IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaecon/v74y2022i1s0165410122000143.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of income-shifting aggressiveness on corporate investment

Author

Listed:
  • De Simone, Lisa
  • Klassen, Kenneth J.
  • Seidman, Jeri K.

Abstract

We investigate whether international income-shifting aggressiveness affects local investments. Amid heightened scrutiny of international activities by tax authorities, firms can support income-shifting goals by locating investments consistent with reported income. As a consequence, we predict firms that aggressively shift income will make affiliate-level investment decisions less influenced by local investment opportunities than firms that do not aggressively shift income. We use affiliate-level data from multinational corporations to develop a firm-year proxy for the sensitivity of reported income to cross-border tax incentives. Results suggest firm-years with below-median income-shifting aggressiveness exhibit a typical responsiveness of local investments to investment opportunities, but firm-years with above-median income-shifting aggressiveness exhibit no statistical relation. Consistent with expectations, these results are stronger for firms with better governance or subject to greater tax authority scrutiny. Our tests extend the literature on investment distortions by documenting that multinational corporations’ international tax considerations alter their local tangible investment decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • De Simone, Lisa & Klassen, Kenneth J. & Seidman, Jeri K., 2022. "The effect of income-shifting aggressiveness on corporate investment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:74:y:2022:i:1:s0165410122000143
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jacceco.2022.101491
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165410122000143
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jacceco.2022.101491?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato & Owen Zidar, 2016. "Who Benefits from State Corporate Tax Cuts? A Local Labor Markets Approach with Heterogeneous Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(9), pages 2582-2624, September.
    2. Clemens Fuest & Andreas Peichl & Sebastian Siegloch, 2018. "Do Higher Corporate Taxes Reduce Wages? Micro Evidence from Germany," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(2), pages 393-418, February.
    3. Stein, Jeremy C, 1997. "Internal Capital Markets and the Competition for Corporate Resources," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 111-133, March.
    4. Xavier Giroud & Joshua Rauh, 2019. "State Taxation and the Reallocation of Business Activity: Evidence from Establishment-Level Data," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1262-1316.
    5. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    6. Gupta, Sanjay & Newberry, Kaye, 1997. "Determinants of the variability in corporate effective tax rates: Evidence from longitudinal data," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 1-34.
    7. Devereux, Michael P. & Griffith, Rachel & Simpson, Helen, 2007. "Firm location decisions, regional grants and agglomeration externalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(3-4), pages 413-435, April.
    8. Thiess Buettner & Michael Overesch & Georg Wamser, 2018. "Anti profit-shifting rules and foreign direct investment," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(3), pages 553-580, June.
    9. Alexander Edwards & Todd Kravet & Ryan Wilson, 2016. "Trapped Cash and the Profitability of Foreign Acquisitions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 44-77, March.
    10. Morten Bennedsen & Stefan Zeume, 2018. "Corporate Tax Havens and Transparency," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 1221-1264.
    11. Badertscher, Brad & Shroff, Nemit & White, Hal D., 2013. "Externalities of public firm presence: Evidence from private firms' investment decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 682-706.
    12. Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He, 2017. "Do state and foreign ownership affect investment efficiency? Evidence from privatizations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 408-421.
    13. Scott D. Dyreng & Bradley P. Lindsey, 2009. "Using Financial Accounting Data to Examine the Effect of Foreign Operations Located in Tax Havens and Other Countries on U.S. Multinational Firms' Tax Rates," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5), pages 1283-1316, December.
    14. Dharmapala, Dhammika & Riedel, Nadine, 2013. "Earnings shocks and tax-motivated income-shifting: Evidence from European multinationals," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 95-107.
    15. Lisa De Simone & Lillian F. Mills & Bridget Stomberg, 2019. "Using IRS data to identify income shifting to foreign affiliates," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 694-730, June.
    16. Slemrod, Joel & Blumenthal, Marsha & Christian, Charles, 2001. "Taxpayer response to an increased probability of audit: evidence from a controlled experiment in Minnesota," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 455-483, March.
    17. Hanlon, Michelle & Lester, Rebecca & Verdi, Rodrigo, 2015. "The effect of repatriation tax costs on U.S. multinational investment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 179-196.
    18. Raghuram Rajan & Henri Servaes & Luigi Zingales, 2000. "The Cost of Diversity: The Diversification Discount and Inefficient Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 35-80, February.
    19. Jennifer L. Blouin & Leslie A. Robinson & Jeri K. Seidman, 2018. "Conflicting Transfer Pricing Incentives and the Role of Coordination," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(1), pages 87-116, March.
    20. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Blouin, Jennifer L. & Jagolinzer, Alan D. & Larcker, David F., 2015. "Corporate governance, incentives, and tax avoidance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 1-17.
    21. Collins, J & Kemsley, D & Lang, M, 1998. "Cross-jurisdictional income shifting and earnings valuation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 209-229.
    22. Zimmerman, Jerold L., 1983. "Taxes and firm size," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 119-149, April.
    23. Stefano Cascino & Ane Tamayo & Felix Vetter, 2021. "Labor Market Effects of Spatial Licensing Requirements: Evidence from CPA Mobility," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 111-161, March.
    24. Jack Hirshleifer, 1956. "On the Economics of Transfer Pricing," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29, pages 172-172.
    25. Preetika Joshi, 2020. "Does Private Country‐by‐Country Reporting Deter Tax Avoidance and Income Shifting? Evidence from BEPS Action Item 13," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 333-381, May.
    26. Preetika Joshi & Edmund Outslay & Anh Persson & Terry Shevlin & Aruhn Venkat, 2020. "Does Public Country‐by‐Country Reporting Deter Tax Avoidance and Income Shifting? Evidence from the European Banking Industry," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(4), pages 2357-2397, December.
    27. David Harris & Randall Morck & Joel B. Slemrod, 1993. "Income Shifting in U.S. Multinational Corporations," NBER Chapters, in: Studies in International Taxation, pages 277-308, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Donohoe, Michael P. & McGill, Gary A. & Outslay, Edmund, 2012. "Through a Glass Darkly: What Can We Learn About a U.S. Multinational Corporation’s International Operations From Its Financial Statement Disclosures?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 961-984, December.
    29. Huizinga, Harry & Laeven, Luc, 2008. "International profit shifting within multinationals: A multi-country perspective," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(5-6), pages 1164-1182, June.
    30. Devereux, Michael P. & Griffith, Rachel, 1998. "Taxes and the location of production: evidence from a panel of US multinationals," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 335-367, June.
    31. Becker, Bo & Jacob, Marcus & Jacob, Martin, 2013. "Payout taxes and the allocation of investment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 1-24.
    32. Meixell, Mary J. & Gargeya, Vidyaranya B., 2005. "Global supply chain design: A literature review and critique," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 531-550, November.
    33. Grubert, Harry & Mutti, John, 2000. "Do Taxes Influence Where U.S. Corporations Invest?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 53(4), pages 825-840, December.
    34. Hines, James R, Jr, 1996. "Altered States: Taxes and the Location of Foreign Direct Investment in America," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1076-1094, December.
    35. David S. Scharfstein & Jeremy C. Stein, 2000. "The Dark Side of Internal Capital Markets: Divisional Rent‐Seeking and Inefficient Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2537-2564, December.
    36. Becker, Sascha O. & Egger, Peter H. & Merlo, Valeria, 2012. "How low business tax rates attract MNE activity: Municipality-level evidence from Germany," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 698-711.
    37. James R. Hines & Eric M. Rice, 1994. "Fiscal Paradise: Foreign Tax Havens and American Business," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 149-182.
    38. Edmans, Alex & Jayaraman, Sudarshan & Schneemeier, Jan, 2017. "The source of information in prices and investment-price sensitivity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 74-96.
    39. De Simone, Lisa, 2016. "Does a common set of accounting standards affect tax-motivated income shifting for multinational firms?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 145-165.
    40. Eberhartinger, Eva & Speitmann, Raffael & Sureth-Sloane, Caren, 2020. "Real effects of public country-by-country reporting and the firm structure of European banks," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 255, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    41. Harry Grubert & Joel Slemrod, 1998. "The Effect Of Taxes On Investment And Income Shifting To Puerto Rico," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(3), pages 365-373, August.
    42. Lisa De Simone & Jordan Nickerson & Jeri Seidman & Bridget Stomberg, 2020. "How Reliably Do Empirical Tests Identify Tax Avoidance?†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 1536-1561, September.
    43. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    44. Lisa De Simone & Joseph D Piotroski & Rimmy E Tomy, 2019. "Repatriation Taxes and Foreign Cash Holdings: The Impact of Anticipated Tax Reform," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(8), pages 3105-3143.
    45. Hanlon, Michelle & Heitzman, Shane, 2010. "A review of tax research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 127-178, December.
    46. Desai, Mihir A. & Dharmapala, Dhammika, 2006. "Corporate tax avoidance and high-powered incentives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 145-179, January.
    47. Lee Pinkowitz & René Stulz & Rohan Williamson, 2006. "Does the Contribution of Corporate Cash Holdings and Dividends to Firm Value Depend on Governance? A Cross‐country Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2725-2751, December.
    48. Kenneth J. Klassen & Stacie K. Laplante, 2012. "Are U.S. Multinational Corporations Becoming More Aggressive Income Shifters?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 1245-1285, December.
    49. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "An Evaluation of Instrumental Variable Strategies for Estimating the Effects of Catholic Schooling," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(4), pages 791-821.
    50. Kenneth J. Klassen & Petro Lisowsky & Devan Mescall, 2017. "Transfer Pricing: Strategies, Practices, and Tax Minimization," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(1), pages 455-493, March.
    51. Devan Mescall & Kenneth J. Klassen, 2018. "How Does Transfer Pricing Risk Affect Premiums in Cross‐Border Mergers and Acquisitions?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(2), pages 830-865, June.
    52. Giovannini, Alberto & Hubbard, R. Glenn & Slemrod, Joel (ed.), 1993. "Studies in International Taxation," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226297019, September.
    53. Fritz Foley, C. & Hartzell, Jay C. & Titman, Sheridan & Twite, Garry, 2007. "Why do firms hold so much cash? A tax-based explanation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 579-607, December.
    54. Kevin Markle, 2016. "A Comparison of the Tax†Motivated Income Shifting of Multinationals in Territorial and Worldwide Countries," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 7-43, March.
    55. Hills, Robert & Kubic, Matthew & Mayew, William J., 2021. "State sponsors of terrorism disclosure and SEC financial reporting oversight," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    56. Aparna Mathur & Kartikeya Singh, 2017. "Economic substance requirements and multinational firm behavior," AEI Economics Working Papers 918310, American Enterprise Institute.
    57. Klassen, K & Lang, M & Wolfson, M, 1993. "Geographic Income Shifting By Multinational-Corporations In Response To Tax Rate Changes," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31, pages 141-173.
    58. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Blouin, Jennifer L. & Jagolinzer, Alan D. & Larcker, David F., 2015. "Corporate Governance, Incentives, and Tax Avoidance," Research Papers 2134, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    59. Andrew C. Call & Gerald S. Martin & Nathan Y. Sharp & Jaron H. Wilde, 2018. "Whistleblowers and Outcomes of Financial Misrepresentation Enforcement Actions," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 123-171, March.
    60. Grubert, Harry & Mutti, John, 2000. "Do Taxes Influence Where U.S. Corporations Invest?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 53(n. 4), pages 825-40, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mongrain, Steeve & Oh, David & van Ypersele, Tanguy, 2023. "Tax competition in the presence of profit shifting," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    2. Eulaiwi, Baban & Alghamdi, Fatmah Saeed & Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Duong, Lien & Taylor, Grantley, 2024. "U.S. multinational corporations' income shifting incentives and share repurchases: Evidence across differential taxation systems," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. He, Xinao & Xu, Runguo & Sun, Kai & Wang, Jian, 2024. "Population intensity, location choice, and investment portfolio selection: A case of emerging economies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Overesch Michael, 2016. "Steuervermeidung multinationaler Unternehmen: Die Befunde der empirischen Forschung," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 17(2), pages 129-143, July.
    2. Cooper, Maggie & Nguyen, Quyen T.K., 2020. "Multinational enterprises and corporate tax planning: A review of literature and suggestions for a future research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    3. Lisa De Simone & Lillian F. Mills & Bridget Stomberg, 2019. "Using IRS data to identify income shifting to foreign affiliates," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 694-730, June.
    4. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Ma, Mark (Shuai) & Thomas, Wayne B., 2013. "Tax avoidance and geographic earnings disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 170-189.
    5. Elemes, Anastasios & Blaylock, Bradley & Spence, Crawford, 2021. "Tax-motivated profit shifting in big 4 networks: Evidence from Europe," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    6. Cooper, Maggie & Nguyen, Quyen T.K., 2019. "Understanding the interaction of motivation and opportunity for tax planning inside US multinationals: A qualitative study," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(6), pages 1-1.
    7. Dyreng, Scott D. & Hanlon, Michelle & Maydew, Edward L. & Thornock, Jacob R., 2017. "Changes in corporate effective tax rates over the past 25 years," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 441-463.
    8. Michael P Devereux, 2007. "The Impact of Taxation on the Location of Capital, Firms and Profit: a Survey of Empirical Evidence," Working Papers 0702, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation.
    9. De Simone, Lisa, 2016. "Does a common set of accounting standards affect tax-motivated income shifting for multinational firms?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 145-165.
    10. Kelley, Stacie O. & Lewellen, Christina M. & Lynch, Daniel P. & Samuel, David M.P., 2024. "“Just BEAT it” do firms reclassify costs to avoid the base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT) of the TCJA?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2).
    11. Müller, Raphael & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2020. "On the determinants and effects of corporate tax transparency: Review of an emerging literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-063, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. Hasan, Iftekhar & Karavitis, Panagiotis & Kazakis, Pantelis & Leung, Woon Sau, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Profit Shifting," MPRA Paper 91580, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Lampenius, Niklas & Shevlin, Terry & Stenzel, Arthur, 2021. "Measuring corporate tax rate and tax base avoidance of U.S. Domestic and U.S. multinational firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    14. Schulte Sasse, Katharina & Watrin, Christoph & Weiß, Falko, 2020. "The alignment between reported profits and real activity in times of the BEPS Action Plan," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    15. Lartey, Theophilus & Uddin, Moshfique & Danso, Albert & Wood, Geoffrey, 2022. "CEO overconfidence and IRS attention," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    16. Subagio Efendi & Salim Darmadi & Robert Czernkowski, 2022. "Are Financial Institutions Tax Aggressive? Evidence From Corporate Tax Return Data," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 25(2), pages 175-204, August.
    17. Sebastian Beer & Ruud de Mooij & Li Liu, 2020. "International Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Review Of The Channels, Magnitudes, And Blind Spots," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 660-688, July.
    18. Col, Burcin & Errunza, Vihang, 2022. "Havenly acquisitions," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    19. Peter Egger & Michael Stimmelmayr, 2017. "Taxation and the Multinational Firm," CESifo Working Paper Series 6384, CESifo.
    20. Taylor, Grantley & Richardson, Grant, 2012. "International Corporate Tax Avoidance Practices: Evidence from Australian Firms," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 469-496.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:74:y:2022:i:1:s0165410122000143. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jae .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.