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The Impact of Headquarter and Subsidiary Locations on Multinationals' Effective Tax Rates

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  • Kevin S. Markle
  • Douglas A. Shackelford

Abstract

We examine effective tax rates (ETRs) for 9,022 multinationals from 87 countries from 2006 to 2011. We find that, despite extensive investments in international tax avoidance, multinationals headquartered in Japan, the United States, and some high-tax European countries continue to face substantially higher worldwide taxes than their counterparts in havens and other less heavily taxed locations. Other findings include: (1) effective tax rates remained steady over the investigation period; (2) entering a tax haven country for the first time results in a slight reduction in the firm's ETR; (3) ETR changes vary depending on whether the subsidiary is a financial conduit or an operating subsidiary. These results should aid ongoing international tax policy debates and expand scholars' understanding about the taxation of multinationals.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin S. Markle & Douglas A. Shackelford, 2014. "The Impact of Headquarter and Subsidiary Locations on Multinationals' Effective Tax Rates," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(1), pages 33-62.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:tpolec:doi:10.1086/675587
    DOI: 10.1086/675587
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Voget, Johannes, 2011. "Relocation of headquarters and international taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1067-1081.
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    4. Scott D. Dyreng & Bradley P. Lindsey, 2009. "Using Financial Accounting Data to Examine the Effect of Foreign Operations Located in Tax Havens and Other Countries on U.S. Multinational Firms' Tax Rates," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5), pages 1283-1316, December.
    5. Desai, Mihir A. & Hines, James R. Jr., 2002. "Expectations and Expatriations: Tracing the Causes and Consequences of Corporate Inversions," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 55(3), pages 409-440, September.
    6. Voget, Johannes, 2011. "Relocation of headquarters and international taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(9-10), pages 1067-1081, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. De Simone, Lisa, 2016. "Does a common set of accounting standards affect tax-motivated income shifting for multinational firms?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 145-165.
    3. Lampenius, Niklas & Shevlin, Terry & Stenzel, Arthur, 2021. "Measuring corporate tax rate and tax base avoidance of U.S. Domestic and U.S. multinational firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    4. Quentin Arnaud & Guillaume Dumas, 2020. "Lutter contre l’évasion fiscale : efficacité des dispositifs de reporting du projet BEPS," Post-Print hal-03948542, HAL.
    5. Schulte Sasse, Katharina & Watrin, Christoph & Weiß, Falko, 2020. "The alignment between reported profits and real activity in times of the BEPS Action Plan," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    6. Biyue Lin & Shoukat Iqbal Khattak & Bei Zhao, 2021. "To Relocate Or Not to Relocate: A Logit Regression Model of Factors Influencing Corporate Headquarter Relocation Decision in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.

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