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Intertemporal Tax Discontinuities

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  • Douglas A. Shackelford
  • Robert E. Verrecchia

Abstract

This paper defines an intertemporal tax discontinuity (ITD) as a circumstance in which different tax rates are applied to gains and losses realized at one point in time versus some other point in time, and studies the effects of ITDs on market behaviors at the time of disclosures of firm performance. The results show that ITDs either depress or amplify trading volume at the time of disclosure, depending upon whether the disclosure is 'good news' or 'bad news,' repectively, and lead to 'overreactions' in price changes independent of the 'news.' We propose empirical tests of one intertemporal tax discontinuity, the spread between short-term capital gains tax rates and long-term capital gains tax rates. We predict that stock responses to disclosures, such as quarterly earnings announcements, increase in the difference between short- term and long-term capital gains tax rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas A. Shackelford & Robert E. Verrecchia, 1999. "Intertemporal Tax Discontinuities," NBER Working Papers 7451, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7451
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    Cited by:

    1. Eichfelder, Sebastian & Lau, Mona, 2014. "Capital gains taxes and asset prices: The impact of tax awareness and procrastination," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 170, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    2. Wu, Yuliang & Li, Youwei, 2011. "Long-term return reversals--Value and growth or tax? UK evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 347-368, July.
    3. Schneider, Georg & Sureth, Caren, 2010. "The impact of profit taxation on capitalized investment with options to delay and divest," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 97, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    4. Zhonglan Dai & Edward Maydew & Douglas A. Shackelford & Harold H. Zhang, 2008. "Capital Gains Taxes and Asset Prices: Capitalization or Lock‐in?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 709-742, April.
    5. He, Eric & Jacob, Martin & Vashishtha, Rahul & Venkatachalam, Mohan, 2022. "Does differential taxation of short-term relative to long-term capital gains affect long-term investment?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1).
    6. Martin Jacob, 2018. "Tax Regimes and Capital Gains Realizations," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 1-21, January.
    7. Gries, Thomas & Prior, Ulrich & Sureth, Caren, 2007. "Taxation of risky investment and paradoxical investor behavior," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 26, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    8. Hanlon, Dean & Pinder, Sean, 2007. "An empirical investigation of whether Australian capital gains tax reforms influence individual investor behaviour," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 481-493, November.
    9. Dean Hanlon & Sean Pinder, 2013. "Capital gains tax, supply-driven trading and ownership structure: direct evidence of the lock-in effect," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(2), pages 419-439, June.
    10. Clinch, Greg & Odat, Mahmoud, 2012. "Capital gains taxes and the market response to public announcements in an indexation-based tax regime," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 53-63.
    11. Claudio Agostini & Mariel C. Siravegna, 2009. "Efectos de la Exención Tributaria a las Ganancias de Capital en el Precio de las Acciones en Chile," ILADES-UAH Working Papers inv233, Universidad Alberto Hurtado/School of Economics and Business.
    12. Kiesewetter, Dirk & Manthey, Johannes, 2017. "The relationship between corporate governance and tax avoidance - evidence from Germany using a regression discontinuity design," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 218, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    13. Poterba, James M., 2002. "Taxation, risk-taking, and household portfolio behavior," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 17, pages 1109-1171, Elsevier.
    14. Jacob, Martin, 2011. "Tax Regimes and Capital Gains Realizations," Working Paper Series, Center for Fiscal Studies 2011:9, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    15. Hanlon, Michelle & Heitzman, Shane, 2010. "A review of tax research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 127-178, December.
    16. Douglas A. Shackelford, 2000. "Stock Market Reaction to Capital Gains Tax Changes: Empirical Evidence from the 1997 and 1998 Tax Acts," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 14, pages 67-92, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Richard J. Rendleman, Jr. & Douglas A. Shackelford, 2003. "Diversification and the Taxation of Capital Gains and Losses," NBER Working Papers 9674, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Eichfelder, Sebastian & Lau, Mona, 2014. "Capital gains taxes and asset prices: The impact of tax awareness and procrastination," Discussion Papers 2014/17, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    19. Shackelford, Douglas A. & Shevlin, Terry, 2001. "Empirical tax research in accounting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 321-387, September.
    20. Ryan T. Ball, 2013. "Does Anticipated Information Impose a Cost on Risk‐Averse Investors? A Test of the Hirshleifer Effect," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 31-66, March.
    21. Jennifer L. Blouin & Jana Smith Raedy & Douglas A. Shackelford, 2003. "Capital Gains Taxes and Equity Trading: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 611-651, September.
    22. Niemann, Rainer & Sureth, Caren, 2009. "Investment effects of capital gains taxation under simultaneous investment and abandonment flexibility," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 77, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    23. Buhlmann, Florian & Doerrenberg, Philipp & Voget, Johannes & Loos, Benjamin, 2020. "How do taxes affect the trading behavior of private investors? Evidence from individual portfolio data," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-047, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    24. Jennifer L. Blouin & Jana Smith Raedy & Douglas A. Shackelford, 2000. "Capital Gains Holding Periods and Equity Trading: Evidence from the 1998 Tax Act," NBER Working Papers 7827, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Jin, Li & Kothari, S.P., 2008. "Effect of personal taxes on managers' decisions to sell their stock," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 23-46, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates

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