Abstract The South African Revenue Service (‘SARS’) and National Treasury has in the recent past identified various areas of tax in which taxpayers have been avoiding tax by arranging their affairs in a certain way. An area which SARS and National Treasury sees as being a danger to the South African tax base is the utilisation of trusts by individuals. This was made evident in the 2013 National Budget Speech by way of a passing high-level comment on how SARS proposes to mitigate the risk that trusts pose to the South African tax base. This research evaluates whether trusts do in fact pose a valid risk to erode the tax base and whether they are as ‘deadly’ as they are made out to be. A discussion of the taxation of local trusts is included in this paper and it continues by analysing the various antiavoidance provisions contained in the Income Tax Act. In addition, this paper discusses the proposed amendments to be made to the current tax regime as well as the revised tax return format for trusts and the supposed purpose thereof. The paper concludes on the validity of the concern raised by both SARS and National Treasury in respect of trusts being used as vehicles to erode the South African tax base.

This thesis examines whether the UK's General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) unjustifiably permits the judiciary to take account of the taxpayer's motives, intentions and purposes for the purpose of determining tax liability. It will be argued that the UK GAAR does permit consideration of these factors, which, it will be argued, is undesirable because of the subjective nature of these terms and the possibility of judges ascribing a motive, intention or purpose on the taxpayer which may not be factual in reality. Although the GAAR has attracted much commentary, there has been little to explain how the GAAR allows the taxpayer's motives, intentions and purposes for embarking on an arrangement to be scrutinised by HMRC and the courts. This discussion hopes to fill this gap, especially in respect of whether and how the provisions of the GAAR can allow for a "motive test", how such a test may be applied in practice, and whether the GAAR can still be considered to have a targeted scope in light of factors that are arguably subjective. An allied issue that is examined is whether the implementation of the UK GAAR was needed given that the courts can apply the principle established in WT Ramsay Ltd v IRC1 to cases on tax avoidance. In developing the arguments presented in this thesis, the approaches of a number of Western jurisdictions will be examined. The selected jurisdictions chosen include; the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. These countries, with the exception of the United States of America, have a general anti-avoidance legislation in place and the majority of them include an anti-abuse provision in their general anti-avoidance rules. The thesis concludes that the UK GAAR is unique in taking into account the taxpayer's intentions. The UK GAAR also makes reference to the purpose of the taxpayer's arrangement. These factors, taken together, can result in scrutinisation of the taxpayer's own motive, intention or purpose. It will be suggested that the scope of the UK GAAR is much wider than it was ostensibly designed to be and that it is likely to rely heavily on the discretion of judges. Therefore, suggestions as to the ways in which the GAAR could move towards a more objective approach are given.

In this study, I examine how firms change their tax avoidance and financial reporting following large tax settlements. I find that firms decrease tax avoidance following large settlements and this effect is concentrated among firms under-reserved for the settlement for financial accounting purposes. Additionally, my results suggest firms learn from tax examination resolutions in a way that affects their financial reporting over the tax account. Finally, I find that the effect of large settlements also spills over to firms within the same auditor network. This study provides context to the tax authority's efficacy in deterring tax avoidance and highlights its role in the financial reporting process.

Issues and problems associated with the seriousness of tax non-compliance have increased dramatically over the years due to the widening tax gaps experienced by governments worldwide as a result of sophisticated transactions. To add to the severity of the situation are the concerns surrounding the difficulties associated with our abilities in defining what is meant by tax compliance, non-compliance and their relevant sub-categories. This study reviews both the international existing literature and New Zealand case law to examine how the concepts have (or have not) been defined over the years within particular studies and case law. The results are presented in the form of a critical literature review where the definitions (or descriptions) for the concepts are organized into tables, in order to compare how the definitions have (or have not) been ‘improved’ over the years. Lastly, this study discusses the implications regarding whether ‘universal’ definitions can or should be developed and attributed to each of the concepts in order to clear the murkiness between our understanding of the various concepts of tax compliance, non-compliance, and their sub-categories.

Tax avoidance is an exceedingly complex area of law. It is also a matter generally found not far from the headlines, or from the concerns of state and policy forums such as the G8 and the OECD. In an increasingly capital mobile world, the concern on the part of Governments for the protection of their sources of revenue has increased. Adam Smith’s four canons of taxation are well known. In his work, The Wealth of Nations, Smith regarded the values of certainty, equity, efficiency and convenience as integral to the functioning of a tax system. Among these, however, Smith would seem to have regarded certainty as of particular significance. The prominence afforded to the value of certainty, in conjunction with the smaller role afforded the state likely contributed to the formalistic approach taken by the courts of the British Commonwealth to the interpretation of taxing statutes. In recent times, however, the importance of certainty among policy makers and jurists has declined. Although this is not to contend that the value of certainty has ceased to be a consideration, it would seem to have come to be regarded as a lesser value among many rather than an end in itself. Although the optimal level of certainty within a jurisdiction is undoubtedly a matter for debate, the presence of uncertainty may carry with it a number of risks and unintended consequences which may hinder the achievement of the ends sought after by policy makers. These may include an increase in the rate of capital flight and in the use of asset sheltering devices, a decrease in the incidence of economic activity, and decreased rates of compliance among taxpayers. The value of certainty, in other words, may be of greater significance to the efficient functioning of a tax system than it has in recent times been thought to be. In contending with tax avoidance, the countries of the British Commonwealth tend to employ either one of two instruments; a statutory General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) or a judicial doctrine; an innovation of the common law. In this thesis, the writer sets out to examine the judicial doctrine applied in the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom (UK), and the statutory GAARs deployed in Canada and New Zealand, and the respective implications of each instrument for the value of certainty. While the difference in the implications presented by the application of a broad judicial doctrine and a narrow GAAR may be slight, it is the writer’s contention that, all things held equal, the use of a judicial doctrine is likely to have a less deleterious effect on the value of certainty than a GAAR. Accordingly, it is the writer’s contention that the use of a judicial doctrine is for this reason be preferred.

The aim of the thesis is to describe and evaluate the Czech implementation of Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD). It firstly introduces the problem of tax avoidance, its scale and defines basic concepts such as tax avoidance, tax evasion, tax havens and harmful preferential tax regimes. The author consequently describes origins of the Directive, OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Actions and other measures that are being implemented on the EU level such as international exchange of information in the field of taxation based on DAC Directives, the proposal of CCCTB. In the second chapter the ATAD is presented. It consists of five measures intended to neutralize the effects of tax avoidance practices, or in other words, to prevent erosion of the CIT base and the shifting of profits to jurisdictions enforcing little or no tax liabilities. First measure proposed is the interest limitation rule. It is intended to prevent the use of debt financing as a form of tax avoidance by limiting the amount of the tax-deductible borrowing costs that an entity is allowed to claim. Second measure is the exit taxation rule that requires the Member States to tax unrealised appreciation of assets based on the difference between amount equal to the market value of the transferred asset at the time of exit of the...

Prior literature suggests that tax avoidance is an effective way to enhance firm value. However, there appears to be considerable cross-sectional variation in tax avoidance, and it is not clear why some firms do not take full advantage of the tax avoidance opportunities being used by others. This study examines whether managerial reputation, as proxied by high-profile awards to top managers, is helpful in explaining corporate tax avoidance. The empirical results show that, relative to a matched control group, firms managed by a celebrity manager have significantly higher cash and GAAP effective tax rates in the three year period following the manager's first award than preceding the award. This result is consistent with the conjecture that celebrity managers, for fear of being labeled as "poor citizens," engage in less tax avoidance once they have an established reputation.

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Programa Multi-Institucional e Inter-Regional de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Contábeis, 2018. / Submitted by Raquel Viana (raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2018-08-08T20:26:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2018_RobérioDantasdeFrança.pdf: 1484409 bytes, checksum: 5767a2208dcff573eb75424af51af940 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana (raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2018-08-14T19:09:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2018_RobérioDantasdeFrança.pdf: 1484409 bytes, checksum: 5767a2208dcff573eb75424af51af940 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T19:09:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2018_RobérioDantasdeFrança.pdf: 1484409 bytes, checksum: 5767a2208dcff573eb75424af51af940 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-08 / Esta tese é composta por três ensaios empíricos sobre questões relativas aos efeitos da reputação corporativa e da governança na tax avoidance de empresas brasileiras. Busca-se contribuir para o debate sobre tax avoidance, partindo da argumentação de que as empresas brasileiras aumentam a tax avoidance relevando os riscos fiscais, mesmo na presença de governança e reputação corporativa forte. Vale-se da Teoria da Agência e da Teoria da Licença Moral como base teórica, a primeira, para explicar o conflito de agência ocasionado pela busca de riqueza do agente em detrimento da riqueza do proprietário, bem como o uso da governança como mitigadora deste conflito, e a segunda teoria para dar uma explicação alternativa para o fato de algumas empresas com forte reputação corporativa se envolverem em tax avoidance agressivo, aumentando o risco fiscal da firma. O primeiro artigo assume a hipótese de que empresas brasileiras de capital fechado são propensas a apresentarem um maior nível de tax avoidance em relação às de capital aberto. Foram estimados modelos de regressão com dados em painel de efeitos aleatórios e efeitos fixos com LSDV (Least Square Dummy Variables) para analisar o poder explicativo da variável de interesse (empresas de capital fechado ou aberto) em relação à variável dependente (ETR), controlando por setores econômicos e ciclo de vida organizacional (variáveis de controle) de 668 firmas brasileiras no período de 2010 a 2015. Os resultados indicam que: (i) empresas brasileiras de capital fechado são propensas a apresentarem ETRs menores em relação às empresas abertas e, (ii) os estágios de maturidade e turbulência do ciclo de vida organizacional têm relação indireta com a ETR. O segundo artigo avança na análise da tax avoidance, assumindo a hipótese de que a reputação corporativa é determinante da tax avoidance de empresas brasileiras de capital aberto. A amostra compreende 225 empresas com 1.575 observações distribuídas em um painel de dados que acompanha as mesmas empresas no período (2010 a 2016). As estimativas realizadas pelos métodos de dados em painel (RE, FE-LSDV, GLS, GLM, GEE e GMM) evidenciaram que as empresas brasileiras de capital aberto com reputação corporativa estabelecida aumentam seu tax avoidance. Isto pode indicar que as empresas ignoram os fatores de riscos fiscais e os danos à reputação que, porventura, venham surgir, pelo menos até determinado nível de agressividade tributária. Por fim, o terceiro artigo assume a hipótese de que oportunismo gerencial é incentivado pela remuneração variável dos executivos, sendo atenuado pela presença da governança e da reputação corporativa nas empresas brasileiras de capital aberto. Através de estimações GLS e GMM, para os determinantes da Tax Avoidance (mensurada pela BTD, NBTD e ABTD) podese inferir que: (i) quando analisada individualmente, a remuneração variável não impacta no oportunismo gerencial; (ii) a reputação corporativa consegue atenuar o oportunismo gerencial se analisada individualmente. No entanto, quando considerada sua interação com a remuneração variável, há evidências a favor de incentivos ao oportunismo gerencial; e, (iii) em relação à governança corporativa, os resultados foram inconclusivos quando a variável de governança é analisada isoladamente. No entanto, quando considerada sua interação com a remuneração variável há evidências a favor de incentivos ao oportunismo gerencial. / This Doctoral thesis consists of three independent essays related to the effects of corporate governance and corporate reputation on tax avoidance of Brazilian companies. This thesis seeks to contribute to the tax avoidance debate based on the argument that Brazilian companies increase tax avoidance by highlighting fiscal risks, even in the presence of Corporate Governance and corporate reputation. Agency theory and Moral License Theory was used as theoretical basis. The first theory explains the agency conflict caused by the search for agent wealth to the detriment of owner wealth, as well as the use of governance as a reduce of this conflict, and the second theory to give an alternative explanation for the fact that some companies with strong corporate reputation to engage in aggressive tax avoidance, increasing the firm's fiscal risk. The First essay assumes that Brazilian private companies are prone to present a higher level of tax avoidance in relation to Brazilian publicly held companies. Regression models were estimated with random effects panel data and fixed effects with LSDV (Least Square Dummy Variables) to analyze the explanatory power of the variable of interest (private or public companies) in relation to the dependent variable (ETR), controlling by economic sectors and organizational life cycle (control variables) of 668 Brazilian firms from 2010 to 2015. The results indicate that: (i) Brazilian privately companies are prone to present lower ETRs in relation to publicly held companies; (ii) The stages of maturity and turbulence of the organizational life cycle are indirectly related to ETR. The Second essay advances in the tax avoidance analysis assuming that corporate reputation is a determinant of tax avoidance in Brazilian publicly held companies. The sample comprises 225 companies with 1,575 observations distributed in a panel data from the period (2010 to 2016). The estimations were made by panel data methods (RE, FE-LSDV, GLS, GLM, GHG and GMM) and resulting that Brazilian publicly held companies with an established corporate reputation increase their tax avoidance. This may indicate that the companies ignore possibility of fiscal risk and reputational damage which may arise, at least up to a certain level of tax aggressiveness. Finally, the Third essay assumes that managerial opportunism is encouraged by executive compensation and is mitigated by the presence of corporate governance and corporate reputation in Brazilian publicly held companies. Using GLS and GMM estimations for the determinants of tax avoidance (measured by BTD, NBTD and ABTD) it can be inferred that: (i) In an individual perspective of view, remuneration does not impact managerial opportunism; (ii) Corporate reputation can reduce managerial opportunism if analyzed individually. However, when considering its interaction with the variable remuneration there is an evidence in favor of incentives to managerial opportunism; (iii) In relation to corporate governance, the results were inconclusive when the governance variable is analyzed individually. However, when considering its interaction with the variable remuneration there is an evidence in favor of incentives to managerial opportunism.

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.

学位プログラム名: 京都大学大学院思修館 / 京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(総合学術) / 甲第23344号 / 総総博第17号 / 新制||総総||3(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院総合生存学館総合生存学専攻 / (主査)教授 池田 裕一, 特定教授 武田 英俊, 教授 諸富 徹 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy / Kyoto University / DFAM