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Profit Shifting Despite Symmetric Tax Rates? A Note on the Role of Tax Enforcement

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  • Florian Baumann
  • Tim Friehe

Abstract

This paper analyzes a multinational corporation that may use tax evasion and profit shifting as a means to minimize tax liabilities. Our main finding is that profit shifting may occur even when tax rates are the same across countries. This will be the case whenever there is a tax differential in effective tax rates resulting from differences in tax enforcement. In this context, profit shifting occurs to enable tax evasion in a country where tax enforcement is less harsh. Moreover, for a given differential in tax rates, differences in tax enforcement may either accentuate or dampen profit shifting. Importantly, the predictions regarding the direction of profit shifting that would result in our set-up may contrast sharply with those of the preceding literature.

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  • Florian Baumann & Tim Friehe, 2013. "Profit Shifting Despite Symmetric Tax Rates? A Note on the Role of Tax Enforcement," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 97-108, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:intecj:v:27:y:2013:i:1:p:97-108
    DOI: 10.1080/10168737.2012.668920
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    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. Diller, Markus & Lorenz, Johannes, 2017. "Do tax information exchange agreements curb transfer pricing-induced tax avoidance?," Passauer Diskussionspapiere, Betriebswirtschaftliche Reihe B-29-17, University of Passau, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    3. Laszlo Goerke, 2021. "Tax Evasion by Firms," IAAEU Discussion Papers 202104, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    4. Diller, Markus & Lorenz, Johannes & Schneider, Georg & Sureth, Caren, 2021. "Is consistency the panacea? Inconsistent or consistent tax transfer prices with strategic taxpayer and tax authority behavior," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 264, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.

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