'Just BEAT It' Do firms reclassify costs to avoid the base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT) of the TCJA?
WU International Taxation Research Paper Series No. 2021-03
Singapore Management University School of Accountancy Research Paper
54 Pages Posted: 17 Feb 2021
Date Written: February 1, 2021
Abstract
This study examines whether multinational corporations (MNCs) reclassify related-party payments to avoid the new base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT). The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 included the BEAT to combat income shifting from the U.S. to foreign entities. An exclusion in the tax law provides MNCs an incentive to reclassify related-party payments as cost of goods sold. We use a triple-difference design that leverages the BEAT filing threshold of $500 million in revenue and the parent company’s location to document increases in the unconsolidated sales of foreign subsidiaries of MNCs subject to BEAT relative foreign subsidiaries of MNCs not subject to BEAT consistent with cost reclassification. We also find this effect is strongest in MNCs with more related-party payments. Overall, our results imply that firms use the subjectivity inherent in cost classification to reclassify costs as cost of goods sold to avoid the BEAT.
Keywords: Tax planning, income shifting, cost reclassification, foreign tax, tax, TCJA, BEAT
JEL Classification: H26, H71, H72
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation