The Taxman Cometh: Does Tax Uncertainty Affect Corporate Cash Holdings?
Review of Accounting Studies, September 2017, Volume 22, Issue 3, pp 1198–1228
Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise Research Paper No. 18-1
47 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2013 Last revised: 4 May 2018
There are 2 versions of this paper
The Taxman Cometh: Does Tax Uncertainty Affect Corporate Cash Holdings?
The Taxman Cometh: Does Tax Uncertainty Affect Corporate Cash Holdings?
Date Written: March 31, 2017
Abstract
We examine whether firms hold more cash in the face of tax uncertainty. Because of gray areas in the tax law and aggressive tax avoidance, the total amount of tax that a firm will pay is uncertain at the time it files its returns. The tax authorities can challenge and disallow the firm’s tax positions, demanding additional cash tax payments. We hypothesize that firms facing greater tax uncertainty hold cash to satisfy these potential future demands. We find that both domestic firms and multinational firms hold larger cash balances when subject to greater tax uncertainty. In terms of economic significance, we find that the effect of tax uncertainty on cash holdings is comparable to that of repatriation taxes. Our evidence adds to knowledge about the real effects of tax avoidance and provides a tax-based precautionary explanation for why there is such wide variation in cash holdings across firms.
Keywords: Cash holdings; Tax avoidance; Tax uncertainty; FIN 48; Disclosures; Long-run repatriation tax costs
JEL Classification: G30; G32; H25
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation