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Do corporate tax cuts increase investments?

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  • Brandstetter, Laura
  • Jacob, Martin

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of corporate taxes on investment. Using firm-level data on German corporations, we investigate the 2008 tax reform that cut corporate taxes by 10 percentage points. We expect heterogeneous investment responses across firms, since firms with a foreign parent have more cross-country profit shifting opportunities than domestically owned firms. Using a matching difference-in-differences approach, we show that, following the corporate tax cut, domestically owned firms increased investments to a larger extent than foreign-owned firms. Our results imply that corporate tax changes can increase corporate investment but have heterogeneous investment responses across firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Brandstetter, Laura & Jacob, Martin, 2013. "Do corporate tax cuts increase investments?," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 153, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:arqudp:153
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    Cited by:

    1. Jose Alves, 2019. "The impact of tax structure on investment: an empirical assessment for OECD countries," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 43(3), pages 291-309.
    2. Mdee, Ephraim Oswald & Aikaeli, Jehovaness & Luvanda, Eliab, 2022. "The Impact of Taxes on Capital Formation in Tanzania," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 10(5), December.
    3. Brandstetter, Laura, 2014. "Do Corporate Tax Cuts Reduce International Profit Shifting?," Discussion Papers 2014/10, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    4. Brandstetter, Laura, 2014. "Do corporate tax cuts reduce international profit shifting," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 162, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    5. Gary, Robert F. & Moore, Jared A. & Sisneros, Craig A. & Terando, William D., 2016. "The impact of tax rate changes on intercorporate investment," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 55-63.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate taxation; Investment;

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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