementing the regulation requiring the impairment of assets and whether asset impairments can be categorised as non-discretionary. We find some evidence that realised asset impairments are reflective of regulatory requirements. However, for the majority of firms exhibiting at least one externally observable indicator of impairment, they are not recognising asset impairments, and recognition is often delayed. Accordingly, while realised asset impairments might be categorised non-discretionary, the timing of their recognition appears highly discretionary. There is some evidence that the realisation of asset impairments increased subsequent to transition to IFRS; however, the majority of firms with indicators of impairment are still not recognising asset impairments