scholarly journals PROFIT SHIFTING TO EUROPEAN TAX HAVENS: THE CASE OF SUBSIDIARIES OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES IN SERBIA

TEME ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1441
Author(s):  
Stefan Vržina
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Tax Burden ◽  
Public Disclosure ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Profit Shifting ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Tax Haven ◽  
National Tax

Due to the presence in a number of countries, multinational companies (MNCs) are in position to register a considerable part of pre-tax profit in countries with a preferential tax regime in order to avoid paying taxes at high rates. In other words, MNCs are able to shift profit from countries with a high tax burden to countries with low tax burden. In this paper, it is examined whether Serbian subsidiaries of MNCs, directly owned by European tax haven entities, more intensively shift profit to tax havens relative to other subsidiaries. A list of tax havens published by Oxfam in 2016 is used. Statistical tests and regression analysis showed that there is no significant difference in profit shifting to tax havens between two mentioned groups of subsidiaries. Therefore, it is possible that MNCs consider Serbia as a country with preferential tax regime due to relatively low statutory and effective corporate income tax rates. However, for the purposes of a detailed analysis, national tax authorities should insist on public disclosure of company tax reports to make tax practices of MNCs more transparent.

scholarly journals Treasure Islands

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 103-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R Hines
Keyword(s):  
Tax Competition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Financial Systems ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
International Tax Competition ◽  
Tax Haven ◽  
Effective Operation

In movies and novels, tax havens are often settings for shady international deals; in practice, they are rather less flashy. Tax havens, also known as “offshore financial centers” or “international financial centers,” are countries and territories that offer low tax rates and favorable regulatory policies to foreign investors. For example, tax havens typically tax inbound investment at zero or very low rates and further encourage investment with telecommunications and transportation facilities, other business infrastructure, favorable legal environments, and limited bureaucratic hurdles to starting new firms. Tax havens are small; most are islands; all but a few have populations below one million; and they have above-average incomes. The United States and other higher-tax countries frequently express concerns over how tax havens may affect their economies. Do they erode domestic tax collections; attract economic activity away from higher-tax countries; facilitate criminal activities; or reduce the transparency of financial accounts and so impede the smooth operation and regulation of legal and financial systems around the world. Do they contribute to excessive international tax competition? These concerns are plausible, albeit often founded on anecdotal rather than systematic evidence. Yet tax haven policies may also benefit other economies and even facilitate the effective operation of the tax systems of other countries. This paper evaluates evidence of the economic effects of tax havens.

scholarly journals Public Administration in EU: Harmonization of Income Taxes

2019 ◽  
pp. 280-291
Author(s):  
J. Korecko ◽  
R. Bacik ◽  
I. Voznakova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Income Taxes ◽  
Tax Burden ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Member States ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Tax Harmonization ◽  
The Eu

In the European communities, the need for tax harmonization has begun to commence since the beginning of integration efforts in the 1960s. The first attitudes to tax harmonization were very ambitious. The plan was not only structural harmonization but also harmonization of tax rates. The paper examines the nature and course of the direct tax harmonization process, describes its advantages and disadvantages as well as the positive and negative effects of tax competition. The paper aims to examine the development and volume of selected income taxes collected in the Member States of the European Union. It tells whether the harmonization of income taxes is still a stagnant process. Cluster analysis deals with looking for similarities of multidimensional objects. Two clustering methods were used – hierarchical agglomeration clustering and non-hierarchical clustering. Cluster analysis aimed to achieve groups of states that would have some homogeneity. Cluster analysis sorted the data into sets with the highest possible similarity within the group and the most significant difference between the groups. Analysis of tax burden and income tax rates confirmed significant differences in these indicators across the EU. On the other hand, cluster analysis revealed similar developments in tax systems in terms of their geographical location in Europe. Cluster analysis can be used to suggest possible steps to co-operate in harmonizing Member State taxes in the future. The authors of this article propose the possibility of harmonizing taxes and cooperating gradually within clusters rather than trying to apply uniform rules in all EU Member States at the same time. The conclusion of the article raises problems in the field of harmonization of direct taxes in the EU. The possibility of preserving autonomy in deciding on tax burden in the country is left to the many Member States because they see that autonomy as a competitive advantage, particularly in the field of investment. Keywords: tax, harmonization, income, European Union, cluster analysis.

scholarly journals Exploring the Likelihood of a Country Being a Tax Haven Using MIMIC Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Paulo Reis Mourao
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Tax Burden ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
Mimic Models ◽  
Multiple Indicators ◽  
Social Security Contributions ◽  
Tax Haven ◽  
Public Revenues ◽  
Multiple Causes

AbstractThe multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) framework is used to analyze dimensions related to causation and indicators of tax haven status. Robust results were obtained that identify a country’s tax burden and area as causes of a country adopting policies usually observed in tax havens. The level of social security contributions as a proportion of public revenues and the ratio of indirect to direct taxes were found to be statistically significant indicators of tax havens. Data from 68 countries for more than twenty years were analyzed, enabling the results to contribute to a deepening of the current debate about tax havens and their socio-economic profiles.

scholarly journals A Study from Slovakia on the Transfer of Slovak Companies to Tax Havens and Their Impact on the Sustainability of the Status of a Business Entity

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2803
Author(s):  
Samer Khouri ◽  
Lubos Elexa ◽  
Michal Istok ◽  
Andrea Rosova
Keyword(s):  
Income Tax ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Tax Planning ◽  
Corporate Income Tax ◽  
Profit Shifting ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
Tax Haven ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Status ◽  
The One

The main aim of this paper is to provide empirical evidence about profit-shifting to selected tax havens by Slovak companies. This contribution focused on the very rare evidence of use of tax havens by Slovak companies not only in the field of corporate income tax, but also in selected areas of profitability. Two sources of data were used. Lists of Slovak companies with tax haven links were provided by the company, Bisnode, and financial statements of investigated companies were gained from the Finstat database. Based on the available data, the investigated period was between 2008 and 2016. We statistically tested selected indicators (ETR, taxes per assets, ROE, ROA, and ROS) of Slovak companies with direct ownership links to tax havens compared to their counterparts. Our findings suggest that Slovak companies with an ownership link to tax havens pay significantly lower taxes compared to companies without ownership links to tax havens during the period monitored. The aggressive tax planning was not only confirmed by the significantly lower reported values of ETR and taxes per assets, but also by the lower values of ROA. On the one side, Slovak companies with ownership links to midshore tax havens had the highest values of ROE, ROA, and ROS, but on the other side, these Slovak companies reported the highest ETR among the appointed categories (onshore, midshore, and offshore). The lowest taxes paid per unit of total assets were found in Slovak companies with ownership links to onshore tax havens. The analysis was supplemented by the changes of the selected indicators before and after obtaining an ownership link to a tax haven.

scholarly journals DEBT/ASSET RATIO AS EVIDENCE OF PROFIT-SHIFTING BEHAVIOUR IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1293-1308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Ištok ◽  
Mária Kanderová
Keyword(s):  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Debt Ratio ◽  
Profit Shifting ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
Leverage Ratio ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Tax Haven ◽  
Methods And Techniques ◽  
Registered Office

Companies use different methods and techniques to transfer taxable profits to tax havens. The paper aims at analysing the influence of the relocation of the registered office of Slovak companies in tax havens in relation to the leverage ratio and the ratio of debt per sales and to verify the use of debt by Slovak firms in the transfer of profits. In evaluating these indicators, we chose two approaches. We first analysed the change of indicators only for those firms that transferred their seat to lower tax jurisdiction. The analysis is complemented by a different view, when the selected indicators are compared to a group of businesses with a link to tax havens and with no link to tax havens. Our empirical results clearly indicate the tendency that firms in Slovakia benefit from the possibility of transferring profits to lower tax jurisdictions via debt channels. The median values of debt ratio after the transfer of the registered office to tax havens increased by 7.8%. The median value of the tracking indicator is 1.2 times higher for firms with tax haven links than for companies without links to tax havens.

Tax Avoidance and Transfer Pricing

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-39
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Eriotis ◽  
Spyros Missiakoulis ◽  
Ioannis Dokas ◽  
Marios Tzavaras ◽  
Dimitrios Vasiliou
Keyword(s):  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Transfer Pricing ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Tax Burden ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
The Past ◽  
Extensive Analysis ◽  
Using Data ◽  
International Character

Globalization has led multinational companies, beyond intensifying their competitiveness, to seek ways to maximize profits through tax avoidance. The international character enables them to transfer profits to tax havens or seek transactions that will enable them to avoid, postpone, or pay lower taxes. Although the previous allegations have been hypothesized by researchers, tax audits, and governments, it is difficult to prove due to the chaotic data and the causal relationship between variables. The present study compared the tax burden of 971 multinationals and 1,160 independent companies for the years 2010-2017 in Greece, using data from the Amadeus Tp-Catalyst database and confirmed previous research on significant differences in terms of profits and tax burdens. To the authors' knowledge, there has not been attempted such an extensive analysis for Greece in the past.

scholarly journals Trouble in Paradise? Disclosure After Tax Haven Leaks

2021 ◽  
pp. 0148558X2098634
Author(s):  
Fabian Schmal ◽  
Katharina Schulte Sasse ◽  
Christoph Watrin
Keyword(s):  
Jel Classification ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
Corporate Behavior ◽  
Exogenous Shocks ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Tax Haven

Tax haven leaks have attracted negative public attention in recent years, prompting scrutiny of corporate behavior in leaked jurisdictions. We investigate whether U.S. companies with subsidiaries in implicated tax havens change their disclosure behavior after a leak. The Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Bahamas Leaks, and Paradise Papers are included in this study. We analyze the leaks as separate exogenous shocks to the affected firms’ behavior using a difference-in-differences approach. First, we focus on the readability of tax footnotes in annual reports. Our results suggest that tax footnotes are less readable after a firm’s tax haven is implicated in a leak. This finding suggests that implicated firms try to obfuscate information and hide unethical conduct. Second, we investigate firms’ disclosures of tax expenses using GAAP effective tax rates and find that companies report higher tax expenses after a leak. These changes in behavior could indicate that firms are concerned about the increasingly critical public attitude toward doing business in leaked low-tax jurisdictions and that they are taking measures to counteract possible negative reputational consequences. JEL Classification: F23, G14, H26, M41

scholarly journals Country-by-Country Reporting: A Step Towards Unitary Taxation?

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-173
Author(s):  
Miguel Viegas ◽  
António Dias
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Tax Havens ◽  
European Public ◽  
Public Scrutiny

AbstractMultinational companies are now obliged to deliver an annual report to the tax authorities with information disaggregated by country (country-by-country reporting) in order to show where the assets and workers are allocated, how profits are distributed and to whom taxes are paid. Unfortunately, these reports are not made public in the European Union, thus preventing public scrutiny about the strategies used by multinational companies to displace profits to tax havens. This article applies the Unitary Taxation regime proposed by the European Commission to US multinational companies. The results confirm a strong bias among the profits distribution towards countries with lower corporate tax rates. Likewise, they confirm the capacity of the Unitary Taxation to promote a fairer distribution of tax revenues. These results can be a good contribution to the current Portuguese presidency of the European Union, which managed to gather important support to move forward with the European public country-by-country reporting directive.

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