The Effects of Multinationals? Profit Shifting Activities on Real Investments

This paper investigates whether the size of multinationals? real investments in a high-tax country is affected by profit shifting activities. A simple theoretical analysis shows that tax rates abroad impact the cost of capital in the presence of profit shifting activities of multinational companies. As profit shifting opportunities constitute a competitive advantage, the respective size of investments should theoretically increase if profits can be shifted to a lower taxing country. An empirical analysis, based on a panel of German inbound investments, confirms a positive tax response of real investments with a decreasing tax rate at the foreign direct investor?s home country. Hence, the results suggest that the size of foreign investments in a high-tax country is positively affected by lower foreign taxation of shifted profits. --Taxation,Multinationals,Profit Shifting,Investment Decisions,Firm-level Data

Transfer pricing of intrafirm sales as a profit shifting channel: evidence from German firm data

This paper investigates whether transfer pricing of intrafirm sales within multinationals represents an important channel of company tax planning. A simple theoretical model, considering profit shifting activities of a multinational company, is used to obtain empirical implications. The empirical analysis, based on a panel of German multinationals, considers directly the supposed tax response of intrafirm sales. The analysis shows a significantly negative impact of the local tax rate on the size of balance sheet items, which reflect intrafirm sales. Thus, the results suggest that transfer pricing of intrafirm sales constitutes an important channel of companies? profit shifting activities. --Taxation,Multinationals,Profit Shifting,Transfer Pricing,Firm-level Data

The Effective Tax Burden of Companies in Europe

Unternehmensbesteuerung, Steuerbelastung, Optimale Besteuerung, EU-Staaten, Corporate taxation, Tax burden, Optimal taxation, EU countries

German inbound investment, corporate tax planning, and thin-capitalization rules: a difference-in-differences approach

This paper investigates tax planning behavior by means of inter-company finance and the effectiveness of fighting back via thin-capitalization rules. A simple theoretical model, which considers the financing decision of a multinational company, is used to obtain empirical implications. The empirical analysis, based on German inbound investment data from 1996 until 2004, supports a significant impact of tax rate differences on the use of intra-company debt. The effectiveness of the German thin-capitalization rule is tested by using legal amendments as natural experiments. The results suggest that the German thin-capitalization rule induces significantly lower intra-firm debt-levels of inbound investments. Hence, tax planning via intra-firm finance is effectively limited. --Corporate Income Tax,Multinationals,Thin-Capitalization Rule,Difference-in-Differences,Firm-Level Data

The Impact of Personal and Corporate Taxation on Capital Structure Choices

This paper empirically analyses whether both personal and corporate taxation have an impact on companies' capital structure decisions. We investigate the effect of the difference in taxation of debt and equity financing on capital structures. Our empirical results, based on a comprehensive panel of European firm-level data, suggest that a higher tax benefit of debt has the expected significant positive impact on a company's financial leverage. Particularly, we find evidence that the capital structures of smaller companies respond more heavily to changes in the tax benefit of debt. Additional analysis confirms that not only corporate taxes are relevant for corporate financial planning, but variation in capital income tax rates at the shareholder level implicates significant capital structure adjustments as well. Moreover, we find substitutive relationships between non-debt tax shields and the effect of the corporate tax rate on capital structures. --Capital Structure,Corporate Income Tax,Personal Income Tax,Firm-Level Data

Does accounting for taxes on income provide information about tax planning performance? Evidence from German multinationals

This paper investigates the quality of information on tax planning performance which is provided by financial accounting based on IAS 12 (Income taxes). A simple theoretical investment model is used to show that reported tax expenses can be misleading as an indicator of tax planning performance, since timing effects of tax depreciations are suppressed. However, it is shown that IAS 12 provides meaningful information if tax planning strategies are driven by statutory tax rate differences, e.g. in the case of profit shifting. Our empirical analysis of actual tax planning behaviour, based on a panel of German balance sheet data, suggests that in practice international tax planning is significantly driven by statutory tax rates. However, we find that tax depreciation impacts on the size of investment as well and thus, IAS 12 does not fully disclose tax planning performance. --International Taxation,Financial Accounting,Income Taxes,Firm-level Data

Transfer Pricing of Intrafirm Sales as a Profit Shifting Channel – Evidence from German Firm Data

This paper investigates whether transfer pricing of intrafirm sales within multinationals represents an important channel of company tax planning. A simple theoretical model, considering profit shifting activities of a multinational company, is used to obtain empirical implications. The empirical analysis, based on a panel of German multinationals, considers directly the supposed tax response of intrafirm sales. The analysis shows a significantly negative impact of the local tax rate on the size of balance sheet items, which reflect intrafirm sales. Thus, the results suggest that transfer pricing of intrafirm sales constitutes an important channel of companies’ profit shifting activities

The Effective Tax Burden of Companies in Europe

Company taxation is commonly accepted as a rele-vant location factor. In this context the measurement and the international comparison of the effective tax burden indicates differences in the attractiveness of locations. This study compares the effective tax bur-den of companies based on a measure which reflects the impact of company taxation on decisions and in particular on location choices. The calculations were carried out at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and are based on an approach which was introduced by Devereux and Griffith (1999). This approach is useful for analysing the im-pact of taxation on investment decisions. Moreover, profit-shifting strategies can also be integrated. A more detailed study based on the same approac

What Drives Corporate Tax Rates Down? A Reassessment of Globalization, Tax Competition, and Dynamic Adjustment to Shocks

We reassess the driving forces behind the recent decline of corporate tax rates in Europe. Using data for up to 32 countries from 1983 to 2006, we analyze the role of economic and financial openness as well as tax competition while allowing for dynamic adjustment to shocks and period-specific as well as country-specific effects. While openness does not seem to be systematically related to corporate tax rates, our findings suggest that countries compete over statutory tax rates. In contrast, we do not find competition over effective marginal rates. While the short-run impact of tax competition on corporate tax rates seems to be modest, the interplay of tax competition and a sluggish adjustment of tax rates over time implies that permanent shocks to individual countries have substantial long-run effects on equilibrium tax levels in all countries.corporate taxes, tax competition, openness

The Effects of Multinationals’ Profit Shifting Activities on Real Investments

This paper investigates whether the size of multinationals’ real investments in a high-tax country is affected by profit shifting activities. A simple theoretical analysis shows that tax rates abroad impact the cost of capital in the presence of profit shifting activities of multinational companies. As profit shifting opportunities constitute a competitive advantage, the respective size of investments should theoretically increase if profits can be shifted to a lower taxing country. An empirical analysis, based on a panel of German inbound investments, confirms a positive tax response of real investments with a decreasing tax rate at the foreign direct investor’s home country. Hence, the results suggest that the size of foreign investments in a high-tax country is positively affected by lower foreign taxation of shifted profits