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Macroeconomic effects of corporate tax policy

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  • Shevlin, Terry
  • Shivakumar, Lakshmanan
  • Urcan, Oktay

Abstract

Prior studies on the relation between corporate taxes and future macroeconomic growth present contradictory evidence. We argue this mixed evidence is at least partly due to the use of statutory corporate tax rates which ignore the complexity of tax exemptions, tax deductions, tax enforcement and firms’ tax planning. We propose an alternative tax rate measure that aggregates cash effective tax rates of listed firms, which reflect not only statutory tax rates, but also other features of the tax code, enforcement, and firms' tax planning. We find a strong robust negative relation between country-level effective tax rates and future macroeconomic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Shevlin, Terry & Shivakumar, Lakshmanan & Urcan, Oktay, 2019. "Macroeconomic effects of corporate tax policy," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:68:y:2019:i:1:s0165410119300205
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jacceco.2019.03.004
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lee, Ye Ji, 2021. "The effects of analysts’ tax expense forecast accuracy on corporate tax avoidance: An international analysis," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
    3. van der Geest, Jesse, 2024. "Economic effects of tax avoidance and compliance," Other publications TiSEM aaca33bf-975d-4e21-9b5f-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Arin, K. Peren & Devereux, Kevin & Mazur, Mieszko, 2023. "Taxes and firm investment," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Huasheng Song & Guili Sun, 2022. "Investment Promotion, Tax Competition, and Industrial Land Price in China—Evidence from the Corporate Tax Collection Reform," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Jaewoo Kim & Sean McGuire & Steven Savoy & Ryan Wilson, 2022. "Expected economic growth and investment in corporate tax planning," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 745-778, June.
    7. Gechert, Sebastian & Heimberger, Philipp, 2022. "Do corporate tax cuts boost economic growth?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    8. Kenc, Turalay & Cevik, Emrah Ismail, 2024. "Global corporate tax policy space," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(2).
    9. Wensheng Kang & Jing Wang, 2021. "Corporate tax effects of economic policy uncertainty," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 2577-2600, April.
    10. Hoppe, Thomas & Schanz, Deborah & Sturm, Susann & Sureth, Caren, 2019. "Measuring tax complexity across countries: A survey study on MNCs," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 245, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    11. Keishun Suzuki, 2022. "Corporate tax cuts in a Schumpeterian growth model with an endogenous market structure," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 24(2), pages 324-347, April.
    12. Brown, James R. & Martinsson, Gustav & Thomann, Christian, 2021. "Government lending in a crisis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Leventis, Stergios & Tsalavoutas, Ioannis & Tsoligkas, Fanis, 2024. "Informal institutions in accounting research: A structured literature review," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    14. Suzuki, Keishun, 2019. "Corporate Tax Cuts and Economic Growth," MPRA Paper 97829, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Yi-Hsing Liao & Teng-Sheng Sang & Yuan-Tang Tsai, 2022. "Do information sources matter in corporate tax avoidance? The roles of peer effects and director interlocks," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 339-382, July.
    16. Jacob, Martin & Vossebürger, Robert, 2022. "The role of personal income taxes in corporate investment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    17. Athira, A. & Ramesh, Vishnu K., 2024. "Economic policy uncertainty and tax avoidance: International evidence," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

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