How much corporate taxes are paying Catalan family firms? Analysis of accrued and effective tax rates

Objecte: Determinar quin és l’impost de societats que paguen les empreses familiars catalanes, i observar així si aquestes suporten una major pressió fiscal respecte a les empreses no familiars com a conseqüència de la seva aversió al risc, i per tant, d’una menor agressivitat fiscal. Disseny/metodologia: S’ha calculat el tipus impositiu que han suportat durant el període 2008-2013 una mostra de 382 empreses catalanes grans i mitjanes que sempre han obtingut beneficis durant els darrers deu anys. Aquest tipus impositiu s’ha calculat a través de dos estimadors, per una banda el tipus meritat, tradicionalment utilitzat en aquest tipus d’estudis, i per altra banda el tipus efectiu, que proporciona una mesura més real del que realment han pagat les empreses. Aportacions i resultats: Els resultats obtinguts mostren que les empreses familiars suporten uns majors tipus impositius, tant meritats com efectius respecte a les no familiars. No obstant, aquest resultat no es pot generalitzar per al conjunt d’empreses, ja que si bé és cert que les grans empreses familiars són les que suporten una major càrrega fiscal, el caràcter familiar de l’empresa no exerceix influència significativa entre les empreses acollides al règim especial per a empreses de reduïda dimensió. Limitacions: En l’estudi no s’ha contemplat la influència que altres variables poden exercir sobre l’impost de societats, tals com l’endeutament, la intensitat de l’immobilitzat o el creixement de la companyia entre altres. Per altra banda, en el càlcul de l’impost efectivament pagat per les empreses de reduïda dimensió s’ha considerat un tipus genèric del 25%, sense considerar (per falta d’informació disponible) que en aquestes empreses, la base imposable que excedeix de 300.000€ grava al 30%. Valor afegit: En la literatura són molt pocs els estudis que han analitzat si l’aversió al risc, tret característic de les empreses familiars, pot ser un factor determinant de la seva agressivitat fiscal. A més, en aquest estudi, no només s’ha estimat el tipus meritat (tradicionalment utilitzat en la literatura), si no també el tipus efectiu, que a partir de les dades que proporciona el NPCG (actius i passius fiscals) permet estimar d’una manera més precisa l’impost que realment paguen les empreses.Purpose: The aim of this study is determine which corporate tax rate is paid by Catalan family firms, and analyze if these companies support a greater tax burden compared to non-family firms as a consequence of their risk aversion and, hence, due to a lower fiscal aggressiveness. Design/methodology/approach: We have estimated the corporate tax rates supported by Catalan firms during the period 2008-2003. We have used a sample of 382 large and medium-sized firms which have always obtained profits over the past ten years. This tax rate has been calculated using two estimators, the accrued rate, traditionally used in the literature, and the effective rate, which provides a more realistic measure of what companies actually paid. Findings: Results show that family firms support higher corporate tax rates, both accrued and effective rates, than non family firms. However, this result can not be generalized for the entire sample, because while it is true that large family firms support greater tax rates, the family nature of a company does not significantly influence in those companies included in the special regime for small-sized companies. Research limitations/implications: In this study we have not considered the influence that other variables could have on corporate tax rates, such as leverage, capital intensity, growth, among others. On the other hand, to calculate the effective tax rate paid by companies included in the special regime for small-sized companies we have used a 25% tax rate without considerer (due to the lack of available information) that for this companies, a 30% tax rate is applied for the tax base that exceeds 300.000€. Originality/value: There are only a few studies in the literature which analyze if risk aversion, characteristic from family firms, could be a determinant factor of their fiscal aggressiveness. In addition, in this study we have not only estimated the accrued tax (typically used in the literature), but also the effective tax rate, which using data provided by the new general accounting plan allows us to estimate more precisely the tax actually paid.Peer Reviewe

Quines empreses han aguantat millor la crisi, les empreses familiars o les no familiars?

En aquest estudi es porta a terme un anàlisi comparatiu sobre l’evolució de l’estructura econòmica i financera que presenten les empreses familiars i no familiars de Catalunya en un context d’intensa crisi econòmica. La seva finalitat és poder donar resposta a dos qüestions principals: identificar les característiques diferencials de l’EF respecte a l’EnF i comprovar si aquestes característiques diferencials han permès a les EF aguantar millor la crisi econòmica

The influence of the CEO in listed family businesses

Purpose: Our objective is to analyze the influence that the type of CEO has on the management of listed family businesses in Spain, distinguishing between whether the CEO is a family member or not. The study mainly focuses on his/her influence on levels of profitability. Design/methodology: During de period from, 2012 to 2016, with data coming from Iberian Balance Sheet Analysis System (SABI) database. To analyze the effects of the CEOs on family businesses, we carried out two kinds of analyses. First, a univariate analysis that allowed us to identify differences regarding profitability, financial structure, growth, and dividend payout policies, and secondly, a linear regression model to see the influence—as well as the effect and significance—that variables, including the type CEO, had on profitability. Findings: Our results show the existence of a double effect on the profitability of family businesses of having an outside CEO. First, there is a statistically significant negative effect that is derived from the non-family CEOs’ increased propensity to take on debt, and secondly, there is a positive causal effect on businesses’ profitability that has to do with the different management styles that outside CEOs bring to the table, as they are more focused on profits. The results support the importance of having non-family CEOs in listed family businesses in Spain. Research limitations/implications: Our study focused on family businesses listed on the Spanish stock market, which means that the number of companies that were analyzed was reduced and the results cannot be extended to other kinds of businesses. However, this fact did enable us to get more high-quality data and focus on a specific field that was appropriate for considering the problem we proposed. Originality/value: While many studies have compared the performance of family businesses with that of non-family businesses, few have considered that family businesses are not homogeneous and that they have different management styles. And, These styles are determined by the type of CEO that is leading the company; this fact is analyzed empirically in this article.This work was supported by The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Research Project ECO2016-79392-P; and the Institute of Social and Territorial Development (INDEST)