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Tax avoidance that reduces transfers from shareholders to the government is traditionally viewed as value enhancing to shareholders. The agency perspective of tax avoidance, however, suggests that opportunistic managers may exploit the obfuscatory nature of tax avoidance to mask rent extraction. To shed light on these conflicting views, I use a self-constructed opacity index and multiple measures of tax avoidance to examine how corporate transparency relates to tax avoidance. I find that more transparent firms, which potentially have less severe agency problems, avoid more tax relative to their opaque counterparts. This result suggests that in a large section of the economy, tax avoidance is mainly engaged in by managers to enhance shareholder wealth. Further, I find that investors place a value premium on tax avoidance, but the price premium decreases with corporate opacity. This is consistent with the notion that corporate transparency facilitates the monitoring of managerial actions and thus alleviates outside investors’ concern with the hidden agency costs associated with tax avoidance. / text

The main aim of my thesis is to compare the legislative regulation of corporate taxation in selected OECD member states with a focus on the tax base. The partial aim of my work is to determine the impact of BEPS actions on corporate taxation not only as a whole, but also within selected countries. This thesis is focused on Great Britain, Belgium and Spain. The first part of this thesis introduces us the relevant concepts, the subsequent chapter focuses on the BEPS initiative and in the last part of the thesis deals with the legislative regulation of the corporate taxation in the selected countries and their comparison.

An Intermediary Holding Company (“IHC”) is a company that is interposed between an ultimate holding company and the operating subsidiaries of a group of companies. The IHC operates at an international level such that either its holding company or its subsidiaries or both are located in a country foreign to the IHC. Its main functions are to acquire, manage and dispose of the assets of the group of companies and to facilitate structural flexibility of a group of companies. Investors have tax and non-tax reasons for conducting business using an IHC, and, depending on the reasons, they determine the location of the IHC based on the characteristics of potential host countries. This thesis analyses the suitability of the South African corporate tax regime for the use of South African-resident Intermediary Holding Companies. The South African government has the objective of promoting South Africa as a gateway for investment in Africa and for this reason the present research is important. Such an objective could be adversely affected by a corporate tax regime that is not suitable for the operations of an IHC. Furthermore, the Katz Commission recommended in 1997 that South Africa should consider introducing a regime that is suitable for the location of holding companies. In discharging its functions the IHC attracts liability for corporate income tax, capital gains tax, controlled foreign company tax and dividends tax. It also exposes itself to anti-avoidance measures such as thin capitalisation and transfer pricing provisions. The existence of such taxes and anti-avoidance measures in the tax system of a country may deter investors from locating an IHC in such country. Exchange control regulations could also adversely affect the ability of the IHC to perform its functions effectively, as their purpose is to restrict the movement of capital out of the country. The South African legal system contains all these taxes and anti-avoidance measures as well as exchange control provisions. However, it also contains tax instruments that alleviate the tax burden on an investor using an IHC such as the participation exemption, advance tax rulings and a network of tax treaties. Against this background this thesis analyses the South African corporate tax system to determine whether it is suitable for locating an IHC. In the analysis, a comparative study is done of the tax systems of two of the most effective IHC host countries, namely the Netherlands and Mauritius. In addition, a brief discussion of the special features contained in the tax systems of Belgium, Ireland and the United Kingdom outlines why these jurisdictions are not necessarily successful in attracting IHCs. The thesis also discusses harmful tax practices and the attitude of the international community towards countries that engage in harmful tax competition in order to determine the limits to which a country should use the tax system to attract investment. Finally, the thesis makes recommendations as to what adjustments could be made in order to enhance the suitability of South Africa to host an IHC. The thesis recommends a special dispensation as regards corporate income tax and exchange control that would apply to wholly-owned South African companies that own foreign subsidiary shares and loans that consist of 80% of the gross asset total of these companies. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The purpose of this work is to examine the basic characteristics of the federal corporate income tax and to ascertain the importance of legislative proposals aimed at alleviating inequities and problems caused by the tax. This study is focused on the period 1954 to 1964 and subjects to economic analysis the proposed legislative amendments to the federal corporate income tax law. The several advocates of corporate tax reform concentrated their efforts on (1) Proposals to provide relief to small and new business, including measures to regulate corporate size and activities, and to modify the rate structure in order to eliminate or reduce various tax-induced inequities; (2) Proposals to reduce the disparity of tax treatment between competing enterprises and the use of tax incentives to encourage and direct United States investment abroad; (3) Proposals to encourage modernization and expansion of the nation's productive facilities and to increase the competitiveness of the United States in world markets; (4) Proposals for tax reduction and reform to achieve a higher rate of economic growth and full employment in relation to government fiscal policy. The most important findings of this study regarding the merits of the corporate tax in aiding either small business or curbing big business relate to its effect on investment, savings and consumption. It is shown in this study that authoritative opinion is divided on the proper techniques to be utilized and the answers to be obtained. To the extent that the tax is not shifted it tends to curtail business growth. If the tax is shifted, it is held to be regressive and opposed to sound tax principles. To the extent corporations can shift the tax, its effectiveness as a curb on monopoly is reduced. It is the conclusion of this study that none of the bills analyzed can adequately perform the regulatory functions advocated by their proponents. The taxation of competing enterprises relates particularly to the case of taxing cooperatives. The tax advantage enjoyed by cooperatives stems from the Corporation Tax Statute of 1909 which exempted them from taxation. The various proposals to tax cooperatives studied in this work would produce a marked improvement in tax equality but they would not end tax inequality completely. During the 1950's, the taxation of income from foreign sources became a controversial subject in the United States. Various bills exempting foreign-source income or lowering the applicable rate were introduced, but all were defeated. One of the more significant bills was introduced in 1959 by Congressman Hale Boggs. He wished to stimulate foreign investment by United States corporations and to eliminate the use of "tax haven" companies. Although the importance of the Boggs bill was recognized, the Revenue Act of 1962 failed to achieve the objectives of that bill. In 1961, the investment tax credit was proposed as a device to encourage expansion and modernization of the productive facilities of the United States. The economic effect of the credit device has had some measure of success in other countries and up to now seems to have had a degree of success also in the United States. With the growing recognition of the indictments against the corporation income tax, the use of indirect taxation should receive more attention as an available alternative. / 2031-01-01

The thesis examines the international taxation rules of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) and their interaction with third-country corporate tax practice. The aim is to assess the effectiveness of the CCCTB vis-à-vis third countries, with Egypt as a practical example. The CCCTB has the potential to reduce corporate tax obstacles faced by businesses in the EU in having to comply with up to twenty seven different domestic systems for determining their taxable profits. However, the international taxation rules of the CCCTB system are likely to have an impact on the corporate tax practice in third countries, and may conflict with existing bilateral tax treaties concluded between CCCTB-Member States and third countries. The discussion presents a detailed analysis of the CCCTB’s unilateral framework for the avoidance of double taxation and for the protection of the common consolidated tax base. It reveals that, by means of ordinary credit and exemption methods provided in the CCCTB Directive, international double taxation will be eliminated in relation to third countries. Furthermore, the CCCTB’s anti-abuse rules are effective in protecting the common tax base and in eliminating non-double taxation. Nevertheless, the unilateral measures are in conflict with a number of important provisions of bilateral tax treaties, based on the OECD Model, concluded between the potential CCCTB-Member States and third countries. Egypt exemplifies this – but the problem is generic. These conflicts between the CCCTB and OECD Model bilateral treaties are detrimental to the effective functioning of the CCCTB system vis-à-vis third countries, and need to be redressed. This thesis suggests a simple and practical solution - replacement of the bilateral tax treaties between CCCTB-Member States and third countries with a multilateral tax treaty to be concluded between every third country and all CCCTB-Member States.

The EU regulatory framework for direct taxation is composed of three interconnected elements. First, having satisfied the requirement of a unanimous vote, the EU adopted a range of directives on the basis of the general harmonisation provision (Article 115 TFEU). Therefore, a traditional hard law framework harmonising some aspects of direct taxation exists in the EU. Second, case law is an indirect method of exerting influence on the direct tax field. As long as no positive integration has been brought about, the Member States are free to regulate this sphere as they see fit. The boundaries of their regulatory freedom are imposed, however, by negative integration i.e. by the ECJ applying the Treaty rules on non-discrimination. Jurisprudence has been an influential and dominant regulatory tool. Third, corporate taxation has also been regulated through soft law. The key example of a non-legally binding instrument in the direct tax field is the Code of Conduct for Business Taxation. This thesis investigates interactions between these hard and soft law measures and draws conclusions about the future of EU direct tax regulation. To achieve these aims, two research strands are explored. First, the thesis discusses the nature of the Code. In particular, it is investigated whether the Code can be regarded as an example of a ‘pure’ soft law measure. It is argued that the nature of the Code is not as clear-cut as is officially presented. Behind soft law terminology, the Code operates as a hard law measure. Supported by an examination of the OECD anti-harmful tax competition initiative, the thesis concludes that the use of soft law in tax regulation has not been wholly successful. The introduction of legally binding solutions is restricted by the requirement of unanimity, which is difficult to attain in the expanding EU. Thus, hard law has instead been introduced through the back door, raising valid questions about regulatory legitimacy. Second, this thesis explores the relationships between hard and soft law in the wider context of EU direct tax regulation. The extent to which the Code is embedded in the broader environment of tax regulation is analysed. The Code tends to be characterised as a soft law measure situated within the regulatory environment of taxation that, for years, has been dominated by hard law instruments. At this level, interactions between ECJ jurisprudence and soft law instruments are also explored. Consequently, the thesis demonstrates that hard law and soft law are not necessarily alternative choices; both approaches can be applied simultaneously to influence one regulatory field, and both offer different strengths and values. In a field as politically sensitive as direct taxation, soft law may prove to be insufficient to bring about real change. The addition of a hard law (or legally binding) element might be necessary to secure effectiveness of regulation. This thesis proposes that the current, disingenuous hybrid regulation of direct taxes in the EU should be replaced with a more transparent hybrid, where hard law measures are openly applied and soft law is given the opportunity to regulate in parallel and to its own distinct potential.

This thesis provides the first meta-analysis investigating the effect of corporate tax competition among states, with special focus on the effect of the corporate tax rate change in competing country on the corporate tax rate in the home country. It examines 523 estimates from 20 published studies and working papers. Results of the meta-analysis show an evidence of substantial publication selectivity: researchers tend to discard negative and insignificant estimates, which overvalues the estimated effect size. Conducted precision effect test failed to find the evidence for the existence of a genuine effect of corporate tax competition. Empirical analysis shows that differences in the measurement of statutory and effective tax rate matter, thus the analysis was conducted on two separate sub-samples. Meta-regression analysis have found significant impact of variables related to publication bias for both sub-samples. Next to it, the results provide an evidence of significant influence of politically orientated controls, especially of the variable controlling whether or not there were elections in the particular year and state in case when the corporate tax rate changed. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Recent empirical literature has provided greater insight into the strategies and the extent of multinational companies’ tax avoidance. Simultaneously, in the last decades, the corporate tax rate has gradually decreased in most developed countries, often in the interest of attracting foreign investment. In 2013, Sweden decreased its corporate tax from 26.3% to 22%. This paper is an empirical study of the effect of the corporate tax change on Swedish multinational companies’ tax avoidance. By using a difference-in-differences model, and a sample of firm-level financial data from 19 821 domestic and multinational Swedish companies covering the period 2011 – 2015, a regression analysis is performed to estimate the effect of the policy change. Irrespective of empirical specification, I find no statistically significant effect of the tax change on tax avoidance.

The main aim of this Master's thesis is to set down individual factors which may affect corporate tax revenues in the Czech Republic. These criteria are selected based on the studies of the trends in the corporate tax revenues and then thoroughly analyzed. Furthermore, thesis consists of corporate tax revenue as a percentage of GDP comparison among chosen OECD countries with emphasis on the Czech Republic. Integral part of thesis is also formed by a regression analysis which examines the impact of the opted factors on corporate tax revenues.