Monitoring Incentives and Tax Planning – Evidence from State-Owned Enterprises
WU International Taxation Research Paper Series No. 2020-08
Singapore Management University School of Accountancy Research Paper
40 Pages Posted: 26 Jun 2020 Last revised: 12 Sep 2023
Date Written: September 2023
Abstract
This study provides new evidence on the association of state ownership and tax planning by showing that a state owner’s monitoring incentives affect a firm’s tax planning. Using the setting of a developed market economy, Germany, we distinguish between state owners that directly benefit from state-owned enterprises’ (SOEs’) income tax payments and those that do not. Our results indicate that state ownership is not associated with less tax planning unless the state owner directly benefits from higher tax payments. These results are robust to various specifications and suggest that shareholders’ monitoring incentives are a determinant of a firm’s tax planning activities.
Keywords: tax avoidance, monitoring, ownership Structure, state owned enterprises
JEL Classification: G30, G32, H26, H71
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation