Taxes, Financing Decisions, and Firm Value
Eugene F. Fama
University of Chicago - Booth School of Business (Finance Authors)
Kenneth R. French
Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Journal of Finance, Vol. 53 No. 3, June 1998
Abstract:
We use cross-section regressions to study how a firm's value is related to dividends and debt. With a good control for profitability, the regressions can measure how the taxation of dividends and debt affects firm value. Simple tax hypotheses say that value is negatively related to dividends and positively related to debt. We find the opposite. We infer that dividends and debt convey information about profitability (expected net cash flows) missed by a wide range of control variables. This information about profitability obscures any tax effects of financing decisions.
JEL Classification: G12, G14, G32
Accepted Paper Series
Suggested Citation
Fama, Eugene F. and French, Kenneth R., Taxes, Financing Decisions, and Firm Value. Journal of Finance, Vol. 53 No. 3, June 1998. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=85989
