IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v127y2015i2p439-457.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is Corporate Social Responsibility Performance Associated with Tax Avoidance?

Author

Listed:
  • Roman Lanis
  • Grant Richardson

Abstract

This study examines whether corporate social responsibility performance is associated with corporate tax avoidance. Employing a matched sample of 434 firm-year observations (i.e., 217 tax-avoidant and 217 non-tax-avoidant firm-year observations) from the Kinder, Lydenberg, and Domini database over the period 2003–2009, our logit regression results show that the higher the level of CSR performance of a firm, the lower the likelihood of tax avoidance. Our results indicate that more socially responsible firms are likely to display less tax avoidance. Finally, the results from our additional analysis show that the CSR categories community relations and diversity represent particularly important elements of CSR performance that reduce tax avoidance. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Roman Lanis & Grant Richardson, 2015. "Is Corporate Social Responsibility Performance Associated with Tax Avoidance?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 439-457, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:127:y:2015:i:2:p:439-457
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2052-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-014-2052-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-014-2052-8?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. Chen, Shuping & Chen, Xia & Cheng, Qiang & Shevlin, Terry, 2010. "Are family firms more tax aggressive than non-family firms?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 41-61, January.
    2. Jason Zhang & Hong Zhu & Hung-bin Ding, 2013. "Board Composition and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Investigation in the Post Sarbanes-Oxley Era," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 381-392, May.
    3. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    4. de Villiers, Charl & van Staden, Chris J., 2010. "Shareholders’ requirements for corporate environmental disclosures: A cross country comparison," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 227-240.
    5. 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.
    6. Adhikari, Ajay & Derashid, Chek & Zhang, Hao, 2006. "Public policy, political connections, and effective tax rates: Longitudinal evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 574-595.
    7. Jacob Rose, 2007. "Corporate Directors and Social Responsibility: Ethics versus Shareholder Value," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 319-331, July.
    8. Neu, D. & Warsame, H. & Pedwell, K., 1998. "Managing public impressions: environmental disclosures in annual reports," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 265-282, April.
    9. Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "A note on the interaction between corporate social responsibility and financial performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 46-55, December.
    10. Joel Slemrod, 2007. "Cheating Ourselves: The Economics of Tax Evasion," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 25-48, Winter.
    11. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 1988. "The Determinants of Board Composition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 19(4), pages 589-606, Winter.
    12. Zimmerman, Jerold L., 1983. "Taxes and firm size," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 119-149, April.
    13. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    14. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    15. John Hasseldine & Gregory Morris, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance: A comment and reflection," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 1-14, March.
    16. Patten, Dennis M. & Trompeter, Greg, 2003. "Corporate responses to political costs: an examination of the relation between environmental disclosure and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 83-94.
    17. Huseynov, Fariz & Klamm, Bonnie K., 2012. "Tax avoidance, tax management and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 804-827.
    18. de Villiers, Charl & van Staden, Chris J., 2006. "Can less environmental disclosure have a legitimising effect? Evidence from Africa," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 763-781, November.
    19. Peter M. Clarkson & Michael B. Overell & Larelle Chapple, 2011. "Environmental Reporting and its Relation to Corporate Environmental Performance," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 47(1), pages 27-60, March.
    20. Slemrod, Joel, 2004. "The Economics of Corporate Tax Selfishness," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 57(4), pages 877-899, December.
    21. Al-Tuwaijri, Sulaiman A. & Christensen, Theodore E. & Hughes, K. II, 2004. "The relations among environmental disclosure, environmental performance, and economic performance: a simultaneous equations approach," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(5-6), pages 447-471.
    22. Roberts, Robin W., 1992. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 595-612, August.
    23. Lanis, Roman & Richardson, Grant, 2011. "The effect of board of director composition on corporate tax aggressiveness," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 50-70, January.
    24. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    25. Patten, Dennis M., 2002. "The relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: a research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 763-773, November.
    26. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    27. Sonja Olhoft Rego & Ryan Wilson, 2012. "Equity Risk Incentives and Corporate Tax Aggressiveness," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 775-810, June.
    28. James Andreoni & Brian Erard & Jonathan Feinstein, 1998. "Tax Compliance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 818-860, June.
    29. Auerbach,Alan J. & Hines, Jr.,James R. & Slemrod,Joel (ed.), 2007. "Taxing Corporate Income in the 21st Century," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521870221, January.
    30. Graham, John R. & Tucker, Alan L., 2006. "Tax shelters and corporate debt policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 563-594, September.
    31. Scott J. Callan & Janet M. Thomas, 2009. "Corporate financial performance and corporate social performance: an update and reinvestigation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 61-78, March.
    32. Hanlon, Michelle & Heitzman, Shane, 2010. "A review of tax research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 127-178, December.
    33. 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.
    34. John Christensen & Richard Murphy, 2004. "The Social Irresponsibility of Corporate Tax Avoidance: Taking CSR to the bottom line," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 47(3), pages 37-44, September.
    35. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    36. Hasseldine, John & Morris, Gregory, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance: A comment and reflection," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 1-14.
    37. Kaplan, Steven N. & Reishus, David, 1990. "Outside directorships and corporate performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 389-410, October.
    38. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2008. "Revisiting the relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(4-5), pages 303-327.
    39. Healy, Paul M., 1985. "The effect of bonus schemes on accounting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1-3), pages 85-107, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Roman Lanis & Grant Richardson & Grantley Taylor, 2017. "Board of Director Gender and Corporate Tax Aggressiveness: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 577-596, September.
    2. Taylor, Grantley & Richardson, Grant, 2013. "The determinants of thinly capitalized tax avoidance structures: Evidence from Australian firms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 12-25.
    3. McClure, Ross & Lanis, Roman & Wells, Peter & Govendir, Brett, 2018. "The impact of dividend imputation on corporate tax avoidance: The case of shareholder value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 492-514.
    4. Juan Monterrey Mayoral & Amparo Sánchez Segura, 2015. "Planificación fiscal y Gobierno Corporativo en las empresas cotizadas españolas," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 214(3), pages 55-89, September.
    5. Moore, Jared A. & Suh, SangHyun & Werner, Edward M., 2017. "Dual entrenchment and tax management: Classified boards and family firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 161-172.
    6. Christofer Adrian & Mukesh Garg & Anh Viet Pham & Soon-Yeow Phang & Cameron Truong, 2023. "Do Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Tax Avoidance? The Case of Drought," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 105-135, August.
    7. Martin Jacob & Anna Rohlfing-Bastian & Kai Sandner, 2021. "Why do not all firms engage in tax avoidance?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 459-495, February.
    8. Kovermann, Jost & Velte, Patrick, 2019. "The impact of corporate governance on corporate tax avoidance—A literature review," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-1.
    9. Brooks, Chris & Godfrey, Chris & Hillenbrand, Carola & Money, Kevin, 2016. "Do investors care about corporate taxes?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 218-248.
    10. Richardson, Grant & Lanis, Roman & Taylor, Grantley, 2015. "Financial distress, outside directors and corporate tax aggressiveness spanning the global financial crisis: An empirical analysis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 112-129.
    11. Ji-Hee Kim & Ji-Hwan Lee, 2021. "How CEO Political Connections Induce Corporate Social Irresponsibility: An Empirical Study of Tax Avoidance in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-13, July.
    12. Fallan, Even & Fallan, Lars, 2019. "Corporate tax behaviour and environmental disclosure: Strategic trade-offs across elements of CSR?," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    13. Kovermann, Jost & Wendt, Martin, 2019. "Tax avoidance in family firms: Evidence from large private firms," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 145-157.
    14. Abdul Wahab, Nor Shaipah & Holland, Kevin, 2012. "Tax planning, corporate governance and equity value," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 111-124.
    15. Richardson, Grant & Wang, Bei & Zhang, Xinmin, 2016. "Ownership structure and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from publicly listed private firms in China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 141-158.
    16. Kelvin K. F. Law & Lillian F. Mills, 2017. "Military experience and corporate tax avoidance," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 141-184, March.
    17. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2020. "Related Party Transactions, State Ownership, the Cost of Corporate Debt, and Corporate Tax Avoidance: Evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints y5qj3, Center for Open Science.
    18. K. Hung Chan & Phyllis L. L. Mo & Amy Y. Zhou & Steven Cahan, 2013. "Government ownership, corporate governance and tax aggressiveness: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(4), pages 1029-1051, December.
    19. B. Salhi & J. Al Jabr & A. Jarboui, 2020. "A Comparison of Corporate Governance and Tax Avoidance of UK and Japanese Firms," Post-Print hal-04457142, HAL.
    20. Steijvers, Tensie & Niskanen, Mervi, 2014. "Tax aggressiveness in private family firms: An agency perspective," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 347-357.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:127:y:2015:i:2:p:439-457. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.