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An empirical analysis of the 2000 corporate tax reform in Germany: Effects on ownership and control in listed companies

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  • Weber, Anke

Abstract

This paper is a first attempt to analyse the implications of the 2000 corporate tax reform on ownership concentration in Germany. The empirical results document a fall in ownership concentration and a decrease in the power of top institutional owners including the big banks. Hence, the description of German corporate governance as a bank-based system may no longer apply. However, even though the corporate tax reform had a significant effect on ownership concentration and on the power of the top-institutional blockholders, the change in the corporate income tax law did not revolutionise German corporate governance. Ownership concentration in 2005 is still high compared to the Anglo-American economies and an active market for corporate control is not observed.

Suggested Citation

  • Weber, Anke, 2009. "An empirical analysis of the 2000 corporate tax reform in Germany: Effects on ownership and control in listed companies," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 57-66, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:29:y:2009:i:1:p:57-66
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    3. Wolfgang Bessler & Wolfgang Drobetz & Julian Holler, 2015. "The Returns to Hedge Fund Activism in Germany," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 21(1), pages 106-147, January.
    4. Rünger, Silke, 2011. "The effect of Germany's Tax Reform Act 2001 on corporate ownership: Insights from disposals of minority blocks," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 114, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    5. Chen Chun-Yuan, 2016. "D&O Insurance, Corporate Governance and Mandatory Disclosure: An Empirical Legal Study of Taiwan," Asian Journal of Law and Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 19-62, April.
    6. Bessler, Wolfgang & Vendrasco, Marco, 2022. "Corporate control and shareholder activism in Germany: An empirical analysis of hedge fund strategies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Christian Engelen, 2015. "The effects of managerial discretion on moral hazard related behaviour: German evidence on agency costs," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(4), pages 927-960, November.
    8. Bastian von Beschwitz, 2016. "Cash Windfalls and Acquisitions," International Finance Discussion Papers 1159, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    9. Lin, Chen & Schmid, Thomas & Xuan, Yuhai, 2018. "Employee representation and financial leverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(2), pages 303-324.
    10. Richard A. Johnson & Karen Schnatterly & Scott G. Johnson & Shih-Chi Chiu, 2010. "Institutional Investors and Institutional Environment: A Comparative Analysis and Review," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(s2), pages 1590-1613, December.
    11. von Beschwitz, Bastian, 2018. "Cash windfalls and acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(2), pages 287-319.
    12. Cristi A. Gleason & Sascha Kieback & Martin Thomsen & Christoph Watrin, 2021. "Monitoring or payroll maximization? What happens when workers enter the boardroom?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1046-1087, September.
    13. Bessler, Wolfgang & Kaen, Fred R. & Kurmann, Philipp & Zimmermann, Jan, 2012. "The listing and delisting of German firms on NYSE and NASDAQ: Were there any benefits?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 1024-1053.
    14. Bessler, Wolfgang & Vendrasco, Marco, 2022. "Why do companies become hedge fund targets? Evidence from shareholder activism in Germany," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Voting-block statistics Blockholders Corporate control;

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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