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Valuing the Debt Tax Shield

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  • Cooper, Ian A.

    (London Business School)

  • Nyborg, Kjell G.

    (Dept. of Finance and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

Abstract

The tax shield from debt represents a significant proportion of total value for many companies, projects, and transactions. Accurate valuation of the debt tax shield is of more importance than ever as leverage is now commonly used as a source of value added, and there is growing competition in buying assets. Changes in tax rules and more international transactions also make it important to understand how to value debt tax shields under different tax regimes. The increased practical importance of accurate valuation of the debt tax shield has been paralleled by debates among researchers about how to do it. The different approaches have large effects on estimated values. In this article, we review these approaches and show their implications for practical debt tax shield valuation. The issue we stress is that each method relies on a few basic assumptions, primarily about the risk of debt tax shields. Picking the most appropriate assumption in any particular situation and then using only those procedures that are consistent with that assumption is the key to good valuation of debt tax shields. Using inconsistent procedures can lead to large errors. The structure of the article is as follows: We start by giving a brief overview of the theory. Then we review the tensions that exist in the “how to value tax shields” literature. Next, we discuss the practical implications of the various approaches and show by way of an example the large errors that can arise if incorrect and inconsistent valuation methods are used. Finally, we offer our views as to which methods and assumptions are most appropriate in various real world economic settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Cooper, Ian A. & Nyborg, Kjell G., 2007. "Valuing the Debt Tax Shield," Discussion Papers 2007/15, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2007_015
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/11250/163872
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    Cited by:

    1. Hutchinson, Mark C. & Mulcahy, Mark & O'Brien, John, 2018. "What is the cost of faith? An empirical investigation of Islamic purification," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 134-143.
    2. Karpavičius, Sigitas & Yu, Fan, 2017. "The impact of interest rates on firms' financing policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 262-293.
    3. Nguyen Kim-Duc & Pham Khanh Nam, 2024. "Consistent valuation: extensions from bankruptcy costs and tax integration with time-varying debt," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 719-754, February.
    4. Carlo Alberto Magni, 2021. "Economic profitability and (non)additivity of residual income," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 471-499, December.
    5. Qi Howard, 2010. "Valuation Methodologies and Emerging Markets," Journal of Business Valuation and Economic Loss Analysis, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Qi, Howard, 2011. "Value and capacity of tax shields: An analysis of the slicing approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 166-173, January.
    7. Ian A. Cooper & Kjell G. Nyborg, 2018. "Consistent valuation of project finance and LBOs using the flows†to†equity method," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 24(1), pages 34-52, January.
    8. Michael Dempsey, 2015. "Stock Markets, Investments and Corporate Behavior:A Conceptual Framework of Understanding," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number p1007, December.
    9. Christian Koziol, 2014. "A simple correction of the WACC discount rate for default risk and bankruptcy costs," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 653-666, May.
    10. Mike Dempsey, 2013. "Consistent Cash Flow Valuation with Tax†Deductible Debt: a Clarification," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 19(4), pages 830-836, September.
    11. Michael Dempsey, 2019. "Discounting methods and personal taxes," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 25(2), pages 310-324, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax Shields; Valuation; Risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G00 - Financial Economics - - General - - - General

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