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Dividend tax signaling and the pricing of future earnings: a case of taxable stock dividends

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  • Nan-Ting Kuo

Abstract

The purpose of our study is to explore what types of information content are conveyed by dividends on future earnings. We examine this issue by investigating the effect of dividends on the association between current year stock returns and future earnings (i.e. the future earnings response coefficient, FERC). Based on exploring the Taiwan market, our results reveal that taxable stock dividends enhance the FERC while nontaxable stock dividends do not, consistent with the tax-based signaling argument. We also find a positive relation between cash dividends and the FERC in firms with severe free cash flow problems, and this suggests that higher cash payouts mitigate manager over-investment so future earnings are more highly valued, consistent with the agency argument. Our main contributions are to specify what factors make dividends informative with regard to future earnings and the provision of evidence to support the tax-based signaling model. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

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  • Nan-Ting Kuo, 2013. "Dividend tax signaling and the pricing of future earnings: a case of taxable stock dividends," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 539-570, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:40:y:2013:i:3:p:539-570
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-012-0287-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Cheng-Few & Kuo, Nan-Ting, 2014. "Effects of ultimate ownership structure and corporate tax on capital structures: Evidence from Taiwan," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 409-425.
    2. Schauer, Catharina & Elsas, Ralf & Breitkopf, Nikolas, 2019. "A new measure of financial constraints applicable to private and public firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 270-295.
    3. Abdullah AlGhazali & Khamis Hamed Al-Yahyaee & Richard Fairchild & Yilmaz Guney, 2024. "What do dividend changes reveal? Theory and evidence from a unique environment," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 499-552, February.
    4. Kuo, Nan-Ting & Lee, Cheng-Few, 2013. "Effects of dividend tax and signaling on firm valuation: Evidence from taxable stock dividend announcements," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 157-180.
    5. Abdul Moin & Yilmaz Guney & Izidin El Kalak, 2020. "The effects of ownership structure, sub-optimal cash holdings and investment inefficiency on dividend policy: evidence from Indonesia," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 857-900, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cash dividend; Stock dividend; Future earnings response coefficient; Dividend signaling; Dividend taxation; G32; G35; M41;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

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