The Effect of Expected Effective Corporate Tax Rates on Incremental Financing Decisions

Author/Editor:

Reint Gropp

Publication Date:

April 1, 1997

Electronic Access:

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Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

This paper uses U.S. panel data to estimate the effect of expected effective corporate tax rates on firm’s leverage. The paper directly estimates expected corporate tax rates using rational expectations. The estimated measures of the expected effective tax rates of firms are related to a continuous measure of incremental debt financing. The paper finds that expected effective tax rates are significantly and positively related to a higher level of debt financing. Simulations suggest that debt issues would double if firms were unable to shield profits and actually faced the statutory tax rate.

Series:

Working Paper No. 1997/046

Subject:

Average effective tax rate Corporate income tax Effective tax rate Labor Tax allowances Tax policy Taxes Wages

Notes:

Also published in Staff Papers, Vol. 44, No. 4, December 1997.

English

Publication Date:

April 1, 1997

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451973969/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA0461997

Pages:

32

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