Download or read book At A Cost The Real Effects of Thin Capitalization Rules written by Ruud A. de Mooij and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-02-05 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thin capitalization rules (TCRs) aim to mitigate profit shifting by multinational corporations (MNCs) but, by raising the cost of capital for affected affiliates, can also negatively affect real investment. Exploiting unique panel data on multinational companies in 34 countries during 2006-2014, we estimate that the size of this adverse investment effect can be large, and dependent on the statutory corporate tax rate and the tightness of the safe-haven ratio. Negative investment effects are more pronounced for highly-levered firms for which TCRs are more likely to be binding.

Download or read book The Importance of Escape Clauses written by Martin Eckhoff Andresen and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Escape clauses, where small firms are exempt from particular tax rules, is a crucial feature of a number of corporate tax schemes, but creates incentives to avoid taxation by manipulating the measures that determine inclusion. We evaluate the impact of thin capitalization rules, which commonly feature such escape clauses across the world, by exploiting the introduction of these rules in Norway in 2014. Combining difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity and bunching estimates, we show that what appears to be a strong response in the capital structure among exposed firms primarily reflect within-group reallocation of debt to avoid exposure to the rules. We observe sharp bunching among both new and existing subsidiaries at both thresholds for rule inclusion, and find that internal corporate group debt is offloaded to these bunching subsidiaries in order to avoid additional tax costs. As a result, significant and large effects on firm-level capital structure in response to the thin capitalization rules is driven by reshuffling of capital within corporate groups with little real effects. Re-estimating the difference-in-difference specification at the corporate group level confirms this finding, questioning the extent to which thin capitalization rules affect the real economy due to the presence of escape clauses.

Download or read book Why Countries Differ in Thin Capitalization Rules written by Mohammed Mardan and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the absence of financial frictions, the purpose of thin capitalization rules is to limit multinational firms' possibilities of engaging in tax planning via debt shifting. This paper analyzes the effects of thin capitalization rules in the case where firms have limited access to external funding. First, we show that a host country allows positive internal interest deductions if its financial development is sufficiently low. This amount increases when the financial development of the host country worsens. Then we ask which of the two most common thin capitalization rules used in practice is better suited to maximizing welfare of the host country. We show that welfare under a safe haven rule is higher than under an earnings stripping rule if firms are not able to manipulate transfer prices. Welfare, however, can be higher under an earnings stripping rule if firms are able to manipulate transfer prices. The analysis provides an explanation for why countries differ in the strictness and in the type of thin capitalization rule.

Download or read book Curbing Corporate Debt Bias written by Ruud A. de Mooij and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-02-10 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tax provisions favoring corporate debt over equity finance (“debt bias”) are widely recognized as a risk to financial stability. This paper explores whether and how thin-capitalization rules, which restrict interest deductibility beyond a certain amount, affect corporate debt ratios and mitigate financial stability risk. We find that rules targeted at related party borrowing (the majority of today’s rules) have no significant impact on debt bias—which relates to third-party borrowing. Also, these rules have no effect on broader indicators of firm financial distress. Rules applying to all debt, in contrast, turn out to be effective: the presence of such a rule reduces the debt-asset ratio in an average company by 5 percentage points; and they reduce the probability for a firm to be in financial distress by 5 percent. Debt ratios are found to be more responsive to thin capitalization rules in industries characterized by a high share of tangible assets.

Download or read book Capital Structure and International Debt Shifting written by Mr. Luc Laeven and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2007-02-01 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper presents a model of a multinational firm''s optimal debt policy that incorporates international taxation factors. The model yields the prediction that a multinational firm''s indebtedness in a country depends on a weighted average of national tax rates and differences between national and foreign tax rates. These differences matter because multinationals have an incentive to shift debt to high-tax countries. The predictions of the model are tested using a novel firm-level dataset for European multinationals and their subsidiaries, combined with newly collected data on the international tax treatment of dividend and interest streams. Our empirical results show that corporate debt policy indeed not only reflects domestic corporate tax rates but also differences in international tax systems. These findings contribute to our understanding of how corporate debt policy is set in an international context.

Download or read book Impact of Thin Capitalization Rules on Tax Revenue in an Emerging Economy Case Study written by Omolara Okesola and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dwindling oil revenue in Nigeria has necessitated the need to generate more government revenue through other sources. A potential area to generate more government revenue is through taxes on corporate profits. However, the prospects of generating more tax revenues have been perceived internationally to be weakened by aggressive corporate tax planning amongst multinational companies especially through internal debt shifting from jurisdictions with lower tax rates to jurisdictions with higher tax rates for the overall reduction in group tax liabilities. The capital structure of an organization determines the level of interest expense deductions from taxable income. That is, a highly leveraged company would be able to deduct more interest expenses on debt compared to a lower leveraged company. As a result of this tax loophole explored by multinational companies, most countries have introduced thin capitalization rules to reduce base erosion and profit shifting. Currently, Nigeria has no thin capitalization rules in effect, there are many benefits from thin capitalization rules from regulatory perspective. This paper seeks to examine the effects of thin capitalization rules on tax revenue by using the Latvian economy as a case study. Latvia is an emerging economy and it is has implemented thin capitalization since 2003. Data on taxes on corporate profits, gross fixed capital formation annual percentage growth, short- term interest rates on loan in the Euro Area (EA) and adjusted net national income percentage growth for the period of 2000 to 2016 were obtained from the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank database. This paper applied the multiple regression model. The results show that the dummy variable for thin capitalization policy is statistically insignificant to tax revenue in Latvia, however short-term interest rate on loans in the EA has a significant impact on tax revenue in Latvia.

Download or read book International Corporate Tax Avoidance A Review of the Channels Magnitudes and Blind Spots written by Sebastian Beer and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-07-23 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper reviews the rapidly growing empirical literature on international tax avoidance by multinational corporations. It surveys evidence on main channels of corporate tax avoidance including transfer mispricing, international debt shifting, treaty shopping, tax deferral and corporate inversions. Moreover, it performs a meta analysis of the extensive literature that estimates the overall size of profit shifting. We find that the literature suggests that, on average, a 1 percentage-point lower corporate tax rate will expand before-tax income by 1 percent—an effect that is larger than reported as the consensus estimate in previous surveys and tends to be increasing over time. The literature on tax avoidance still has several unresolved puzzles and blind spots that require further research.

Download or read book A Destination Based Allowance for Corporate Equity written by Shafik Hebous and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-11-08 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following renewed academic and policy interest in the destination-based principle for taxing profits—particularly through a destination-based cash flow tax (DBCFT)—this paper studies other forms of efficient destination-based taxes. Specifically, it analyzes the Destination-Based Allowance for Corporate Equity (DBACE) and Allowance for Corporate Capital (DBACC). It describes adjustments that are required to turn an origin into a destination-based versions of these taxes. These include adjustments to capital and equity, which are additional to the border adjustments needed under a DBCFT. The paper finds that the DBACC and DBACE reduce profit shifting and tax competition, but cannot fully eliminate them, with the DBACE more sensitve than the DBACC. Overall, given the potential major political cost of switching from an origin to a destination-based tax system, we conclude that advantages of the DBCFT are likely to outweigh the transitional advantages of the DBACE/DBACC.

Download or read book Tax Policy Leverage and Macroeconomic Stability written by International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2016-12-10 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Risks to macroeconomic stability posed by excessive private leverage are significantly amplified by tax distortions. ‘Debt bias’ (tax provisions favoring finance by debt rather than equity) has increased leverage in both the household and corporate sectors, and is now widely recognized as a significant macroeconomic concern. This paper presents new evidence of the extent of debt bias, including estimates for banks and non-bank financial institutions both before and after the global financial crisis. It presents policy options to alleviate debt bias, and assesses their effectiveness. The paper finds that thin capitalization rules restricting interest deductibility have only partially been able to address debt bias, but that an allowance for corporate equity has generally proved effective. The paper concludes that debt bias should feature prominently in countries’ tax reform plans in the coming years.

Download or read book The Impact of Thin Capitalization Rules on the Location of Multinational Firms Foreign Affiliates written by Valeria Merlo and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines how restrictions on the tax-deductibility of interest cost affect location choices of multinational corporations (MNCs). Many countries have introduced so-called thin-capitalization rules (TCRs) to prevent MNCs from shifting tax base to countries with lower tax rates. As of 2012, in our sample of 172 countries, 61 countries have implemented a TCR. Using information on nearly all new foreign investments of German MNCs, we provide a number of new and interesting insights in how TCRs affect the decision of where to locate foreign entities. These results include estimates of own- and cross-elasticities of location choice and also novel results on the relative importance of tax base vs. tax rate effects. We finally provide estimates for different uncoordinated as well as coordinated policy scenarios.

Download or read book Japan s Corporate Income Tax written by Ruud A. de Mooij and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-08-04 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper explores how corporate income tax reform can help Japan increase investment and boost potential growth. Using international and Japan-specific empirical estimates of corporate tax elasticities, investment is predicted to expand by around 0.4 percent for each point of rate reduction. International consensus estimates suggest further that between 10 and 30 percent of the static revenue loss could be recovered in the long run through dynamic scoring, although Japan’s offset may be closer to the lower bound. Compensating fiscal measures are necessary in light of Japan’s tight fiscal constraints. The scope for base broadening in the corporate income tax is found to be limited and some forms of base broadening will undo positive investment effects of a rate cut. Alternative revenue sources include higher consumption and property taxes. A gradual approach toward lowering tax rates mitigates windfall gains and reduces short-run revenue costs. An incremental allowance-for-corporate-equity system could boost investment with limited fiscal costs in the short run.

Download or read book A Firm Lower Bound Characteristics and Impact of Corporate Minimum Taxation written by Aqib Aslam and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the role of minimum taxes and attempts to quantify their impact on economic activity. Minimum taxes can be effective at shoring up the corporate tax base and enhancing the perceived equity of the tax system, potentially motivating broader taxpayer compliance. Where political and administrative constraints prevent reforms to the standard corporate income tax, a minimum tax can help mitigate base erosion from excessive tax incentives and avoidance. Using a new panel dataset that catalogues changes in minimum tax regimes over time around the world, firm-level analysis suggests that the introduction or reform of a minimum tax is associated with an increase in the average effective tax rate of just over 1.5 percentage points with respect to turnover and of around 10 percent with respect to operating income. Minimum taxes based on modified corporate income lead to the largest increases in effective tax rates, followed by those based on assets and turnover.

Download or read book Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2013-07-19 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This action plan, created in response to a request by the G20, identifies a set of domestic and international actions to address the problems of base erosion and profit sharing.

Download or read book Thin Capitalization Rules and Multinational Firm Capital Structure written by Jennifer Blouin and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-01-24 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines the impact of thin capitalization rules that limit the tax deductibility of interest on the capital structure of the foreign affiliates of US multinationals. We construct a new data set on thin capitalization rules in 54 countries for the period 1982-2004. Using confidential data on the internal and total leverage of foreign affiliates of US multinationals, we find that thin capitalization rules significantly affect multinational firm capital structure. Specifically, restrictions on an affiliate’s debt-to-assets ratio reduce this ratio on average by 1.9%, while restrictions on an affiliate’s borrowing from the parent-to-equity ratio reduce this ratio by 6.3%. Also, restrictions on borrowing from the parent reduce the affiliate’s debt-to-assets ratio by 0.8%, which shows that rules targeting internal leverage have an indirect effect on the overall indebtedness of affiliate firms. The impact of capitalization rules on affiliate leverage is higher if their application is automatic rather than discretionary. Furthermore, thin capitalization regimes have aggregate firm effects: they reduce the firm’s aggregate interest expense but lower firm valuation. Overall, our results show than thin capitalization rules, which thus far have been understudied, have a substantial effect on the capital structure within multinational firms, with implications for the firm’s market valuation.

Download or read book Fiscal Regimes for Extractive Industries Design and Implementation written by International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2012-08-16 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Better designed and implemented fiscal regimes for oil, gas, and mining can make a substantial contribution to the revenue needs of many developing countries while ensuring an attractive return for investors, according to a new policy paper from the International Monetary Fund. Revenues from extractive industries (EIs) have major macroeconomic implications. The EIs account for over half of government revenues in many petroleum-rich countries, and for over 20 percent in mining countries. About one-third of IMF member countries find (or could find) resource revenues “macro-critical” – especially with large numbers of recent new discoveries and planned oil, gas, and mining developments. IMF policy advice and technical assistance in the field has massively expanded in recent years – driven by demand from member countries and supported by increased donor finance. The paper sets out the analytical framework underpinning, and key elements of, the country-specific advice given. Also available in Arabic: ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????????: ??????? ???????? Also available in French: Régimes fiscaux des industries extractives: conception et application Also available in Spanish: Regímenes fiscales de las industrias extractivas: Diseño y aplicación

Download or read book At A Cost the Real Effects of Transfer Pricing Regulations written by Ruud A. de Mooij and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-03-23 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unilateral adoption of transfer pricing regulations may have a negative impact on real investment by multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper uses a quasi-experimental research design, exploiting unique panel data on domestic and multinational companies in 27 countries during 2006-2014, to find that MNC affiliates reduce their investment by over 11 percent following the introduction of transfer pricing regulations. There is no significant reduction in total investment by the MNC group, suggesting that these investments are most likely shifted to affiliates in other countries. The impact of transfer pricing regulations corresponds to an increase in the ``TPR-adjusted'' corporate tax rate by almost one quarter.

Download or read book Brazil Tax Expenditure Rationalization Within Broader Tax Reform written by Maria Delgado Coelho and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-09-24 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The excessive complexity and burden of the Brazilian tax system, riddled by cumulative indirect taxes and heavy payroll contributions, have led to an accumulation of fiscal incentives aimed at reducing its burden on taxpayers and productive activities. Federal and subnational tax expenditures currently stand at over 5 percent of GDP. Rationalizing them can only be comprehensively feasible in the context of a broader sequenced tax reform, and could reduce resource misallocation and income inequality, as well as provide new revenues.