The Quality Effect of Auditing on Tax Compliance: Evidence from Tunisian Context

Taxation is the subject of complex and evolving regulations. it has become one of the major concerns of any business to better manage its finance, the responsible for corporate governance give an importance to the fiscal in the strategy and management of the company. In recent years, the importance of taxation in the financial and accounting environment is motivated to study the impact of control and transparency of infomation affected by audit quality. We study a sample of 19 companies between 2013 and 2017, the result shows that audit quality improves tax compliance in the Tunisian context while measuring tax evasion by the difference between the statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate. This study finds that tax evasion in Tunisian firms may have decreased with better audit quality.

A longitudinal analysis of tax planning schemes of firms in East Africa

Taxes play a significant role in the social and economic development of counties. On the other hand, taxes represent a significant cost to firms; hence they devise legal ways to reduce their taxes through tax planning. In East Africa, the statutory tax rate of firms averages 30%, which is considered a major burden to the firms. As a result, this study aims to longitudinally examine the tax planning practices of listed firms in East Africa countries (EACs). The study used twelve-year annual reports of ninety-one firms from EACs. Both cash effective tax rate (CEFR) and accounting effective tax rate were employed as tax planning measures. Descriptive statistics together with Wilcoxon signed-ranked test were used to analyze the results. The study demonstrates the existence of corporate tax planning by the listed firms in EACs. The average CETR of the firms was 17% as opposed to the statutory tax rate of 30%, demonstrating that the firms actively engage in tax planning activities. The evidence further demonstrated a gradual decrease in the tax planning activities of the firms over the past twelve years. The study further found out that the rates of decline in the firms’ tax planning were statistically insignificant. Despite the decrease in the firms’ tax planning, the tax authorities in EACs should enforce tax laws to eliminate the tax planning problem.

Assessing Profit Shifting in Lithuanian Firms

Research background: Multinational enterprises (MNEs) employ tax avoidance by ability to use differences in tax systems of various countries to successfully incur effective tax rate that is lower than the statutory one. Literature analysis revealed that previous research rarely concentrated on profit shifting practices in small economies. It mostly covered large countries (USA, Germany) or regions (e.g. Europe). Research on Lithuania, as a small open economy characterized by lower corporate income tax rates, is a relevant case for the analysis. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is to assess profit shifting via transfer mispricing in Lithuanian companies. Methods: Regression analysis with fixed effects was applied to a sample of 3,563 Lithuanian companies for the period of 2010–2018. The data was retrieved from Amadeus database. Findings & Value added: The results of testing profit shifting channel – transfer mispricing – showed that tax incentives significantly affect earnings of MNEs in the sample while results of domestic firms are puzzling. Earnings of multinationals in the sample are strongly affected by statutory tax rate difference between the subsidiary operating in Lithuania and the parent company in a foreign country. Such results may imply that in small economies like Lithuania (characterized by lower tax rates and lower tax avoidance costs) profit shifting via transfer mispricing is used by MNEs as a channel of corporate tax avoidance.

Corporate Behavioral Responses to the TCJA for Tax Years 2017-2018

We analyze the initial corporate response to the 2017 enactment of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (TCJA). The TCJA changed many corporate tax provisions, including a reduction of the corporate statutory tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent effective in 2018 and sweeping changes to the taxation of income earned abroad by U.S. corporations. Based on a sample of U.S. corporate tax returns, we find that corporations accelerated deductions into 2017 and delayed income into 2018, thereby minimizing their taxes. We estimate an income and deduction shifting tax elasticity of -0.11 and 0.08, respectively. Additionally, we study detailed tax returns of 81 large corporations to understand how those changes impacted them.

¿Cómo ha evolucionado la presión fiscal de la empresa española en la última década? Remedios normativos frente a la planificación fiscal

En este trabajo hemos analizado la evolución de la presión fiscal soportada por la empresa española en la última década (2008-2017). Con base en una muestra de 31.966 observaciones empresas-años y empleando medidas empíricas de tributación efectiva inmunes al efecto de la variación del tipo impositivo estatutario operada a partir de 2015, dejamos constancia de una significativa aproximación gradual de los tipos reales a los nominales, convergencia que es especialmente apreciable en el segmento de las grandes empresas, a pesar de desplegar estrategias de planificación fiscal más eficientes que las de menor tamaño. Nuestros hallazgos revelan que tales estrategias se han visto claramente neutralizadas y dominadas con éxito por las medidas tributarias adoptadas en estos años, tendentes a diferir la deducibilidad fiscal de determinados gastos y pérdidas y a acelerar la recaudación. En definitiva, la evidencia aquí documentada, que se mantiene ante diferentes extensiones y pruebas empíricas complementarias, no se compadece con la extendida creencia acerca de la baja tributación de las empresas españolas, señaladamente las de gran dimensión. In this paper the evolution of the tax burden supported by Spanish companies in the last decade (2008-2017) has been analysed. Based on a sample of 31,966 company-year observations and using empirical measures of effective taxation that are immune to the effect of the variation in the statutory tax rate operated from 2015 onwards, we record a significant gradual approximation of the real rates to the nominal rates, a convergence that is particularly noticeable in the large company segment, despite deploying more efficient tax planning strategies than those of a smaller size. Our findings reveal that such strategies have been clearly neutralized and successfully dominated by the tax measures adopted in these years, aimed at deferring the tax deductibility of certain expenses and losses and accelerating tax collection. To sum up, the evidence documented in this paper, which is supported by various extensions and complementary empirical evidence, does not match the widespread belief about the low taxation of Spanish companies, particularly those of a large size.

Tax Incentives: An Effective Mechanism to Achieve EU Harmonization?

For decades, European Union (EU) wide corporate tax harmonization has been sought to eradicate business relocation for tax reasons. It is hoped that this harmonization will ensure that companies pay taxes in the countries where they operate. One mechanism that countries use to achieve this harmonization is tax incentives. Yet each country establishes its own incentive structure, according to its statutory tax rate. This study analyzes the effective tax burden in the initial 15 EU member states between 2006 and 2014 to identify significant differences that prevent tax harmonization across these countries. The statutory and effective tax rates are used to evaluate the tax burden. The net tax incentives and disincentives are also considered. The analysis shows that between 2006 and 2014, these 15 member states used tax incentives to close the gaps among these countries’ tax burdens. Countries with above-average effective tax rates offered greater tax incentives than countries with below-average effective tax rates. However, though these tax policies reduced the gap in the tax burden, harmonization of the effective tax rate was not achieved during the study period.

The Tax Reduction and Information Quality in Tunisian Companies

This study examines how the reduction of statutory tax rate affects corporate transparency. The financial and accounting environment is motivated to study the impact of control and transparency of information. We study a sample of 19 companies between 2013 and 2017, the result shows that the deductions are related to tax incentives especially investment incentives in the Tunisian context, which is influenced by a good information quality.This study shows that the manipulation of the results in Tunisian companies may have decreased with a reduction of the statutory tax rate.

Investors´ decision on the context of the effective taxation of agricultural companies

The analysis of the effective taxation combines two different effective tax rates which are crucial for placement and monitoring of the investment amount in the particular country. Both of these tax rates are important for investors who make a decision on the benefits, as well as the risks of corporate taxation in the country. The contribution deals with the problem of the effective taxation through effective average tax rates (EATR) and effective marginal tax rates (EMTR). Especially, it focuses on agricultural production companies. The effectivity of taxation was observed for selected intangible and tangible assets for a period of 2004 and 2018. Our analysis evaluated the influence of the change in the statutory tax rates (and the other taxes and indicators, as well) on the change in effective average tax rates on capital in the agricultural companies. Based on the results, the lowest EATR, ranging from 20.79% to 25.25%, reported agricultural lands in both reference periods and for both ways of financing. Analyzing EMTR we found out that the lowest value reported investments in intangible assets that have crucial significance for investors. Our results definitely made it clear that in the EATR ↔ EMTR relationship, a form of financing investments is decisive. This relationship is used when an investor decides between several mutually exclusive locations or types of investment in a given country. In equity financing, the most effective capital is investing in intangible assets, and when we consider financing from external sources it is investment into stocks. An increase in the statutory tax rate of 2% resulted in a 12% increase in effective average tax rates.

Capital taxation efficiency of agricultural businesses in the Slovak Republic

Effective tax rates are presented by indicators of the actual corporate tax burden, which take into account the impact of all the elements listed in the legislation. The submitted contribution explores the issue of effective taxation through effective average tax rates (EATRs) focusing on agricultural production enterprises. The analysis assessed the effect of changing the statutory tax rate (and other taxes and factors) on changing the effective average rate of capital. Taxation efficiency was monitored for selected intangible and tangible assets for 2004 and 2018. Analysis indicated a depreciation tax shield that tracked the amount of tax savings on capital investment as well as the economic rent of the project with taxation. The analysis showed that a 3% increase in the statutory rate over the reference period increased the effective average corporate rates for intangible assets by 13.35%, tangible assets by 14.25% and inventories by 16.63%. The highest annual tax saving was achieved in 2018 for tangible assets of € 4,647.50, with a four-year return.

Relationship between corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance: international evidence

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and tax avoidance as well as how CSR and country-level governance interplay in affecting tax avoidance in an international setting. Design/methodology/approach This paper is an empirical work using listed companies from 35 countries and relying on several proxies for corporate tax avoidance activities including the difference between the statutory tax rate and the annual effective tax rate, the book-tax difference and the residual book-tax difference. Findings This study finds strong evidence that CSR is positively related to tax avoidance. It also finds that in countries with weak country-level governance, firms with higher CSR scores engage in less tax avoidance, implying that CSR and country-level governance are substitutes. Originality/value This paper is the first study that examines the relationship between CSR and tax avoidance in an international setting with different legal and institutional environment.