IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/advacc/v62y2023ics0882611023000147.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gold and tax capitalization: A natural experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Smith, Steven
  • Singleton, Ron

Abstract

This research examines whether U.S. income taxes are capitalized into gold coin prices. For years, the American Eagle (Eagle) was the sole gold coin to be IRA eligible. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 expanded eligibility to include all other gold coins beginning on January 1, 1998, except the South African Krugerrand (Rand). In this natural quasi-experiment, we examine whether gold coin prices reacted to the change in IRA-eligibility. Results are largely consistent with the capitalization of implicit taxes in gold coin prices. When legislation allowing IRA eligibility of both the Canadian Maple Leaf (Maple) and the Rand was introduced, the prices of both coins increased relative to the Eagle. When final legislation excluded the Rand from IRA eligibility, but not the Maple, the Rand's price declined while the Maple's did not. The findings contribute to the tax capitalization literature and the effects of interjurisdictional taxation in integrated global markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Smith, Steven & Singleton, Ron, 2023. "Gold and tax capitalization: A natural experiment," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:62:y:2023:i:c:s0882611023000147
    DOI: 10.1016/j.adiac.2023.100655
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882611023000147
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.adiac.2023.100655?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guenther, David A. & Sansing, Richard, 2006. "Fundamentals of shareholder tax capitalization," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 371-383, December.
    2. Fortune, Peter, 1988. "Municipal Bond Yields: Whose Tax Rates Matter?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 41(2), pages 219-33, June.
    3. Fortune, Peter, 1988. "Municipal Bond Yields: Whose Tax Rates Matter?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 41(2), pages 219-233, June.
    4. Zhonglan Dai & Edward Maydew & Douglas A. Shackelford & Harold H. Zhang, 2008. "Capital Gains Taxes and Asset Prices: Capitalization or Lock‐in?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(2), pages 709-742, April.
    5. Mihir A Desai & Dhammika Dharmapala, 2011. "Dividend Taxes and International Portfolio Choice," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(1), pages 266-284, February.
    6. Poterba, James M., 2002. "Taxation, risk-taking, and household portfolio behavior," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 17, pages 1109-1171, Elsevier.
    7. Edwards, Alexander & Shevlin, Terry, 2011. "The value of a flow-through entity in an integrated corporate tax system," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 473-491, August.
    8. Dhaliwal, Dan & Krull, Linda & Li, Oliver Zhen, 2007. "Did the 2003 Tax Act reduce the cost of equity capital?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 121-150, March.
    9. H. Chu & G. Partington, 2008. "The Market Valuation of Cash Dividends: The Case of the CRA Bonus Issue," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 8(1‐2), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Engel, E & Erickson, M & Maydew, E, 1999. "Debt-equity hybrid securities," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 249-274.
    11. Norman Strong & Xinzhong Xu, 2003. "Understanding the Equity Home Bias: Evidence from Survey Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(2), pages 307-312, May.
    12. Joshua D. Coval & Tobias J. Moskowitz, 1999. "Home Bias at Home: Local Equity Preference in Domestic Portfolios," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(6), pages 2045-2073, December.
    13. Hanlon, Michelle & Hoopes, Jeffrey L., 2014. "What do firms do when dividend tax rates change? An examination of alternative payout responses," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 105-124.
    14. Dan S. Dhaliwal & Merle M. Erickson & Oliver Zhen Li, 2005. "Shareholder Income Taxes and the Relation between Earnings and Returns," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(3), pages 587-616, September.
    15. Dan Dhaliwal & Linda Krull & Oliver Zhen Li & William Moser, 2005. "Dividend Taxes and Implied Cost of Equity Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(5), pages 675-708, December.
    16. Guenther, David A., 1994. "The relation between tax rates and pre-tax returns direct evidence from the 1981 and 1986 tax rate reductions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 379-393, November.
    17. Dhaliwal, Dan & Zhen Li, Oliver & Trezevant, Robert, 2003. "Is a dividend tax penalty incorporated into the return on a firm's common stock?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 155-178, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hanlon, Michelle & Heitzman, Shane, 2010. "A review of tax research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 127-178, December.
    2. Chongyang Chen & Zhonglan Dai & Douglas Shackelford & Harold Zhang, 2011. "Does Financial Constraint Affect Shareholder Taxes and the Cost of Equity Capital?," NBER Working Papers 17169, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Holcomb, Alex & Mason, Paul & Zhang, Harold H., 2020. "Investment income taxes and private equity acquisition activity," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 25-51.
    4. Hail, Luzi & Sikes, Stephanie & Wang, Clare, 2017. "Cross-country evidence on the relation between capital gains taxes, risk, and expected returns," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 56-73.
    5. David G. Kenchington, 2019. "Does a change in dividend tax rates in the U.S. affect equity prices of non-U.S. stocks?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 593-628, June.
    6. Jean Bédard & Daniel Coulombe & Suzanne M. Paquette, 2007. "Tax Incentives on Equity and Firms' Cost of Capital: Evidence from the Quebec Stock Savings Plan," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 795-824, September.
    7. Edwards, Alexander & Todtenhaupt, Maximilian, 2020. "Capital gains taxation and funding for start-ups," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(2), pages 549-571.
    8. Mishra, Anil V., 2016. "Foreign bias in Australian-domiciled mutual fund holdings," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 101-123.
    9. Jennie Bai & Massimo Massa, 2021. "Is Human-Interaction-based Information Substitutable? Evidence from Lockdown," NBER Working Papers 29513, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. H. Henry Cao & Bing Han & David Hirshleifer & Harold H. Zhang, 2011. "Fear of the Unknown: Familiarity and Economic Decisions," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 15(1), pages 173-206.
    11. Thomas Luke Spreen & Ed Gerrish, 2022. "Taxes and tax‐exempt bonds: A literature review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 767-808, September.
    12. N. Gregory Mankiw & James M. Poterba, 1996. "Stock Market Yields and the Pricing of Municipal Bonds," NBER Working Papers 5607, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Ni, Jinlan, 2009. "The effects of portfolio size on international equity home bias puzzle," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 469-478, June.
    14. Simon, David P., 1996. "An empirical reconciliation of the Miller model and the generalized capital structure models," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 41-56, January.
    15. Jacob, Martin, 2014. "Cross-base tax elasticity of capital gains," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 169, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    16. Terry Shevlin, 2013. "Some personal observations on the debate on the link between financial reporting quality and the cost of equity capital," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 38(3), pages 447-473, December.
    17. Yashu Dong & Danqing Young & Yinglei Zhang, 2021. "Familiarity bias and earnings-based equity valuation," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 795-818, August.
    18. Richard Ochmann, 2014. "Differential income taxation and household asset allocation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(8), pages 880-894, March.
    19. H. Youn Kim & Junsoo Lee & Stephen E. Lile & James R. Ramsey, 2000. "Municipal Bonds and Tax Arbitrage: A Cointegration Analysis," Public Finance Review, , vol. 28(4), pages 372-389, July.
    20. Mishra, Anil V., 2015. "Measures of equity home bias puzzle," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 293-312.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:62:y:2023:i:c:s0882611023000147. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/advances-in-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.