The effect of Germany's repeal of the corporate capital gains tax: Evidence from the disposal of corporate minority holdings

Germany's repeal of the corporate capital gains tax for the disposal of domestic holdings was expected to substantially change the system of corporate network holdings and corporate control. Based on a general divestiture model, we show that the probability of a disposal increased after the tax reform. Using a unique data set with no need to proxy for the disposal of corporate equity holdings, we analyze 354 German minority holdings over the period 1999-2007. We find significant higher disposal rates for 2002, the year the reform became effective. Further analyses reveal that this effect can be attributed to non-listed parent companies outside the financial sector, i.e. companies mainly ignored in prior research. Thus, our results also help to explain why prior research using event studies failed to detect a widespread market reaction of German firms

The effect of cross-border group taxation on ownership chains

I examine the influence of cross-border group taxation on ownership chains for European multinational firms. I show that the tax advantages of cross-border group taxation regimes can only be exploited if a multinational firm has at least one intermediate subsidiary in the country allowing for cross-border group taxation. I use the introduction of the Austrian cross-border group taxation regime as a natural experiment to test my hypothesis. I find that the probability that a foreign parent company holds an Austrian intermediate subsidiary is significantly higher after the introduction of the group taxation regime. However, I am only able to observe this effect for parent companies already invested in Austria prior to the introduction of the cross-border group taxation regime. I am unable to provide evidence that this also holds for parent companies who are not invested in Austria prior to the introduction of the cross-border group taxation regime. My results contribute to a nascent literature that examines the influence of taxes on ownership chains, and a larger literature on (intermediate) subsidiary location decisions for multinationals. My findings provide empirical evidence that could be useful to governments in those countries attempting to reform their group taxation regimes, or who are implementing cross-border group taxation regimes for the first time

The effect of Germany's Tax Reform Act 2001 on corporate ownership: Insights from disposals of minority blocks

The German tax reform act 2001 changed the corporate tax system from a full imputation system to a half income system. Along with this change, the taxation of equity investments changed as well. Using data on 459 disposals of minority blocks over the period 1997-2006, this paper analyzes the effect of TRA 2001 on the demand for corporate shares of different owner types and on corporate ownership concentration. We show that TRA 2001 was able to fulfill government's expectations about an increase in blocks bought by individual owners. With respect to ownership concentration, we find tax incentives not to be strong enough to lead to a reduction in overall concentration of corporate ownership

Der Einfluss des Budgetbegleitgesetzes 2011 auf das Handelsvolumen am österreichischen Kapitalmarkt

In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, ob die Einführung der Wertpapier-KESt zum 1. Jänner 2011 einen signifikanten Einfluss auf das Handelsvolumen am österreichischen Kapitalmarkt hatte. Basierend auf der Annahme, dass Investoren die Information über die Einführung der Wertpapier-KESt zum steueroptimalen Erwerbszeitpunkt von Aktien nutzen, wurde unterstellt, dass im Zeitraum zwischen der Ankündigung und dem Inkrafttreten der Steuerreform vermehrt Aktien gekauft wurden. Mittels Ereignisstudie konnte gezeigt werden, dass die untersuchten Unternehmen für die Ereignismonate November und Dezember 2010 im Durchschnitt positive (22,29% bzw. 46,83%) und im Jänner 2011 im Durchschnitt negative (-4,30%) abnormale Handelsvolumina aufweisen.This paper analyzes whether the introduction of a general individual capital gains etaxation in Austria, that became effective on January 1st 2011, had an impact on the trading volume of the Austrian stock market. Based on the assumption that investors use the time between the announcement of the tax law change and the date the law became effective for tax-optimal acquisitions, we analzye abnormal trading volumes around both events. Using an event study approach we find on average positive abnormal trading volumes for November and December 2010 (22.29% and 46.83%) and on average negative trading volumes (-4,30%) for January 2011

The Effects of a Tax Allowance for Growth and Investment - Empirical Evidence from a Firm- Level Analysis

We contribute to the empirical literature on the debt bias of corporate income taxation through a firm-level evaluation of the European Commission's recent proposal of an Allowance for Growth and Investment (AGI). We use the introduction, the application and the repeal of a similar allowance in Austria during the early 2000s to evaluate the effects of the AGI on corporate equity and profit distribution. Our analysis provides evidence that such an allowance could increase corporate equity ratios by 5.5 percentage points and reduce profit distributions by 7.6 percentage points. These effects are stronger than those the previous literature for traditional Allowance for Corporate Equity (ACE) tax systems has identified. Additionally, we contribute to the recently expanding literature on the influence of ownership on tax planning as we find significant differences in the utilization of the AGI depending on individual specifics of the majority shareholder as well as depending on the number of shareholders of the respective firms.Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Serie

Investor taxation, firm heterogeneity and capital structure choice

In this paper we analyze the effect of investor level taxes, firm-specific ownership structure and firm-specific payout policy on firms' capital structure choice. Our analysis is based on data for 10,983 firms from 13 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries over the time period 2002-2012. Our results show a significant impact of the net tax benefit of debt on the debt ratio of firms. Ignoring firm heterogeneity, an increase in the net tax benefit of debt by 10 percentage points leads to an increase in the debt ratio of 2.49 percentage points. Taking into account investor-level taxation and firm heterogenity, an increase in the net tax benefit of debt of 10 percentage points leads to an increase in the debt ratio of only 1.27 percentage points, if the firm's largest individual domestic owner has more than 50% of the shares. If all individual domestic owners together have more than 50% of the shares, an increase in the net tax benefit of debt of 10 percentage points leads to a negligible increase in the debt ratio of 0.05 percentage points

Investor Taxation, Firm Heterogeneity and Capital Structure Choice

We analyze the effect of investor level taxes, firm-specific ownership structure and firm-specific payout policy on firms' capital structure choice. Our analysis is based on data for 10,983 firms from 13 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries over the time period 2002-2012. Our results show a significant impact of the net tax benefit of debt on the debt ratio of firms. Ignoring firm heterogeneity, an increase in the net tax benefit of debt by 10 percentage points leads to an increase in the debt ratio of 2.49 percentage points. Taking into account investor-level taxation and firm heterogeneity, an increase in the net tax benefit of debt of 10 percentage points leads to an increase in the debt ratio of only 1.27 percentage points, if the firm's largest individual domestic owner has more than 50% of the shares. If all individual domestic owners together have more than 50% of the shares, an increase in the net tax benefit of debt of 10 percentage points leads to a negligible increase in the debt ratio of 0.05 percentage points