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The Impact of Headquarter and Subsidiary Locations on Multinationals' Effective Tax Rates

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  • Kevin S. Markle
  • Douglas A. Shackelford

Abstract

We examine effective tax rates (ETRs) for 9,022 multinationals from 87 countries from 2006 to 2011. We find that, despite extensive investments in international tax avoidance, multinationals headquartered in Japan, the U.S., and some high-tax European countries continue to face substantially higher worldwide taxes than their counterparts in havens and other less heavily taxed locations. Other findings include: (a) Effective tax rates remained steady over the investigation period; (b) Entering a tax haven country for the first time results in a slight reduction in the firm's ETR; (c) ETR changes vary depending on whether the subsidiary is a financial conduit or an operating subsidiary. These results should aid ongoing international tax policy debates and expand scholars' understanding about the taxation of multinationals.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin S. Markle & Douglas A. Shackelford, 2013. "The Impact of Headquarter and Subsidiary Locations on Multinationals' Effective Tax Rates," NBER Working Papers 19621, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19621
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Bolwijn, & Bruno Casella & Davide Rigo, . "Establishing the baseline: estimating the fiscal contribution of multinational enterprises," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    2. De Simone, Lisa, 2016. "Does a common set of accounting standards affect tax-motivated income shifting for multinational firms?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 145-165.
    3. Mercer-Blackman , Valerie & Camingue-Romance, Shiela, 2020. "The Impact of United States Tax Policies on Sectoral Foreign Direct Investment to Asia," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 628, Asian Development Bank.
    4. Quentin Arnaud & Guillaume Dumas, 2020. "Lutter contre l’évasion fiscale : efficacité des dispositifs de reporting du projet BEPS," Post-Print hal-03948542, HAL.
    5. Schulte Sasse, Katharina & Watrin, Christoph & Weiß, Falko, 2020. "The alignment between reported profits and real activity in times of the BEPS Action Plan," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    6. Biyue Lin & Shoukat Iqbal Khattak & Bei Zhao, 2021. "To Relocate Or Not to Relocate: A Logit Regression Model of Factors Influencing Corporate Headquarter Relocation Decision in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

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