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The Consequences of the TCJA's International Provisions: Lessons from Existing Research

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  • Dhammika Dharmapala

Abstract

This paper discusses the potential consequences of the international tax provisions of the recent Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA), drawing on existing research. The TCJA’s dividend exemption provision is expected to eliminate distortions to the amount and timing of dividend repatriations. However, the efficiency gains from increased repatriations – which are primarily expected to increase shareholder payout – are likely to be modest. The paper uses the observed behavior of firms during the repatriation tax holiday implemented in 2005 to infer the relative magnitudes of the burdens created by the repatriation tax under the old (pre-TCJA) regime and by the TCJA’s new “Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income” (GILTI) tax. It concludes that the TCJA increases the tax burden on US residence for many, and perhaps most, US MNCs. The paper also argues that the GILTI and “Foreign-Derived Intangible Income” (FDII) provisions are likely to create substantial distortions to the ownership of assets, both in the US and around the world. Overall, the scholarly evidence implies that the international provisions of the TCJA can reasonably be expected to create potentially large efficiency losses.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhammika Dharmapala, 2018. "The Consequences of the TCJA's International Provisions: Lessons from Existing Research," CESifo Working Paper Series 7249, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7249
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp7249.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bradley S. Blaylock & Jimmy F. Downes & Mollie E. Mathis & Scott D. White, 2022. "Do bondholders incorporate expected repatriation taxes into their pricing of debt?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 1457-1492, December.
    2. Dorine Boumans & Clemens Fuest & Carla Krolage & Klaus Wohlrabe, 2020. "Expected effects of the US tax reform on other countries: global and local survey evidence," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(6), pages 1608-1630, December.
    3. Makoto Hasegawa, 2023. "Territorial Tax Reform and Profit Shifting by US and Japanese Multinationals," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(4), pages 771-804.
    4. 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.
    5. Mr. Nigel A Chalk & Mr. Michael Keen & Ms. Victoria J Perry, 2018. "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: An Appraisal," IMF Working Papers 2018/185, International Monetary Fund.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    international taxation; tax reform; tax cut and jobs act; GILTI; FDII;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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